Republic Wireless shutting down as dish moves customers over to boost infinite

Republic Wireless, once a pioneer in the “Wi-Fi first” movement, will stop operating as a stand-alone wireless brand. Dish acquired the business in 2021 and is moving all Republic customers over to Boost Infinite.

Reports of the switchover made the rounds on Reddit and Twitter on Monday. A Dish Wireless spokesperson confirmed the move to Fierce.

According to the Dish spokesperson, Republic Wireless customers do not need new handsets. A portion of Republic Wireless customers will need a new SIM card as they transition over to Boost Infinite.

Dish sent affected customers alert and instructional emails, a SIM card and additional resources on how to contact customer care if customers want further assistance, the spokesperson said.

An email posted on Reddit showed how some Republic customers received the news. The message said if a customer’s Republic plan was less than $25/month as of May 2023, their payment will stay the same for the first six months. After that, it’s $25/month, and that’s “forever,” according to the message.

Zombies no more
Wave7 Research saw the change coming last December, so “we are not surprised,” said Wave7 principal Jeff Moore, who for most of this year had classified Republic something akin to the “nearly dead” category.

In January, BestMVNO cited the Wave7 report and said Republic Wireless was likely shutting down. At that time, a Dish spokesperson told Fierce that Republic Wireless was still in operation and remained a “valued brand” for Dish’s wireless retail business, but they didn’t elaborate as to how long the brand would stick around.

It sounds as though the customer transition part has been in the works for a while. Dish began notifying Republic Wireless customers on July 10, the spokesperson said.

It’s unclear how smooth the transition will be or exactly which network they will use, Moore noted. Dish is building out its own 5G network, which it offers through Project Genesis, but it isn’t nationwide and doesn’t yet provide 5G voice services across the country. Dish also serves Boost customers via MVNO deals with T-Mobile and AT&T.

On the upside, “we’re seeing a lot of new things coming out of Boost Infinite,” including a new spokesman and TV ads, Moore said.  “We are seeing some energy.”

However, as for Republic, “they’re going to be dead by August 31st, apparently,” Moore said, referring to the message emailed to customers. Fierce Wireless