AppleInsider Staff
Coming one day after Japan's SoftBank closed a $21.6 billion to takeover Sprint, the U.S. carrier announced a new "Unlimited Guarantee" that allows existing or new subscribers to lock in current unlimited talk, text and data plan prices for the life of an account.
The guarantee, which applies to the Unlimited, My WaySM plan or My All-inSM plan, was announced on the company's website on Thursday and is scheduled to go into effect on July 12.
“The Sprint Unlimited Guarantee allows our customers to lock-in unlimited talk, text and data not for just the next two years, but for life," said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. "Sprint customers won’t have to worry about their wireless bill or managing their family’s wireless usage."
Plans start at $80 per month, and customers can mix smartphones with feature phones, choose various data tiers and add up to ten lines on one account. According to Sprint, the Unlimited, My Way plan offers a $20 per month savings when compared to a comparable Verizon plan with 2GB of capped data.
The new guarantee comes one day after Japanese wireless carrier and Internet services giant SoftBank bought a 78 percent stake in Sprint for a reported $21.6 billion.
Sprint's move makes switching away from Verizon and AT&T more attractive, despite lacking the robust high speed data backbone of the two top telecoms. The nation's third-largest carrier by subscribership is continually extending its own 4G LTE network, however, and recently turned on service in 22 new areas.
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28 Comments
Apparently Sprint thinks rates are going to be going down soon.
No thanks, but I am not buying into this Orwellian doublespeak. When the market gets tough(er) and Sprint's feeling the pinch, their well-heeled attorneys will point out some exception buried deep within the Terms of Service that will allow them to opt out and not have to honor this plan.
Sprint, with all due respect, go F yourselves.
[quote name="DarkVader" url="/t/158458/sprint-debuts-unlimited-guarantee-promises-to-lock-in-plan-rates-for-life#post_2360794"]Apparently Sprint thinks rates are going to be going down soon.[/quote] I don't think that the customers are locked in for life. I think this is more about sprint promising not to raise prices for as long as you keep the line open.
[quote name="macinthe408" url="/t/158458/sprint-debuts-unlimited-guarantee-promises-to-lock-in-plan-rates-for-life#post_2360803"]No thanks, but I am not buying into this Orwellian doublespeak. When the market gets tough(er) and Sprint's feeling the pinch, their well-heeled attorneys will point out some exception buried deep within the Terms of Service that will allow them to opt out and not have to honor this plan. Sprint, with all due respect, go F yourselves. [/quote] that's a pretty cynical comment and jaded outlook ... at&t bought my account 14 years ago from pacbell wireless/cingular/et. al. and they've been nothing but angels ... they've never effed me o ... hey, wait a minute ... at&t and sprint, with all due respect, go F yourselves. the first question i always ask about for-life deals like this is: who's life? mine or yours? (years ago i bought a for-life license from tune-up media ... then they decided it was for the life of my computer.)
[quote name="AppleInsider" url="/t/158458/sprint-debuts-unlimited-guarantee-promises-to-lock-in-plan-rates-for-life#post_2360789"]The Sprint Unlimited Guarantee allows our customers to lock-in unlimited talk, text and data not for just the next two years, but for life," said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. "Sprint customers won?t have to worry about their wireless bill or managing their family?s wireless usage[/quote] because we have such a gigantic markup and make such a huge profit on our services now, that there's no way we will EVER go into the red because of service charges vs. usage. Apple has a 35%-45% profit margin? Hah! That pennies of ours!" After two lawyerly looking assistants quickly approached Mr Hess and whispered something to him, he refused to comment further.