Stephen Stokols has taken over a leading role at prepaid wireless provider Boost Mobile in Irvine, and there are signs he wants to shake things up.
Dish Network Corp. said Sept. 22 that tech entrepreneur and wireless innovator Stokols was named executive vice president of its recently bought Boost unit. Boost is a no-contract brand that serves subscribers seeking wireless phone plans without data limits.
Among other prior ventures, Stokols founded wireless firm FreedomPop, which used Sprint’s network to sell wireless service. He was reported to be part of a group interested in buying Boost Mobile last year, after selling FreedomPop.
Stokols, whose LinkedIn profile says he lives in Los Angeles, will be responsible for sales, marketing, go-to-market strategy and operations of Boost, which has more than 9 million subscribers and reportedly had over $4 billion in 2019 revenue.
“As someone who is passionate about delivering value and innovation to the wireless market, the opportunity to lead Boost Mobile is extremely exciting for me,” Stokols said. “For many Americans today, the idea of paying almost $1,000 per year on wireless service no longer makes sense.”
He added: “My focus will be on bringing new innovations to the market, increased availability across all channels, and ultimately, the best consumer value in mobile.”
Stokols went even further in comments to website FierceWireless.com.
“There’s really an opportunity to come in and be a disruptor,” FierceWireless quoted Stokols as saying.
Expand Appeal
“We’re going to try to expand the appeal of Boost,” Stokols told Fierce. “It’s got some good brand equity, but ultimately, we’d like to make it much more of a household name.”
Dish in July completed the $1.4 billion purchase of Boost Mobile as part of the T-Mobile takeover of Sprint Corp., making the Englewood, Colo.-based company a nationwide U.S. wireless carrier. Boost’s operations are expected to remain in Irvine post-sale.
“Stephen’s growth mindset, relentless energy and history of disruption in the consumer wireless business make him the right leader to take the helm of Boost Mobile,” said John Swieringa, Dish group president, retail wireless and COO.
Prepaid Customers
Prepaid wireless customers pay for phone service at the beginning of the month and don’t need to pass a credit check.
Boost still offers wireless plans with unlimited data. After Dish took over Boost, the company started to offer various plans with limits on high-speed data along with unlimited talk and text.
Boost says on its website that once a customer reaches 35 gigabytes of high-speed data, the speed will be reduced for the remainder of the billing cycle. “This does not include Wi-Fi usage,” according to Boost.
Peter Adderton, who founded Boost in Australia in 2000 before expanding it to the U.S. in 2001, has estimated that there are more than 30 million prepaid subscribers in the U.S. market.
“I founded Boost Mobile in 2001 to bring high-quality, yet affordable, prepaid wireless service specifically to the youth market and credit-challenged consumers,” Adderton said in 2018. “Prepaid allowed people who haven’t yet established credit to get access to the same wireless service we’ve all come to rely on.”
