Sprint Offering to Halve Wireless Bills for Customers Switching From AT&T or Verizon

[MacRumors]

Sprint is planning to unveil a new competitive pricing promotion today that offers to cut customers' phone bills in half if they switch from Verizon or AT&T. As reported by Re/code, sales associates are being trained on the promotion now with a consumer launch planned for Friday.

The deal requires existing Verizon and AT&T customers to bring in their current bills, and Sprint will set them up with similar plans at half the cost of the service portion of their current bills (i.e., data, text and calling). Customers will have to buy unsubsidized devices or rent them through Sprint's new leasing plans.

Getting ready to launch one of our most exciting promotions ever!! Especially designed for Verizon and att customers who love to save money - MarceloClaure (@marceloclaure) December 2, 2014

In addition to the pricing plan discount, Sprint is also offering up to $350 to cover early termination fees or previous phone installment plan costs. Customers taking advantage of this offer must turn in their existing phones to receive the bonus.

The upcoming promotion does not include competitor T-Mobile, which already offers discounted prices and holds a smaller market share than AT&T and Verizon. It is estimated that Verizon and AT&T control up to 70 percent of the mobile phone market in the United States.

Update: Sprint's press release on the promotion outlines the full terms of the deal and the process customers must follow to take advantage of it.

Article Link: Sprint Offering to Halve Wireless Bills for Customers Switching From AT&T or Verizon

 

[djplaxe2109]

If only their network didn't stink...

 

[macintologist]

At $26/mo* for 2.5GB of data, 10000 texts and 600 minutes, Consumer Cellular (an AT&T mvno) is still cheaper.


* = 3 people sharing one $80/mo bill including taxes.

 

[neuropsychguy]

If only their network didn't stink...

I dealt with Sprint's network as long as I could but it was slow and sparse (around me). T-Mobile has faster and better coverage (around me) and is cheaper (with a family plan, I pay <$25 per line after taxes).

 

[djplaxe2109]

I dealt with Sprint's network as long as I could but it was slow and sparse (around me). T-Mobile has faster and better coverage (around me) and is cheaper (with a family plan, I pay <$25 per line after taxes).

Yep. I know it's a general statement and I'm sure it's okay in some areas, but overall the network just stinks.

 

[talmy]

Of course they can offer to halve the bills that cover subsidized phones with a plan that doesn't. AT&T and Verizon could do the same if they wanted to.

 

[Bearxor]

Halve my bill in half of halve my plan in half?

There's a big difference.

EDIT: Just the plan

I'm happy with my plan price, it's only $145/mo for 30GB of data and three lines. Still, I suppose half of that would still be nice. Sprint service isn't terrible in the Charlotte area. Had them from 2001-2008. Only switched for an iPhone...

The problem is they only offer $350 to cover existing phone payments, which means I'd still need to pony up $630 to cover phone costs. If I could trade in my 128GB iPhone 6 Plus and get like $500 in Sprint credit + the $350 then I might consider that.

Might just take my bill in and see what happens.

 

[2298754]

I pay ~$170 for three lines on AT&T.

So I'd only pay $85 for 3 lines on Sprint, but have to go out and buy new phones?

No thanks. They have to pay me $85/month to use their abysmal network in Boston.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Their coverage is still a joke.

 

[critter13]

not anymore

If only their network didn't stink...

if you are in one of their 4G markets then their network is great. for the longest time sprint customers were stuck with slow 3g speeds, painfully slow. but their LTE is quite quick and if you have a iPhone6 and are in a Spark network then you can see incredible speeds.

I have been a happy sprint customer for 15 years and I honestly I drop less than 5 calls a year and now my data speeds are excellent. 100% unlimited data is nice too.

----------

Their coverage is still a joke.

where can you not get sprint coverage? roaming is free and you can always piggyback on verizon but I never have to do that.

 

[falkedup]

They forgot to mention that they're willing to halve our speed too lol

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Having to buy the phone outright hurts the offer a lot. I'm sure you don't get the 1/2 off price for life and buying a $700 iPhone rather than a $199 one makes a large difference there.

----------

Of course they can offer to halve the bills that cover subsidized phones with a plan that doesn't. AT&T and Verizon could do the same if they wanted to.

They will. One offered 2x your data for a limited time recently and within a day the others did too. One offered to pay your ETF and now they all do.

 

[foodog]

where can you not get sprint coverage? roaming is free and you can always piggyback on verizon but I never have to do that.

Near Metro Atlanta, Sprint data coverage is terrible. Sure I could always piggyback on Verizon for phone calls... data speeds were abysmal. Unlimited data is great but with no bandwidth it is a useless feature.

----------

They forgot to mention that they're willing to halve our speed too lol

You mean they have upgraded the Sprint network to 1/2 the speed of everyone else? That is huge!

 

[Waxhead138]

Sprunt.

 

[JustThinkin']

The problem is they only offer $350 to cover existing phone payments, which means I'd still need to pony up $630 to cover phone costs. If I could trade in my 128GB iPhone 6 Plus and get like $500 in Sprint credit + the $350 then I might consider that.

Might just take my bill in and see what happens.

You have to give them your phone and they give you nothing for it. Then you have to buy a new one from them!

 

[McGiord]

Are unlimited plans covered?

 

[CEmajr]

Its too bad their network is so abysmal. Otherwise this would be a good deal for Verizon and AT&T users.

What makes it even worse is that you have to sell your phones and buy crappy Sprint phones that can't be unlocked and have little resale value relative to the other 3 carriers.

 

[Medinarem]

I'm wondering how Verizon and AT&T Will respond to this. Love Competition.

 

[whyamihere]

Turns out I'm an AT&T customer who prefers having service over saving money.

 

[RoccoFan]

If only their network didn't stink...

You can't even call it a network. You pay out the nose for 4G and I couldn't use it more than 20% of the time. Sure they offered you "unlimited data", but what good is that when you can't use their data network.

I was loyal to them for over 10 years and then when I switched to Verizon and saw what a real network was like, I almost cried at the amount of time I wasted dealing with Sprint.

 

[Ha!Nerd]

I got family members that got sprint and they hate it, but I do hope AT&T and Verizon come back with a nice deal for new and old customers.

 

[enwhysee]

They forgot to mention that they're willing to halve our speed too lol

"Usage Limitations: Other plans may receive prioritized bandwidth availability. To improve data experience for the majority of users, throughput may be limited, varied or reduced on the network."

 

[B4U]

Don't care even if they pay me to use them. What is the point if there are no signal?

 

[2298754]

http://support.sprint.com/support/a...INTNAV=LP:CutYourBillinHalfEvent:12022014:FAQ

What if I don't have all of my phones with me today to turn into Sprint?

The Cut Your Bill in Half Event requires that at least one phone gets turned in at the time of activation. If you activate more lines on the account, a return kit for each remaining phone will be mailed to the address on your account. You should follow the instructions included in that kit and return the phones – one per kit – immediately.
If you need to return additional phones at a later time, you are allowed a 30 day grace period to provide Sprint your phones. Your invoice will display a $0 No Phone Returned charge until the phone is returned to Sprint.
If you do not turn in all phones to Sprint within the grace period, a $200 Non-Returned Phone Charge per line will be assessed to your account.

What a ripoff... They're making money off this.

 

[SoAnyway]

I just switched to T-Mobile but would have easily gone with Sprint. What held me back is the fact that Sprint's network sucks.

However, I will say that competition is a very good thing and I hope Sprint forces the other carriers to lower their own prices to compete for customers.