RIP Republic Wireless: Dish Wireless Moves Subscribers to Boost Infinite

pcmag.com:

Republic Wireless, once one of the wireless industry’s quirkier experiments in business models, is now clearing out its metaphorical cubicle as its corporate parent Dish Wireless begins moving subscribers to its Boost Infinite(Opens in a new window) network.

The news emerged Monday after a Republic subscriber shared a company email on Reddit(Opens in a new window) that announced an impending transition to Boost Infinite, the greenfield 5G service that Dish has been building out since 2020. A Dish spokesperson confirmed that shutdown plan to the telecom trade pub Fierce Wireless(Opens in a new window) Tuesday morning and then to PCMag on Tuesday afternoon. 

The email shared on Reddit says Republic subscribers will be moved to Boost’s $25/month Infinite Unlimited plan, although those on cheaper plans will keep their existing rates for the next six months. It also cites an Aug. 31 deadline for Republic subscribers to activate service on Boost Infinite and retain their account and phone number. 

Republic launched in 2011(Opens in a new window) as a $19/month service that would keep subscriber costs low with a Wi-Fi-first model. Since carriers then reserved texting and calling for their cellular networks, Republic customers needed to buy a customized, low-end LG Android phone that supported Wi-Fi calling and texting—and those users were then expected to avoid spending too much time on Republic’s fallback Sprint coverage.

Republic came into its own two years later when it began offering a version of the Motorola Moto X, a far more competitive handset. It also switched to providing customers a choice of four cheap rate plans: $5 a month for Wi-Fi-only service; $10 for unlimited text and calling over either Wi-Fi or cellular but