- An Opensignal report ranked Boost No. 1 in 5G reliability and 5G coverage in 15 major cities
- An earlier umlaut report that showed Boost’s network superiority in New York City
- Good service or not, getting users to switch to Boost is a major challenge
As parent company EchoStar faces scrutiny from the FCC, Boost Mobile today touted an Opensignal report showing its network ranks No. 1 in 5G reliability and coverage in 15 major cities. This follows an earlier claim about being No. 1 in New York City based on an umlaut report.
Our first reaction to the Opensignal report is: Sure, Boost can claim it’s got a great 5G network because not many people are using it. In fact, it better offer a reliable experience since so few people are sharing Boost's network resources. Boost serves about 7.15 million wireless customers versus the 115 million that Verizon serves, for example.
However, diving a little deeper into Boost’s network claims, it’s worth noting that Boost built its 5G standalone (SA) network using open RAN, a technology that continues to spark controversy because it’s new and, in some carriers’ minds, doesn’t yet match what traditional gear can offer.
According to Boost Mobile CTO Eben Albertyn, Boost is proving that open RAN not only works but it works well, foreshadowing today’s news when he spoke last month at the Competitive Carriers Association convention. That’s where he said announcements would be forthcoming this year where Boost is proving that it’s the “best network in every NFL city in the country.”
The cities cited in the Opensignal report are Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas-Fort Worth; Detroit; Houston; Miami; New York City; Orlando, Florida; Philadelphia; Raleigh, N.C.; St. Louis; and Boost's hometown market of Denver.
What analysts say about Boost’s network
Mike Thelander, whose firm SRG Research regularly conducts tests of carrier networks, agreed that Boost has far more untapped capacity than other operators. That clearly leads to better performance.
“That being said, in our tests I’ve also been impressed with the Dish network and despite their market and financial woes, they are on pretty solid footing when it comes to technology,” he told Fierce.
Joe Madden, chief analyst at Mobile Experts, said Boost’s 5G reliability and coverage claims are not very meaningful because a smartphone user will get better overall coverage from a network that includes 3G, 4G and 5G together. Boost’s network is solely 5G SA and it relies on T-Mobile and AT&T as MVNO partners for 4G LTE coverage.
However, for a mobile operator to offer network slicing, the two important criteria are 5G reliability and 5G coverage. And that bodes well for Boost’s prospects in the enterprise space.
“This test shows that Boost is in a good position to offer 5G network slices in specific urban locations,” Madden said. “It’s true that their network can work better because they have very few subscribers, but if the use case is an urban network slice, this network could be a good fit.”
Responding to FCC inquiry
Boost’s claim about 5G network coverage also speaks directly to an inquiry that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr launched this week that examines, among other things, whether an FCC extension on EchoStar’s buildout requirements should hold. Under the Biden administration late last year, EchoStar received an extension to meet 5G buildout requirements, a decision that Carr is now revisiting.
The other big issue that Carr raised in a May 9 letter to EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen has to do with EchoStar’s use of the 2 GHz band. That is AWS-4, aka S-band, satellite spectrum that Dish Network acquired in 2012. SpaceX contends that Dish, now EchoStar, is barely using this spectrum and wants the FCC to take it away from EchoStar and make it available to other satellite companies like SpaceX/Starlink.
The FCC this week launched two separate comment periods: one focused on the buildout extension that was granted last year and the other examining EchoStar’s use of the 2 GHz band for mobile satellite service (MSS).
In a note for investors today, New Street Research analyst Blair Levin said the FCC proceeding could be addressed in a minimum of three months but it’s more likely to take at least six to nine months.
He believes EchoStar has a strong argument that it is complying with its obligations to the FCC and noted that it was the first Trump administration that approved the T-Mobile/Sprint merger that led to Dish/EchoStar being set up to take Sprint’s place as the fourth U.S. mobile carrier.
“There will now be a cloud over the value of Dish’s spectrum,” Levin concluded. “While we believe the odds favor Dish ultimately prevailing in a court proceeding, it could be that the rational thing for Dish to do is to settle in some way that allows it to monetize the value of its spectrum holdings, but it could be less than if it were unimpeded by the new FCC initiatives.”