Sprint unveils new family phone plan
The aggressively priced product targets customers who use large amounts of data.
With a new chief executive at the helm, Sprint this week announced an aggressively priced plan that launches Friday, catering to families of four or more that use large amounts of data.
Under the new plan, called the Sprint Family Share Pack, a family of four would get unlimited talk and text and share 20 gigabytes of data for $160 a month. The company said it would also offer to pay up to $350 in early-termination fees for new customers who leave their current carriers for Sprint before October.
Existing customers don’t have to worry about switching over; Sprint said it would continue to offer its current plans.
Here’s a comparison of Sprint’s new plan, its older “Framily” plan, and similar unlimited talk and text plans from its rivals.
Sprint Family Share Pack: In the Sprint Family Share Pack, customers choose how much data they want to share, starting with 600 megabytes for $20 per month and going up to 60 GB for $225. They can add as many lines they want. For plans with 16 GB or less, each non-contract line costs $25. For plans of 20 GB or more, the price falls to $15 per line. In all plans, phones on contracts cost $40 per line.
Sprint boasts that a family of four using non-contract phones pays $160 per month, which is less than what customers pay for similar plans from AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile. But the price will be even less for customers who sign up before October because Sprint will charge them only for data, not the additional fee for each line, until the end of 2015.
This means customers who sign up from now until Sept. 30 can get 20 GB of data for $100, no matter how many lines they add to their plan. Families that want less can get 8 GB or 12 GB per month for $70 or $80, respectively, during the promotional period, down from the regular price of $170 and $180.
Before Monday’s new plan, Sprint’s main offering was its Framily plan. Under that plan, customers pay for unlimited talk and text and 1 GB of data for each line, with the price of each line decreasing as more are added. For Framily plans with four lines, each line costs $40 per month, meaning the total price is $160 for 1 GB per line. Customers can pay an additional $10 per line per month for 3 GB or $20 per line for unlimited data.
T-Mobile Simple Choice Plan: In terms of value, TMobile comes closest to Sprint’s new plan. Under TMobile’s Simple Choice Plan, customers pay $50 per month for their primary line for unlimited talk and text and 2.5 GB of high-speed data. The price of each additional line falls as customers add more lines. But the price goes up if customers opt for more data per line.
For a family of four with the basic 2.5 GB per line, customers will pay $100 per month. The plan goes up to $140 for 3 GB each, $180 for 5 GB each and $220 for unlimited data for each user.
AT&T Mobile Share: AT&T’s Mobile Share plan ranges from 300 MB of shared data for $20 per month to 50 GB for $375. For plans with 6 GB or less, customers pay $25 per month per line for non-contract smartphones. For plans with 10 GB or more, customers pay $15 for each non-contract smartphone. Smartphones on contract are always $40 per line.
At those prices, a family of four with non-contract phones sharing 10 GB pays $160 per month or $210 if they go with 20 GB.
Verizon More Everything: Verizon’s More Everything plan is structured similarly to AT&T’s Mobile Share and the Sprint Family Share Pack. Customers first choose how many lines they want — $40 per line — and then how much data they want to share, ranging from 250 MB for $15 per month to 100 GB for $750. Customers on Verizon Edge, meaning their device is off contract, get a $15 discount per line.
Based on these rates, a family of four on Verizon Edge sharing 10 GB on the More Everything plan pays $160 per month. If they choose to share 20 GB, the price becomes $210 per month.