so sprint jumps in to be competitive.Sprint doubles AT&T's double-the-data wireless promotion
Under new CEO Marcelo Claure, Sprint is keeping the pressure on its larger competitors and going directly after AT&T.
by
Roger Cheng
@RogerWCheng October 1, 2014 6:50 AM PDT
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Take that, AT&T.Sprint is getting aggressive yet again.
Lynn La/CNET
Sprint on Wednesday said it would one-up AT&T's promotion, which doubled the amount of data on certain high-end family plans,
by doubling the new amount for its own Family Share Pack plans. The
promotion is available to new and existing customers who sign up by Oct.
31, which is the same day the AT&T offer ends.The "double
the data" pledge is just the latest step by Sprint, which has seen a
jolt of energy under new CEO Marcelo Claure. Since taking over in August,
the embattled wireless carrier has aggressively laid out a slate of new
wireless plans and promotions, all in an effort to slow the erosion of
its customer base. But the company faces a long road ahead as it works
through its network upgrade issues and the perception that its service
lags far behind its rivals.As with other recent promotions,
Sprint hasn't necessarily cut prices on its plans, instead offering more
data. The carrier is able to do that because its newly built LTE
network has enough capacity to handle its customer base, which is
shrinking relative to the competition. In areas where Sprint has built
out its network, the company is desperate to get consumers to give it
another shot.The carrier needs to get aggressive. In the last
quarter, it posted a net loss of 220,000 subscribers, continuing a
string of customer losses over the last year.
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AT&T doubles data on high-end plans, starting at 15GB tier
AT&T unveiled its
promotion on Saturday, offering 30 gigabytes of data for a month charge
of $130 (customers would still have to pay for their device and a
separate access fee that ranges between $15 and $40), compared to the
previous offer of 15GB. The charge is $150 for 40GB and $225 for 60GB.Under
the new Sprint offer, the same $130 data charge gets 60GB, while $150
gets 80GB and $225 gets 120GB. Sprint is also waiving its monthly access
charge through 2015 for customers who switch from another carrier and
sign up for its monthly installment plan for smartphones.New and existing customers have to go to a Sprint store, visit Sprint.com, or call Sprint directly for the promotion. The company said additional retail outlets will be able to offer the deal soon.AT&T wasn't available to comment on Sprint's promotion.Sprint,
meanwhile, also said it would double the data on its business plans
starting Friday through Oct. 31. Under the business share plan,
customers could get 80GB for $135, 120GB for $200, 160GB for $270, and
200GB for $330. As with the family plans, Sprint is waiving the access
fees through 2015.
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