Sprint tries to rival Verizon, AT&T with shared data plan
Geared toward business, the new wireless plan offers as much as 200GB of data that can be shared between up to 50 lines.
Sprint is trying to woo more business customers with a wireless plan it claims will save them as much as 56 percent in costs compared with the competition.
Announced on Tuesday, the new Sprint Business Share Plans will give businesses with up to 50 lines the option to select a shared data plan offering as much as 200 gigabytes of data, cutting out the need to buy separate data plans for each device. The plans themselves would start at $90 for 20GB of data on up to 10 lines. Larger companies who have as many as 50 lines would pay $675 for the 200GB of shared data.
Sprint, the third-largest wireless carrier in the US, is also offering a special deal for the month of October to lure customers from the competition. Until October 31, businesses who port over a line from another carrier can score a $150 credit per line beyond the minimum trade-in credit of up to $150 per ported device that can apply toward a Sprint device.
The major mobile carriers have been playing an ongoing game of trying to top each other with cheaper plans, greater features and more data. Since CEO Marcelo Claure took over in August, Sprint has aggressively laid out a new lineup of wireless plans and promotions, all in an effort to slow the erosion of its customer base. The carriers have typically focused on consumer and family plans but are trying to win over more small and mid-sized businesses as well.
On September 27, AT&T revealed new promotional Mobile Share Value plans that doubled the amount of data offered on its Mobile Share Value plans. Customers who sign up by October 31 can get 30GB of data for the price of 15GB -- which costs $130 per month -- an option that AT&T touted as "perfect for families and small business customers." On October 1, Verizon countered by unveiling new pricing on its More Everything Plans for families and small businesses that offers 15GB of data per month for $110 or 30GB of data for $130 per month.
Sprint's new plan is specifically targeting local businesses in Philadelphia in an effort to help them cut their telecommunications costs. As part of the claimed 56 percent savings, Sprint touted a number of other features available in the plans, specifically:
- Video
- Access to a broad range of cloud-based services
- Employee collaboration applications
- Fleet and asset management
- Field workers' productivity tools
- Electronic forms solutions
Sprint business customers can also still opt for the carrier's Business Fusion Unlimited plan, which offers unlimited talk, text and data for $65 per month.