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Sprint today introduced a limited time promotion that offers new customers--existing customers do not qualify--unlimited talk, text, and data for $50 per month for the first line, $40 per month for the second line, and no additional cost for up to three additional lines. A family of five, for example, would pay $90 per month as a base cost--but there's lots of fine print and caveats to consider.

sprint-unlimited.jpg

First, the plan itself is only good through March 31, 2018, at which point Sprint's former pricing goes back into effect: $60 per month for the first line, $40 per month for the second line, and $30 per month for each additional line--a family of five would pay $190 per month. Fortunately, you can cancel before then without paying any fees beyond the remaining balance of any financed smartphone.

Additionally, Sprint's pricing is not inclusive of taxes and surcharges, which can cost anywhere from $5 to over $25 extra per month based on our math. These fees typically include a $2.50 administrative charge, 40 cent regulatory charge, state and local taxes, and other regional surcharges if applicable. T-Mobile recently revamped its pricing to include taxes and fees, but AT&T and Verizon do not.

On top of the taxes and surcharges is a $30 activation fee per line, amounting to a one-time charge of $150 for five lines. T-Mobile does not charge activation fees, while AT&T and Verizon charge $25 and $30 per line respectively.

The rest of the fine print is similar to T-Mobile: video streams at up to 480p+ resolution, music streams at up to 500 Kbps, and games stream at up to 2 Mbps. Data de-prioritization applies during times of congestion, and customers that exceed 23GB of data in a billing cycle may be throttled until the next billing cycle. The prices also require electronic billing with AutoPay enabled.

Sprint's pricing is competitive, at least until the promotion expires next year, as seen in the chart below.

T-Mobile's unlimited ONE plan costs $70 per month for the first line, $50 per month for the second line, and $20 per month for each additional line, with taxes and fees included. For comparison, a family of five would pay double--$180--per month. AT&T is even more expensive, since a DirecTV NOW or U-verse subscription is required for unlimited data. Verizon does not offer unlimited data plans.

sprint-new-unlimited-plan-2017.jpg

Sprint said new customers have limited time to sign up to receive the discounted pricing. While five lines are advertised, purchasing one to four lines is allowed--and it doesn't matter if it's family members or friends as long as each person falls under one bill. 5GB of high-speed Mobile Hotspot tethering, VPN, and P2P data is included per month. Tablets can be added for an extra $20 per month per line.

Keep in mind that Sprint ranked last in download speeds and so-called network "availability" among fellow "Big Four" competitors AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile in OpenSignal's latest "State of Mobile Networks" report.

Article Link: Sprint Offering Unlimited Data on Five Smartphones for $90 Per Month for a Limited Time
 

Septembersrain

Cancelled
Dec 14, 2013
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If only they'd have decent speeds in the city I'm at, I wouldn't mind. I used to work for their subsidiary Boost Mobile/Virgin Mobile.

It's great in rural areas for a decent price on the MVNO side but it just would not work out well for me here in San Antonio.
 

PeterL111

macrumors member
Jun 21, 2015
32
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Tempting, but T-mobile's unlimited tethering add-on for my phone's hotspot works for me better.
 

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Switched2aMac

macrumors member
Nov 18, 2006
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Somewhere in Wisconsin
I wouldn't switch back to them if it were free!!!! Horrible service where I live.Note: I did have them for 3 years and worst service. Could never hold an LTE signal even though a tower was less than a mile from my house, and it wasn't just where I lived. Signal was consistently horrible everywhere. Indoors, good luck. Phone switched to 3G or 1x which I had most of the time.

I guess what's the purpose with unlimited data when you can barely stream music or Netflix.
 
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actripxl

macrumors 6502
Aug 24, 2002
309
65
Chicago, IL
That chart is misleading:

1) AT&T's unlimited doesn't limit you to 480P, stream saver is on by default but all you have to do is turn it off and now you have HD video.

2) The prices listed for AT&T include Direct TV which is placed in tiny lettering at the top.

3) To compare Apples to Apples you would have to have the T-Mobile+ for each line. This would add an additional $60 for a family of 4 so it would be $210 vs $230 (including Direct TV).

The Sprint price is amazing, too bad the network is garbage.

I used to work at T-mobile and they are masters at marketing but there's always fine print in their stuff. Also they claim to be all about the customer but it is the employees who subsidize their plans. Remember that the next time you tout about how awesome T-mobile, I currently work at AT&T and make DOUBLE of what I made at T-mobile and get a lot more benefits as well. One can easily support a family working for AT&T and not so much if stuck with T-mobile.
 
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JosephAW

macrumors 603
May 14, 2012
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23GB per family plan or per phone? Right now with my sprint plan there is no limit set per phone. Why would I switch and pay more?
 

Praesto

macrumors regular
Sep 10, 2014
164
40
The worst network, throttled and all streaming media degraded....where do I sign up?


You do realize that all major providers (T-Mobile, Verizon, & ATT included) throttle media, right? If not then you're an idiot cause it even states that tMobile does in the article posted here.

Second, at the broad scale it's amazing how much hate Sprint gets on this website. Love the final comment about sprints network. Obviously the poster of the article has something against sprint.

Not gonna lie, I have had sprint for over 10 years, as long as you're not in the boonies then you're fine. NYC, DC, and Chicago all give me perfect reception. In fact I rarely ever, though it does happen, lose reception while other friends with different services don't.

Lastly, Sprints is actually rated higher than many competitors. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160907006063/en/

Feel free to discredit this based on your opinions, but keep in mind that only weak arguements tare non fact based.

Everyone knows Verizon and ATT are the top winners in network reliability. That being said you don't compare a $100K car to a $50k car. Sprint is cheaper and you get what you pay for. For many Americans it works, myself included.
 
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CrAkD

macrumors 68040
Feb 15, 2010
3,180
255
Boston, MA
When is att going to start trying to counter all these deals? I have grandfathered att unlimited data that keeps going up 900 minutes and unlimited texts for like $125 a month. These are all very tempting but sprint and T-Mobile are both unusable.
 
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Peter K.

macrumors 6502a
Nov 6, 2012
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Philly / SoCal / Jersey Shore

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
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I don't wish any ill will towards Sprint, because I value competition. But sometimes I'm amazed they are still in business. This reeks of desperation, and the fact that the bill more than doubles after a year shows their true, piss yellow colors.
 

Septembersrain

Cancelled
Dec 14, 2013
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I don't wish any ill will towards Sprint, because I value competition. But sometimes I'm amazed they are still in business. This reeks of desperation, and the fact that the bill more than doubles after a year shows their true, piss yellow colors.

The sad thing is that they've got so much potential. They've got a ton of towers to run off, problem is they are all fractured. You've got WiMAX, iDEN, and if they'd just invest in making sure all the old towers are converted... They'd have great service. They've come a ways but just not far enough.
They need to work with the cell tower owners, get everyone on the same page.
 
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