Sprint Makes a Bold Move, Offers to Half Phone Bills for AT&T and Verizon Defectors

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

Mobile wars just got real

In what might be the boldest move yet by a wireless carrier, Sprint today announced it will cut in half the monthly rate plan for Verizon and AT&T customers if they jump ship and swim to Sprint beginning Friday, December 5. It's called the "Cut Your Bill in Half Event," and customers who make the switch will get unlimited talk and text in the U.S., regardless of their current plan, plus the same data allowance that they're currently receiving, for half of whatever they're paying.
"The Cut Your Bill in Half Event clearly demonstrates that Sprint delivers the best value in wireless," said Marcelo Claure, CEO, Sprint. "It’s as simple as this: Bring Sprint your Verizon or AT&T bill along with your phone and we’ll cut your rate plan in half. That’s a 50 percent savings on your rate plan every month. And this great deal is not just a promotion. This will be the customer’s ongoing price."
To give an example, if you're an AT&T subscriber with four lines and 15GB of shared data, you're paying $100 for data access and $60 for line access, bringing the total to $160. Switching to Sprint cuts that in half to $80 per month.
That's fine and dandy, but what about activation fees and early termination fees? Those would surely offset any savings that might be had, right? Not so fast.
Sprint is waiving its activation fee as part of the deal, which normally run $36 per line, and is also pay off early termination fees, up to $350 per line (via Visa prepaid card). Plain in simple, Sprint just threw down the gauntlet without any obvious catches. The not-so-obvious one is coverage -- depending on where you live, Verizon and/or AT&T might offer superior coverage than Sprint. That brings up the question of whether it's worth paying double for.
Image Credit: Flickr (Images Money)
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