Does Boost Infinite Have Good Coverage? (Everything You Need to Know)

Not to be confused with its sister wireless company- Boost Mobile, Boost Infinite is a postpaid wireless company that may be a part of the same tree as Boost Mobile but is an entirely different branch. When the Sprint and T-Mobile merger was afoot, Dish Network ended up getting into the ring and fought to acquire Boost Mobile, they ended up successfully doing so in the summer of 2020. And just two years later the open beta of Boost Infinite was brought into the world with full access to customers released in the following year.

As you can see Boost Infinite is a pretty recent competitor in the wireless game and many Boost Mobile customers, along with people from other companies have been interested to see what they’ve got in stock and if it’s in the cards- are more than happy to look for a potential better deal. With only four plans to choose from, they have simplicity on lock- but does Boost Infinite have good coverage? And are their plans right for your phone usage? Let’s take a deep dive and jump into the world of Boost Infinite…

• Quick Overview: Boost Infinite’s Coverage Map
• What carrier does Boost Infinite use to provide coverage?
• 5G Coverage vs LTE Coverage
• Boost Infinite’s Phone Plans & Data Speeds
• Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Overview: Boost Infinite’s Coverage Map

Most, if not all, wireless carriers have a “coverage map” which is a map showing you where their service extends to and what type of coverage, i.e: 5G, 4G, 4G LTE- etc, is expected in specific cities. On Boost Infinite’s official website you can zoom in and out of their Coverage Map showing off their LTE, 5G, and a combo of 5G+LTE. We’ve taken screen grabs of each to show you a glimpse into what to expect from Boost Infinite’s coverage:

Already a plus we can see by looking at the map is Boost Infinite’s wide-range of coverage, there are a good chunk of MVNOs that don’t cover places in Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands which is quite nice for anyone living in those regions or is a big traveler. On their website you can type in your address or city to see if there is the type of coverage you need for you available. 

What carrier does Boost Infinite use to provide coverage?

As we’ve mentioned a couple times now, Boost Infinite is both a part of the same tree as Boost Mobile and it is a MVNO. But what does this mean for you and why does it matter that they are a MVNO? Well, let us break it down:

What is a MVNO?

MVNO stands for Mobile Virtual Network Operator and they are phone companies that don’t own their own cell phone towers, they instead will use cell towers from bigger cell phone companies like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. Cell towers cost a lot to power, maintain, and manage- so smaller wireless providers, like Boost Infinite, will come and essentially “buy in bulk” packages of data to sell to customers at lower rates compared to signing up directly from the source. It’s a way to provide those who aren’t able to afford those higher-costing plans cell phone coverage, along with providing profit to both the MVNO and the parent network. 

Going back to our tree analogy, what can happen with a MVNO is since they are the “branches” of the trunk- which is big wireless, sometimes when a windstorm comes in, those who are signed up through the MVNO will experience some moments of slow data. 

This is because of data deprioritization and/or data throttling. Data deprioritization is “the temporary slowing of data speeds for certain customers in order to give priority to other customers,” aka those who are direct members of the wireless provider who gives Boost Infinite coverage. This will happen when there’s network congestion or an influx of transmissions all coming from a big localized area like a sports arena or concert venue, you may notice your speeds slow down because the cell towers are trying to both prioritize and give everyone a certain amount of speed to handle the bandwidth of requests. 

Data throttling is “the dramatic slowing of your data speeds to the point that it becomes almost unusable,” and this will happen if you go over your data allotment for the month. Say you have a plan of 30GBs of data each month, if you go over that number your data speeds will slow down drastically but will go back to normal when your billing cycle renews. Data throttling and deprioritization are two examples of a windstorm in the land of MVNOs. 

But where does Boost Infinite get their coverage?

Back to the important question, who provides you coverage if you’re signed up with Boost Infinite. Well, we said that Dish Network owns Boost Mobile and Boost Infinite and that’s part of where Boost gets their coverage from, but they also get it from AT&T and T-Mobile networks. 

That’s right, instead of being only reliant on one provider’s coverage, with Boost Infinite you get the power of choice and you can switch between these connections when you move to areas with better coverage from one over the other- how sweet is that?

You’ll get to experience the widespread strength of these providers all from one phone plan if you have the right stuff. It’s still a really new program, introduced just last year, so there are some stipulations we found like having an up-to-date phone, plan, and/or a “rainbow” SIM card.

• What’s a “rainbow” SIM card? A SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) is a small microchip that is either inserted into a user’s phone or is embedded, that’s an eSIM. It contains your phone’s contacts, messages, and data information in order for your phone to correctly connect to a wireless network. Without a SIM card you would not be able to call, text, or use data. A rainbow SIM card functions the same as a regular SIM card but instead of it being linked to one wireless provider it can instead link and switch between a few different carriers- providing the user with coverage from multiple different cell towers.

5G Coverage vs LTE Coverage 

It seems like we’ve had 5G for a long time but in reality it only started rolling out back in 2019-2020 which is wild! In the past few years a lot of heavy phone users are equipped with 5G and are looking for reliable coverage when they’re out and about. While LTE is more accessible, the future is 5G and beyond, but how does Boost Infinite’s 5G and 4G LTE coverage stack up?

We saw their coverage map, and you can type in your home address, along with frequently visited locations to see if you’re covered not only by their base LTE signal but also 5G if you want fast speeds, but what’s the coverage really like?

Since they don’t use one direct line of cell towers, coverage can vary when you’re bouncing between AT&T, T-Mobile, and/or Dish Network, coverage will theoretically improve as instead of losing signal when you’re no longer near a cell tower from one provider, you will instead be moved to another’s cell signal when you get in range of their cell tower. 

For 5G you can expect most of the coverage to come from T-Mobile which is ahead in the 5G coverage races when you’re comparing the big three providers. As per their website: “We’re rapidly building out our 5G network—98% of Americans have 5G coverage from T‑Mobile today. While 5G grows, you can rely on our 4G LTE network that covers 99% of Americans.” AT&T may lag behind a bit in terms of 5G but their 4G LTE coverage more than carries its own- so you can expect more-than-decent coverage whether you’re on the 5G train or LTE train. 

Dish Wireless is a bit harder to suss out, there isn’t a lot of information on their coverage, but from what we gathered it seems that they’ve announced “Project gene5is” which apparently is “a DISH Wireless program that offers customers the opportunity to report their network experience.” But there hasn’t been a whole lot said or done since then, what has been announced since then is qualifying Boost Infinite customers will become a part of America’s Smart Network™ which is “a nationwide ecosystem of the most advanced network coverage in the palm of your hand,” built by Dish Network.

There doesn’t seem to be a ton of information regarding this quite yet, but it seems from our research that there will be a few more 5G coverage spots because of Dish, but expect most of your coverage to bounce between AT&T and T-Mobile’s towers.

Boost Infinite’s Phone Plans & Data Speeds

Now that you have the information, it’s time to give you a look into Boost Infinite’s phone plans and data speeds so you can fully judge the provider before signing up. 

Boost Infinite has four main plans, with a few add-ons like Boost Protect which is their program to help protect you against theft, loss, or damage, Global Talk & Text, Global Roaming, and data add-ons which we will cover in our FAQ later on.

Let’s first go over their “Infinite Access” plans:

These are the two most involved plans and coverage wise you will have access to all three parent providers which is a huge bonus for data junkies.

There are two more Boost Infinite plans to cover:

With Infinite Unlimited+ you’re getting the same access to coverage as per their Infinite Access plans while Infinite Unlimited users will have access to their 5G network but no Smart Switching or America's Smart Network™.

What’s their data allotment for the month?

Remember when we mentioned data deportation and throttling? Well it’s coming into play a bit here as in their terms for their Boost Infinite Access for iPhone terms say: “Customers using more than 30GB of data allotment may experience slower speeds.”

The same rules apply to their Infinite Access for Galaxy, Infinite Unlimited+, and Infinite Unlimited plans. After 30GBs of usage phone holders will see some slower speeds- they don’t specify how slow their speeds go to in their Terms & Conditions. Some Reddit users report that you’ll be throttled “to 512Kbps” but again, that’s unverified. Boost Infinite doesn’t seem to have a clean-cut answer to the numbers throttled speeds will go down to when an overage of allotment is active.

Frequently Asked Questions - Wrap Up!

Let’s summarize what info we learned in a three FAQ wrap up.

What providers does Boost Infinite use for coverage?

Expect the high speeds of AT&T and T-Mobile to back up your heavy phone usage when you’re on data with Dish Wireless picking up some slack here and there. You’ll automatically switch between cell towers when you move areas so you’ll always have a strong signal. 

Can I keep my phone and sign up for Boost Infinite?

Since Boost Infinite’s “Infinite Access” for iPhone and Galaxy plans are so enticing- (you get a free phone when you sign up), sticking with your phone may be the unpopular choice but if you want to keep your phone you can as long as your phone is unlocked and is compatible with their network. 

If you have an outdated phone you may not be able to access Boost Infinite’s full network switching and infrastructure capabilities, to see what models work with their plan:

Check out the Bring Your Own Phone (BYO) Support Page here.

Check your phone’s compatibility with Boost Infinite here.

How much are Boost Infinite’s add-ons?

Curious about adding more to the package? Boost Infinite has a few add-ons including:

• $10/mo Data Hotspot – “Use up to 30GB per billing cycle as a hotspot.”
• $10/mo High-Speed Data – “Add 10 additional gigs of high-speed data to your plan.”
• $3/mo Premium Visual Voicemail – This is Android only and can “transcribe your voicemail into text in the Visual Voicemail app.”
• $10/mo North America Connect – Connect to those in Canada and Mexico.
• $10/mo Global Talk & Text – Talk and text to over 200 countries.
• $20/mo (Introductory Pricing) Global Roaming – Stay connected while abroad.
• $2.75 to $18/mo Boost Protect – Protect your phone from theft, loss, and/or damage.

Boost Infinite’s “three” network coverage is enticing, especially for a MVNO. Definitely worth the look to see if it’s right for you and if you want to compare and contrast Boost Infinite to over 1,200 other phone plans so you know you’re getting the service that’s right for you, then make sure to check out the REALLY compare page which allows you to look at pricing, coverage, what phone plans are available, current deals and steals, and how you can make the most of your potential phone bill.