Boost's $50 Prepaid Cell Plan Could Trigger Price War

A new prepaid calling plan from Sprint’s Boost may spark a price war in the wireless market, USA Today reports. Boost will offer unlimited calling, texting and web browsing for a flat $50 a month fee. The plan may prove so attractive to cash-strapped wireless customers Boost could start taking customers away from the bigger telecoms—maybe even parent company Sprint.

The pricing plan marks “a new low in the wireless market,” notes an industry analyst. Boost, however, has limitations that could prevent it from competing with the big boys—web browsing is much slower on the old IDEN Nextel network than Sprint’s new 3G, and it does not offer GPS service. (More Sprint stories.)