They are guaranteeing you will throw your phone against a wall in anger after constant failures to load pages with the crummy service.
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Sprint Launches Less Expensive Unlimited Plans with Lifetime Service Guarantee
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They are guaranteeing you will throw your phone against a wall in anger after constant failures to load pages with the crummy service.
It seems the pronouncements of the death of unlimited data a while back were premature.
To the fellow wondering if the market price of cellular data is going down, I'd argue it probably is, in a couple of senses.
First, T-Mobile's network buildout in previously unused spectrum and their iPhone offering both effectively expand the supply of network data access in the market. So, in effect, the wholesale supply of cellular data service is increasing. Greater supply + same demand = lower price.
Second, the offering of new plans, like T-Mobile's, that decouple the device payment and the service plan, may have the effect of lowering the total price paid at the retail level. When the price for the phone and the service are mashed together, it's hard to parse what people think they're paying for hardware vs data. Pull them apart, and people may stick with their old phone a few months longer, paying less ultimately for the whole package -- in effect, lowering the market price for cellular data service.
To the fellow wondering if the market price of cellular data is going down, I'd argue it probably is, in a couple of senses.
First, T-Mobile's network buildout in previously unused spectrum and their iPhone offering both effectively expand the supply of network data access in the market. So, in effect, the wholesale supply of cellular data service is increasing. Greater supply + same demand = lower price.
Second, the offering of new plans, like T-Mobile's, that decouple the device payment and the service plan, may have the effect of lowering the total price paid at the retail level. When the price for the phone and the service are mashed together, it's hard to parse what people think they're paying for hardware vs data. Pull them apart, and people may stick with their old phone a few months longer, paying less ultimately for the whole package -- in effect, lowering the market price for cellular data service.
I do too. Too bad the US probably has the worst competition in the cellular service field in the world. Oligopoly at it's best.
Is this available for existing customers without extending the contract? Sprint's 3G network is pretty slow, but where they have LTE it is not bad. After the deal with US Cellular they seem to be getting better in the markets where they got the extra spectrum.
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Perhaps. Note that it is only Sprint and T-Mobile right now, who are the smaller of the 4 large operators.
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Perhaps. Note that it is only Sprint and T-Mobile right now, who are the smaller of the 4 large operators.
I was a Sprint victi...customer through the Nextel merger and I can say without fear of contradiction that what they mean by "lifetime" is until the next corporate structure change at which time Sprint LLC, PLC, LTD, IUD will invalidate all of this. Enjoy while it lasts.
Very true. The even sadder part is many other small-time startups (offering great plans) are piggy backing off the major carriers and those major carriers limited their shared network to give themselves the upper hand. Internet, Cellular and Cable, we as americans are screwed due to lack of competition.
I to was a "victi...customer through the Nextel merger". Even if it lasts, would you really want to stay with a company that has a customer service department worse than no other and bad service to boot.
Depends on where in OK. I'm the District Manager for Sprint Corporate Retail in OK, and I moved here from KY and the service is INCREDIBLY better on our network. I live in Edmond, but travel all over the state (minus anything west of OKC) and I don't have any issues. I even download apps on the go over the network. And now that we're getting LTE towers all over the place, the 3G service has gotten better, while people with LTE phones are getting 20mbps download. Not sure where in OK you are, but all the metro areas are amazing.
LTE (once done at all carriers) will put most carriers on par with each other, meaning that you'll have a choice between capped data at ATT and VZN or unlimited with Sprint and Tmo.
YUP! Really appreciate taking all 320 billion of our tax dollars and completely upgrading all that old copper wire, telecoms!
/s
Everyone said "they'll stop unlimited when they get the iPhone". Didn't happen. Everyone said "they'll stop unlimited when they start turning on LTE". Didn't happen. So suddenly you're right now? I say "while it lasts" has been YEARS now, while you're statement only took me a few seconds to read and laugh at.
I've been with Verizon for close to ten years and never had a problem...but believe you me when my contract expires i will consider switching more than ever before.
Thank God for T-Mobile, it is only after their 'uncarrier' plans debut did we see some changes:
1. AT&T finally launched an LTE prepaid service
2. Sprint launched a contract free cheaper monthly service
3. Sprint launched these plans
Edit: MacRumors fixed the numbers
Wrong, four phones would cost $260, or $65 each.
Something else to note: Sprint's "for as low as $50" in the original article is carefully worded to be misleading, as it doesn't use the average price of all ten lines combined, and instead uses only lines 4-10. Mathematically it is be impossible to get $50/phone out of this unless you intend to be misleading.
Here's the real math:
So the best price for smartphones with unlimited data is going to be $56/phone (or $560/month).
Wrong, four phones would cost $260, or $65 each.
Something else to note: Sprint's "for as low as $50" in the original article is carefully worded to be misleading, as it doesn't use the average price of all ten lines combined, and instead uses only lines 4-10. Mathematically it is be impossible to get $50/phone out of this unless you intend to be misleading.
Sprint said:
Here's the real math:
So the best price for smartphones with unlimited data is going to be $56/phone (or $560/month).
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Most of my friends and family (spread out across the west, southwest and midwest) have been Sprint customers for 5-10 years. The cell data speeds are relatively slow but I can stream Netflix/YouTube, load up Google maps w/traffic pretty quickly and even FaceTime works smoothly the few times I've used it. Tossing around big data is painful but I rarely need to do that when I'm not nearly WiFi. A nice thing too is if you have a smartphone on Sprint you can roam on Verizon's network for free so it's very rare that I'm someplace where I can't make/receive a call. Anecdotal I know but I was recently at a mountain lake in NC and of the 9 people there only the two Sprint users could get cell reception.
A couple of years ago I thought about switching to AT&T or Verizon but I couldn't get over the hump of paying more for less so I stuck w/Sprint.
You nailed it on the head dude. Another way they are screwing you is the fact that their corporate discounts are applied only to the main fee. By lowering the main monthly charge and TRIPLING the data charge, they are discounting you less and tacking on way more non-discountable fees.
If you have a corporate discount, DO NOT "upgrade" to these new plans.