Sprint calls its latest plan “All-In” pricing. The plan includes a smartphone plus unlimited voice, text messaging and data. The plan’s price for voice, text and data is $60, plus $20 a month for a two-year lease on a smartphone, for a total of $80. The smartphone choices are the Galaxy S6 from Samsung Electronics and the iPhone 6 from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). There is also a one-time activation fee of $36 and the inevitable taxes and surcharges that can add as much as another 10% to a subscriber’s monthly bill.
In its new package announced last week, T-Mobile introduced a leasing program that focused on letting customers upgrade devices up to three times a year during an 18-month contract period. Under the T-Mobile plan, a subscriber could lease an iPhone 6 for $15 a month and then turn it in or pay $164 to keep it. Voice, text and data plans are not included and have to be purchased separately. And don’t forget those pesky taxes and surcharges.
The T-Mobile plan is aimed at consumers who do not want to wait for a two-year contract to expire in order to get the newest handset available. It also encourages testing a variety of handset hardware.
ALSO READ: Why Sprint Is Getting Left High and Dry in the Mergers
Sprint appears to be flogging simplicity. Here is the company’s CEO, Marcelo Claure:
We understand how frustrating and confusing shopping for wireless can be. At Sprint, we are doing things differently. We are telling customers, ‘This is your All-In price.’ … Why can’t everyone just advertise the full price of both the plan and the smartphone – an All-In plan? That was the idea behind what we’ve created.
Sprint included with its announcement a direct comparison with several plans from other carriers, including T-Mobile’s Jump On Demand plan that was introduced last week. In dollar terms, the two plans are very close, especially if a Sprint customer chose to pay the $10 monthly fee for the company’s early upgrade option. On the Galaxy S6, the Sprint price for its All-In plan is $90 a month, including the early upgrade, compared with $108.33 for T-Mobile’s latest offering.
For an iPhone 6, the Sprint All-In plan also costs $90 a month with the early upgrade option, compared with $95.08 until the first upgrade on the T-Mobile plan. After the first upgrade the monthly cost rises to $107.08, according to Sprint’s chart.
Both AT&T and Verizon plans that are offered as comparisons are more than $40 a month higher than the new Sprint plan.
ALSO READ: Why Analysts Keep Upgrading AT&T
Sprint’s plan appears to meet its goal of simplicity, but it is fair to ask whether it can possibly make a profit. How long Sprint will be able to hold the line on its data plan pricing is a reasonable question, and the answer from the company is that the price of unlimited data will “probably move around a little bit.” The offer from T-Mobile is not significantly different in its pricing, and the same question is fair to ask of it as well.
The Average American Is Losing Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)
If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4% today, and inflation is much higher. Checking accounts are even worse.
Every day you don’t move to a high-yield savings account that beats inflation, you lose more and more value.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying 9-10x this national average. That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe, and get paid at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other one time cash bonuses, and is FDIC insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes and your money could be working for you.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
