Sprint

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Overview

Sprint, the third largest cellular provider in the US, has roots that trade all the way back to the 19th century. The company has evolved over the years, and eventually operated the first commercial PCS network in the US. In 2005 they acquired Nextel, a failed acquisition that they only recently started to recover from.

Pros: Sprint offers versatile plans that can fit the needs of many different customers. They also price their plans competitively, often undercutting their biggest competitors, AT&T and Verizon. They have also improved their handset selection recently, giving their customers choices on par with their competitors.

Cons: While they do boast a nationwide network, it is not quite as extensive as the bigger two carriers. They do offer LTE, but have been slow to roll it out and don’t cover nearly as many markets as AT&T and Verizon.

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Detailed Provider Information

Unlimited Talk Plans: Sprint’s Simply Everything plan offers unlimited minutes, messages, and data for $109.99 per month. Their Simply Everything Family plan includes unlimited minutes, messaging, and data for up to five lines. The first two lines cost $209.98 per month, with each additional line costing $99.99.

Limited Talk Plans: Sprint offers limited minutes plans that come with unlimited messaging, unlimited data, unlimited calls to any mobile phone, and unlimited nights and weekends starting at 7 p.m. The 450 minute plan costs $79.99 and the 900 minute plan costs $99.99. Customers can subtract data and unlimited calling to mobile phones as well. The 450 minute plan costs $49.99 per month and the 900 minute plan costs $69.99 per month. Removing messaging reduces the 450 minute plan to $39.99 per month and the 900 minute plan to $59.99 per month. There is also a 200 minute voice-only plan for $29.99 per month Unlimited nights and weekends with that plan start at 9 p.m.

Family Plans: Their Simply Everything Family plan includes unlimited minutes, messaging, and data for up to five lines. The first two lines cost $209.98 per month, with each additional line costing $99.99. There is also a plan that includes unlimited calling to any mobile phone, with night and weekend calling starting at 7 p.m and unlimited data. The 1500 minute plan costs $149.99 per month and the 3000 minute plan costs $189.99 per month. The first two lines are included, and each additional line costs $29.99 per month. The non-data plan includes unlimited messaging, with nights and weekends starting at 7 p.m. The 1500 minute plan costs $99.99 per month and the 3000 minute plan costs $149.99 per month, with additional lines costing $9.99 per month. Finally, the 700 minute plan includes no messages and costs $69.99 per month, with additional lines costing $9.99.

You can visit our sister site, Prepaid Reviews, to learn more about Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile prepaid plans. They are both subsidiaries of Sprint.

Text and Multimedia Messaging: For plans that do not include unlimited messaging, Sprint offers a number of packages. Unlimited messages costs 20 dollars per month, 1000 messages costs 10 dollars, and 300 messages costs 5 dollars. An unlimited international text messaging plan costs 10 dollars.

Data Plans: All smartphones are required to use one of the unlimited data plan options. Sprint does offer a data pack for feature phones, which features mobile web, for 15 dollars per month.

Insurance: Sprint insures feature phones for 8 dollars per month.

Customer Service: Customers can get support through a number of channels, including in-store, email, website chat, or through a toll-free number.

Credit Check: A credit check is required for all contract plans.

Contract: Verizon Wireless contracts run for two years. Customers who cancel early are subject to an Early Termination Fee. For smartphone owners, the fee is 350 dollars, minus 10 dollars for each completed, full month. A smartphone canceled after 10 months, then, will incur a 250 dollar Early Termination Fee. For basic phones the fee is 175 dollars, minus 5 dollars for each full month of service.

Payment Options: Customers can pay their monthly bills through the mail by check, on the website by credit card, or by any form in a Verizon Wireless retail outlet.

Downloadables: There are many downloadable items, including graphics, media, and games.

International Calling: Sprint offers three international plans. The first, International Freedom-Call and Text, costs 15 dollars per month and allows users to call select destinations using their plan minutes. Other destinations are available at a discount rate, and text messaging is available to over 180 countries. The International Long Distance plan costs 4 dollars per month and provides discounted rates to Mexico, Canada, and select European and Asian countries. The Mexico International Long Distance plan costs 5 dollars per month and provides unlimited calls to landlines in some border cities. Calls inland are 5 cents per minute. There are also a la carte rates to other destinations worldwide.

Roaming Charges: There are no roaming charges within the U.S. for Sprint services.

Calling Features: Sprint plans include caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, and voicemail at no additional charge.

Activation Fee: There is an activation fee of 36 dollars for each line.

411 Calls: Directory assistance is available for $1.79 per call.

911 Calls: 911 calls are free.

Phones: Sprint offers a large variety of smartphones and feature phones. They have a deal with Apple to offer the iPhone, and carry a number of Android handsets. They have started to carry many 4G LTE smartphnones now that they are starting to build out their 4G LTE network, though they still have some handsets compatible with their 4G WiMax network.

• Shop for deals on Sprint phones and plans
• Visit the official Sprint website
• Write a review of Sprint