What do the new sprint plans mean for the old ones?

[MannyZ28]

Seeing how they emphasize the "guarantee for life" thing, who of you think that only those plans will keep unlimited data and that they might start throttling the old plans? It really is cheaper if you only have one or even two lines on your account, but once you get into 3 or 4 the new plans are more expensive, I guess rightfully so since you get unlimited talk too.

Guess only time will tell, I sure hope that this isn't just a temporary offer, and that if you miss the window, you'd get stuck with Verizon like plans. It would be even worse that when if the offer were to expire, they would start throttling the old plans and this way screw the people that stayed on the old plan out of unlimited data.

I am sure I am being paranoid, hopefully none of this will happen, I sure love my unlimited data!

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[zmann]

I have a 4 line family plan and I won't switch to a new plan. I don't need unlimited talk. I share 1500 mins with all 4 lines and seeing that ANY mobile to mobile is free and hardly anyone has a land line anymore we have never even come close to going over the mins.. The new plan would cost me more by about 20 bucks. If the movie force me to change plan then, well,, they are breaking the contract and I have plenty of options.

Note 2,,ITS TRUE, SIZE IS EVERYTHING.

 

[indysteve9]

If Sprint evolves towards the others in their packages, then there is no reason to stay with Sprint. I came to Sprint to save money on my purchase of the Note 2 and the unlimited package. If that goes away so will I. I'll go back to Verizon or maybe even AT&T because they have a wider coverage. Just sayin........

 

[MannyZ28]

Yeah I hope Sprint realizes that and won't screw it's old customers that stay on their old plans. I am mean, there are no signs of them wanting to abandon unlimited for any of their plans, just thinking out loud here. I really enjoy my unlimited data...

 

[joshwithachance]

The new plans don't allow for monthly discounts on the base $50 just so you guys know. THAT is a deal-breaker.

 

[gabbott]

The new plans don't allow for monthly discounts on the base $50 just so you guys know. THAT is a deal-breaker.

Yep, this combined with it's over $50 more a month than my 4 lines with the share everything 1500 plan, I'm holding onto my current plan as long as I can. The only benefit of the new plans is the addition of unlimited talk but my current plan has unlimited mobile to any mobile on any carrier, plus nights start at 7pm. I've never come even close to using up all my 1500 minutes for those reasons alone.

It's not worth it to me to pay over $600+ more a year just to be guaranteed unlimited data for the life of my lines. I really hope their mention of the "guarantee" is more of just a marketing thing to differentiate them from the other carriers that don't have an unlimited option.

Right now for my 4 lines I pay almost exactly $200 a month after taxes and fees. The new plan would run me $240 a month before taxes and fees.

 

[zmann]

Yep, this combined with it's over $50 more a month than my 4 lines with the share everything 1500 plan, I'm holding onto my current plan as long as I can. The only benefit of the new plans is the addition of unlimited talk but my current plan has unlimited mobile to any mobile on any carrier, plus nights start at 7pm. I've never come even close to using up all my 1500 minutes for those reasons alone.

It's not worth it to me to pay over $600+ more a year just to be guaranteed unlimited data for the life of my lines. I really hope their mention of the "guarantee" is more of just a marketing thing to differentiate them from the other carriers that don't have an unlimited option.

Right now for my 4 lines I pay almost exactly $200 a month after taxes and fees. The new plan would run me $240 a month before taxes and fees.

It could have been me that wrote your post. I am in exact same boat as you

Note 2,,ITS TRUE, SIZE IS EVERYTHING.

 

[rrwoods1978]

Basically, the old plans will not be grandfathered if they happen to do away with unlimited data. which means if you do not go to the new plans, and you upgrade your phone or add a line, you will have to change plans to whatever is offered during that time. Now with the new plans you can keep them for as long as you have sprint service, even if you upgrade or add new lines, whatever.

 

[MannyZ28]

Basically, the old plans will not be grandfathered if they happen to do away with unlimited data. which means if you do not go to the new plans, and you upgrade your phone or add a line, you will have to change plans to whatever is offered during that time. Now with the new plans you can keep them for as long as you have sprint service, even if you upgrade or add new lines, whatever.

That was just me rambling out my worst case scenario, paranoia fueled fears. I hope I am reading and thinking too much into this. It all stemmed from a conversation with someone who told me that even his grandfathered in AT&T plans are throttled starting at 5 GB. Don't even know if that's true or not.

 

[Paul627g]

It will be interesting to see how things change over the coming months. With the Softbank/Sprint merger basically in the books now, I'm sure Softbank has ideas to bring to the table to improve Sprint. Hopefully they won't become too greedy in their future plans to restructure the carrier/network. Given the current quality of Sprint's network they can't afford IMO to take away the one draw that has kept people around " unlimited " because if they eventually take that away they don't have the quality connection/service that the other big 3 provide in the US market.

 

[gabbott]

It will be interesting to see how things change over the coming months. With the Softbank/Sprint merger basically in the books now, I'm sure Softbank has ideas to bring to the table to improve Sprint. Hopefully they won't become too greedy in their future plans to restructure the carrier/network. Given the current quality of Sprint's network they can't afford IMO to take away the one draw that has kept people around " unlimited " because if they eventually take that away they don't have the quality connection/service that the other big 3 provide in the US market.

Yep, total agreement. They really would be shooting themselves in the foot if they attempt to price themselves inline with the big 2 at this moment. In a couple years and a bunch of Softbank's cash put into the network then that might change.

As a wireless customer of theirs since 1999 it certainly isn't their available data bandwidth in my area that keeps me with them. In fact, after the past year being stuck on 3g (and really isn't usable for anything of than light data usage) I was getting ready to jump ship. But with the talk of the Softbank deal and possible full acquisition of Clearwire I thought I'd wait it out a bit longer. It wont be until the end of this year at the earliest before I'll be lucky to see an LTE signal. If their price goes up for me in a substantial way, I just can't justify staying when there would be similarly priced alternatives that have better data performance now.

 

[Paul627g]

Exactly. I mean 3g service isn't all that on any carrier anymore. Its so heavily overloaded and you almost have to rely on LTE or HSPA+ at the very least to enjoy mobile data usage. But Sprint's 3g is by far the bottom of the barrel, many times I kill off more battery trying to load up a web page on 3g than its worth.

So yes I hope and believe Softbank/Clearwire/Sprint under one roof is going to be substantial in the future but its going to take a little time for the consumer to benefit from this massive buyout/merging.

 

[Almeuit]

That was just me rambling out my worst case scenario, paranoia fueled fears. I hope I am reading and thinking too much into this. It all stemmed from a conversation with someone who told me that even his grandfathered in AT&T plans are throttled starting at 5 GB. Don't even know if that's true or not.

I don't think your paranoid at all. There is reason to be.. For them to toss out guaranteed for life that is scary enough. If you also look it says "lock in unlimited talk, text, and data". Why do we have to lock in?

I believe they want to go to throttle plans.. Or worse case scenario capped plans. Would it be a horrible idea? I believe so.. Without unlimited people won't stay with a network that is known for not having the best coverage but mainly horrible speeds for data in most areas.

I can say if they try anything with the old plans I'll just leave to Tmobile.

Sent from my Sprint HTC One using AC forums.

 

[exdrinker]

I was with sprint since 98. I waited for 4gLTE for Minneapolis area. When it came it was nice where it was but when a storm knocked out my power for 20 hours and I ran my Note 2 thru 3 batteries trying to connect to poor service I tried Verizon. Wow! 4gLTE nearly everywhere. A three hour road trip thru farm land the whole way with 4g. My home and my second job both with 4g when sprint barely had 3g. I switched to Verizon. I don't even need a spare battery anymore. I must have used 1/2 of my power trying to stay connected to Sprint service. Verizon is more money but return on dollars spent is much higher.
I did try an S4 when I first changed but brought it back 3 days later and picked up a real phone again.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[MannyZ28]

I was with sprint since 98. I waited for 4gLTE for Minneapolis area. When it came it was nice where it was but when a storm knocked out my power for 20 hours and I ran my Note 2 thru 3 batteries trying to connect to poor service I tried Verizon. Wow! 4gLTE nearly everywhere. A three hour road trip thru farm land the whole way with 4g. My home and my second job both with 4g when sprint barely had 3g. I switched to Verizon. I don't even need a spare battery anymore. I must have used 1/2 of my power trying to stay connected to Sprint service. Verizon is more money but return on dollars spent is much higher.
I did try an S4 when I first changed but brought it back 3 days later and picked up a real phone again.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

I easily burn through almost 20 GB of data a month, I don't think Verizon has a plan with that much data without having to pay penalites. They are always late getting the newest phones (GS4 is a good example, the HTC One an even better one), they've had trouble with their updates for phones lately for which they are usually slower than the other carriers. They nickel and dime you to death, charging extra for little things like visual voicemail, they customize the software in rather annoying ways, like taking out certain features altogether, or adding annoyances like the persistent wifi notification in the notification shade. Yes, they have the best network out there, but if Sprint really will turn to the dark side and start throtteling, I might switch to the evil empire (AT&T) since they've been on a tear lately with rapidly expanding LTE markets and lots of exclusive phones (although I am not interested in any of those exclusives). I am not sure why Verizon even partnered with Red Box...you can barely watch a full movie AND use your smartphone for things it was designed to do.... media consumption and Video calls. I pay 7.99 a month for Google Music, I want to use it without feeling guilty. Naturally all carriers aside from Sprint limit your smartphone usage significantly. Why do I need so much data? Most of it is getting used up by Google Music, YouTube, and Netflix. I only get 3 MBit on my wifi connection at home, and having to watch YouTube videos buffer all the time is unacceptable to me when my large phone plays them at a higher quality no problem.

I realize that Sprint has a lot of catching up to do, but now they are the king of Spectrum, and have some money in their pocket. They also have 800 Mhz spectrum for better building penetration and are adding 2.5 Ghz to support LTE some more. All it takes is money and some brains to get their network going. If they can do that and still stick to unlimited for everyone, then they will be a much more capable competitor to big Red and Blue.

Lets see what happens. Verizons network with unlimited data and simple, affordable, all inclusive plans, that's what Sprint could land up being one day if they play it smart.

Oh, here's a little write up about the "King of Spectrum" I mentioned above:
Sprint Nextel Corporation (S): The New Spectrum Powerhouse | iStockAnalyst.com

 

[Rdean61]

I am in the same boat. I was very skeptical of sharing 1500 with my adult children, but like you said, we never come close to the 1500 minutes.

I have a 4 line family plan and I won't switch to a new plan. I don't need unlimited talk. I share 1500 mins with all 4 lines and seeing that ANY mobile to mobile is free and hardly anyone has a land line anymore we have never even come close to going over the mins.. The new plan would cost me more by about 20 bucks. If the movie force me to change plan then, well,, they are breaking the contract and I have plenty of options.

Note 2,,ITS TRUE, SIZE IS EVERYTHING.

 

[Jnug70]

I have Sprint family plan 1500 mintues unlimited data. This new plan I would pay more. Plus the new plan doesn't honor my corporate discount. The sprint specialist even said this new plan doesnt benefit me. I was concerned that the new plan has a life guarantee. She assured me my current plan will not change. Fingers crossed

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[johnmcd348]

So, what happens when it comes time to upgrade phones? Are we going to be forced to either pay full price for the phone or move to the new plan in order to get a discounted phone? I've been with Sprint since we were moved over from Nextel so for about 15+ years combined. I can't say I've ever really been super satisfied with their customer service level and lack of concern for customer loyalty. I stay with them because they still offered the cheapest overall packages. It just comes down to money for me. I can't say one of the big name providers is any better or worse in my area. We finally just started getting 4GLTE in my area about 3-6 months ago. I only discovered it about 3 months ago since I'd still had my phone set for the old service and hadn't gotten any notifications from Sprint.

 

[HellKat]

I have 5 lines on the 1500/min plan @ $220/month after taxes/fees. Needless to say, I want to keep my current plan!

So I have made multiple calls to Sprint over the last couple weeks, to ensure I talked to different CSR's, in different call centers. I have had some worthless, some kinda helpful, & a couple VERY informative CSR's pick up the phone. Here is what I have been able to deduce from those conversations:

1. Only the new "My Way" & "All-in" plans, will be grandfathered into the "Unlimited Data for life". Current customers on different plans are not Guaranteed Unlimited.
2. With that being said, one of the helpful CSR's divulged that:she still gets calls from people on the "$35 Free & Clear" unlimited everything plan, & they are not being forced to switch plans.
3. I also learned that Sprint has no plans to remove the subsidized phone prices from older plans, much like Verizon did last year. Anyone can upgrade after 20/months, regardless of their plan.

Now YMMV, & things change quickly in the mobile phone game... but I think there is some credence to the info I received from those CSR's. Sprint is playing catch-up, & the last thing they want to do is remove subsidized phones from current customers, when they need to steal every subscriber they can get. Sprint is not Verizon, & they don't have that type of leverage to just willingly F@%! your customers, & yet have them stick around.

I hope this helps someone.