Breaking: Telstra buys Boost Mobile

Huge news for the Aussie mobile market today with our biggest telco buying out one of the best selling challenger brands with Telstra announcing they had acquired Boost Mobile.

The purchase is set to go through this month, and is for an undisclosed sum – though EFTM understands it to be less than the $200 million quoted in financial media.

Telstra’s Consumer boss Brad Whitcomb said this was all part of Telstra’s Multi-Brand strategy “Boost Mobile has been a fantastic partner of Telstra for 13 years and this acquisition cements just how much we value the Boost brand. We know Boost branded products are a fantastic option for those seeking more affordable mobile connectivity and we are committed to providing that choice in the market,”

Outspoken Boost Mobile Chairman and founder Peter Adderton said in the announcement “Telstra has been an incredible partner to the Boost mobile family and, more importantly, to our customers – for more than 13 years. This acquisition of Boost is the natural evolution of the brand, and I am excited to see how the brand will continue to grow under Telstra’s ownership. The team at Boost are the best in the business and I wish them all well on the next part of Boost Mobile’s journey”.‘

Importantly, Telstra say there will be no changes for customers with Boost branded prepaid plans, while “most” Boost Mobile employees will be integrated into Telstra as a stand-alone team.

What does Telstra owning Boost really mean?

I’ve tried to explain this a lot over the years, Boost has always been “Telstra”. When you sign up you effectively get a Telstra ID, the back end systems are all Telstra, even the customer facing systems are Telstra systems with Orange branding instead of Blue.

Boost is the only other telco to have the entire Telstra Mobile Access – not even “Belong” gets that.

So really, this is about Telstra saying look – if they’re making money from this, why don’t we.

But the real Boost magic was marketing. Boost spent as much of what they made on building their brand. Sponsoring surfers, racers, sports stars, targeting the youth market.

While Telstra might not touch the magic that were the Boost plans, what’s critical is that they continue to invest in Boost as a separate entity for branding and marketing. Time will tell if they do.

But for you as a Boost customer, nothing changes.