New Sprint Plan Details Surface

The first details concerning the long rumored service plan changes on the 15th of this month have surfaced.  These new plans do away with the technology segregation that confused and irritated many potential and current customers, but at the expense of venerable Sprint offerings.

The first changes include the addition of Talk/Message/Connect, a new set of plans designed to bundle the most requested features and replace the Power Pack plans with the selection starting at 450, 900, and unlimited minutes of talk time for $49.99, $69.99 and $89.99 respectively.

The Everything Plans will still be available and are now squarely aimed at Verizon’s Premium Plan offerings with offerings remaining at 450 minutes, 900, or unlimited for $69.99, $89.99 and $99.99 respectively.

The biggest casualty of this new selection of plans is the elimination of the Free Incoming plans. The Simply Everything $5 incremental discount for each additional line is still available for those that wish to take advantage of multiple lines on the plan.

The forthcoming Instinct will still be required to be activated on one of the aforementioned Everything Plans, with the Talk/Message/Data Share plan being the only plan available for activation on a shared line plan.

SERO customers will be forced to switch to one of the aforementioned plans in order to activate the device.

The biggest changes to the plan structure are on the shared line plans with the ability to have any combination of CDMA/iDEN/PowerSource/QChat devices on one account with the new Talk Share plan which starts at $69.99 for 700 minutes shared between two lines with the 3-5 line running an additional $9.99 per line per month.

The Talk/Message Share plans run $99.99 for 1500 minutes and $149.99 for 3000 minutes respectively while adding unlimited messaging, and the Talk/Message/Data Share plans run $129.99 for 1500 minutes and $169.99 for 3000 minutes, unlimited messaging, and data, Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV and Sprint Radio. Additional lines can also be added for $19.99 per month per line.

Unlimited Nationwide Direct Connect is also expected to be available for an additional $10 per month for the aforementioned plans.

Humberto Saabedra is the Editor-in-Chief of AnimeNews.bizPhoneNews.com and an occasional columnist for Ani.me. He can also be found musing on things at @AnimeNewsdotbiz

27 responses to “New Sprint Plan Details Surface”

  1. Don Louie

    Why can the single Everything plans have DC but the fams have to pay

  2. john

    wow, if youre going to steal an article you probably should give the source credit. rewording everything doesnt mean its your own.

  3. EJ

    So $69.99 for 700 minutes on two shared lines PLUS $10 for unlimited Direct Connect?

  4. Jeff

    A table of the plans would be nice… I can’t be sure what is being offered.

  5. Mojo

    Yeah, what was your source anyway? The GEEK Reports posted this on June 6th. Oh well, no biggie. I get the feeling that Sprint is trying to usher out the low ARPU customer and bring in the high ARPU customer. Which, is not a bad thing considering their current state.

  6. eirrom

    Why are people so mean to the guys who do the writing on this site? If you don’t like the way they do something, go to a different site then and stop attacking this one. Do you have a site? Is it perfect? If not, shut up!

    I appreciate the information they provide. This is a useful site to many!

  7. Leon

    I hate when people say you got it somewhere else. This info has to come from Sprint, if not then its just someone guessing, So the Geek report didnt MAKE it up either then goit this info from somewhere else too.

  8. Christopher Price

    Quite right Leon, there are a couple of factors coming to play on these things.

    1) The source is Sprint. And…
    2) Sources are much more willing to talk about information the moment is leaks elsewhere.

    We generally never report on a single source, and when we do, we acknowledge that single source. What you usually see is a common practice in news reporting, which is triangulation of separate sources.

    Unfortunately, we can’t always give the laundry list that forms that triangulation, as it could cost someone their job.

  9. Ivan

    How is this going to affect old plans? Up to Dec. 2007, I was on the grandfathered Vision plan (1200 anytime shared/free text/free data for $85/mo) and had heck of a time after upgrading to PV phone (Centro). I got them to give me back free unlimited texts that were removed in error after renewal and put PowerVision Ultimate pack on the first line for $10/mo, but haven’t messed around with the second line yet since I’m waiting for all the billing issues to settle.

  10. Mojo

    Hey… I wasn’t in anyway trying to start a mobile news blog site war or anything. I asked a question. It’s good that there are so many sites that are out there to get info from. The Geek Report source was a Sprint leak… although it’s hard to give credit for that.

    Anyway, great article Phonenews… keep up the good work. Just out of curiousity, what are your guy’s opinion on the new plans? Is it just me, or are they pushing out the low ARPU customers?

    Ivan, I don’t think this is going to effect your old plan, unless you choose to buy an Instinct. Stay happy with your Centro, and you should also be staying happy with your plan.

    -Mojo

  11. john doe

    Sprint does offer data and messaging plan with no voice.just text and data. Sprint relay plan and Blackberry standalone plane.

  12. jrod

    does the talk message datepa share plans include blakberry as well?

  13. Curtis

    There will be a stand alone data plan released with these new plans that any smartphone can be put on.

  14. Mojo

    Curtis,

    I believe the message/data share plans are going to follow the same rules as the Everything plans, meaning: the data includes BIS, but not BES. BES will cost you and extra $20.00/month, which is not a bad deal at all.

    -Mojo, The GEEK Reports

  15. Mojo

    Oops…that last comment was intended for jrod’s question.

    MOJO

  16. Ivan

    Mojo, does this mean that the PowerVision Packs will stick around for legacy plans? I’ll be upgrading my 2nd line on the shared plan (which, btw, is 2000 anytime, not 1200 as I originally stated) and was going to ask for PV Ultimate again. Although, I don’t really understand why I wouldn’t be able to get Instinct — PV Ult+Unltd Text is exactly the same as Everything plans, right?

  17. Jeff

    I agree that this is nothing new. They are simply shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic.

  18. Mojo

    Ivan,

    I can’t confirm whether or not the PowerVision Family plans will stick around for legacy plans. I mean, you’ll get to keep your plan if you don’t buy the Instinct… but whether you’ll be able to add-a-line to that plan after June 15th… I’m not sure of. I’m sure they’ll be a way to do it through customer service, but in my experiences with all wireless carriers in the US, once a plan is retired, retail employees no longer have access to it. Customer Service always gets access to Grandfathered Rate Plans. I do know that it’s pretty much fact that the Instinct will only be activated on one of the three Everything Plans, or one of the two new talk/message/data plans. From I’ve been told, Sprint Retail Employees activation system will error out if they try any other plan with an Instinct ESN.

    Good luck.

    – MOJO

  19. Ivan

    Thanks, Mojo! I’m not adding a line, just upgrading a phone from a Vision to a PV one. The person who is on that line really wants a slider (there’s only Sammy one on Sprint), but I thought about picking up the Instinct for her. I could understand restricting Instinct to plans w/ certain features/add-ons, but if I have to sign-up for a new plan, then they aren’t very smart (unless they can match the price which I don’t think they can).

  20. Mojo

    Ivan,

    It’s very hard to say what the exact strategy is behind having the Instinct be available for the above mentioned plan, the only people who know that are pretty high up the Sprint ladder. However, I can speculate that Sprint is trying to slowly adopt a new business model: High end devices, high end plans, high end customers, high end ARPU. My prediction is that this is going to be a trend across the whole industry. Leave the low ARPU customers to smaller companies and MVNO’s, give the big dogs the high revenue customers. As always… this is just one geek’s opinion.

    – Mojo – http://www.thegeekreports.com

  21. JD

    Just so you guys know, In respons to mojos comment on old plans. I work in the indirect market for sprint however I am able to add lines to customers accounts even if they are on old plans. Just the other day I added 2 lines to an old fair and flex plan. In we are able to add lines to these old plans. You just may have to do a mail in rebate than instead of getting instant savings on the phone. But with that said, will we be able to do it after these new plans go in affect remains to be seen

  22. Rocko

    The only light I can possibly shed on the Instinct issue is that they are putting out a new phone geared toward the newer plans. That’s probably why the plans are releasing on the 15th and the phone is due out on the 20th. In this area, there are MRC stipulations that differentiate between being able to get an instant rebate, mail-in rebate, or no rebate for your new phone. The Instinct requiring a special version of plan wouldn’t suprise me at all. Besides, not getting a plan sufficient for the style of phone you own makes as much sense as a 16yr old being given a 755p with a basic plan (29.99 for 200 min & 9pm nights) just because they like the color. As far as adding lines or upgrading, current power pack users can upgrade and add lines concurrent with their plan, it just won’t be selectable to retail associates for new activations, unlike the older fair & flexible or free & clear plans, which are now out of all systems for new attachment (only kept for customers grandfathered in so that there is a code in the system to show the plan). The new individual plans, starting June 15th, for talk only are still at the same level as when it was called power pack ($39.99 = 450; $49.99 = 600[iPCS markets only]; $59.99 = 900). The new addition to individual plans are getting the messaging (txt,pix,and vid for $10+) and msg+data options ($30+) added to the 39 and 59 levels, then adding the unlimited talk option aswell. The big change is the new family plans. The only talk only option now will be the 700 min for $69.99 with additional lines remaining 9.99 per line. The talk+msg plans will be at a 1500 min level for $99.99 and 3000 for $149.99 with additional lines at 9.99 also. The talk+msg+data option for fam plans will be $30+ for 1500 min and $20+ for 3000 but the add’l lines will be $19.99 each. Best bet is to go in to the stores after the 16th and get more info

  23. james

    i agree with jeff that sprint is sinking. they were hemorrhaging customers when they were offering the cheapest plans available and now they think that people will pay $70 a month to stay on sprint? i cant wait until my sero contract is up so i can dump sprint.

  24. Don Louie

    There are more options than that plan, if you want data and messaging it doesn’t get any better