 DoubleK
Doublek
join:2003-03-04
Beloit, WI
clubs: | WOW! I sure am glad that my wireless contract expired with US Cellular last October!
Here is an idea that will spur the others to follow suit until Sprint is out of the picture. Who says competition doesn't work (until their is none)? | |
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FiL
Premium
join:2005-08-16
Silver Spring, MD
| Re: WOW! Actually, this isn't really a case for the "competition" works crowd; these assholes started throwing IDEAS on an unlimited package as they go down the drain. It's funny how bankruptcy disturbs the natural order of corruption and in-general-dicking-of-the-customers... | |
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| | DoubleK
Doublek
join:2003-03-04
Beloit, WI
clubs:
 ·AT&T Midwest
 ·Charter Pipeline
| Re: WOW! said by FiL  :Actually, this isn't really a case for the "competition" works crowd Are you kidding me? Sprint isn't exactly the cash hog is was in the 80's after AT&T was told to break up and they were the next behemoth on the scene. Lord I cringe when I think of their retarded "pin drop" commercials.
Desperate Times = Desperate Measures! How many companies are competing today for your Cellular,landline and data services? More than ever and it will probably go back to monopolization soon enough. | |
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| | | caveman000
join:2007-11-14
Peoria, AZ | Re: WOW! Sounds like Cricket | |
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Jim Gurd
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI | This sounds a lot like what MetroPCS offers. | |
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e_dub
franknbeans
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-12
kickin ass | Re: WOW! So true, we have Metro PCS here in Atlanta and I have my daughter on their service. Unlimited calling local and long distance, with unlimited text and video mail or $45. | |
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jjsk8r85
join:2005-02-17
Belleville, MI | Re: WOW! the only thing about metropcs is they have a small footprint, limited roaming, and roaming is expensive. if you stay local, youre good to go, but for those who do a bit of traveling, this type of plan will look really appealing for sprint. | |
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davoice
join:2000-08-12
Saxapahaw, NC
·Comporium
| Re: WOW! I have Helio... A Helio Ocean to be specific. $99/mo unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited pictures/video, unlimited on-device data/3G web surfing (no tethering).
Helio leases space on the Sprint PCS network and roams on Alltel and Verizon for voice service when out of Sprint coverage (no data, just voice when roaming).
So if Helio can do it while buying capacity from Sprint, I'm sure Sprint is thinking they can do it too.
}Davoice | |
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jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs: | Re: WOW! helio was making no money so it was spun off and will eventually die off.
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3 free for you/3 free for me: Free Stock Trades : PM Me | |
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davoice
join:2000-08-12
Saxapahaw, NC | Re: WOW! SK Telecom appears quite healthy thanks. And quite happy to continue taking over Earthlink's share of the company. Helio's only fault was being held back by shortsighted Earthlink executives.
}Davoice | |
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jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:
| but does metro pcs work outside of the small home calling area? Kind of like cricket or Revol (remember the old northcoast pcs?) but on a nationwide scale. I think it is a good idea. at&t wireless (the original company before cingular then AT&T Mobile) did the same thing mostly for business customers for a while. I looked at it when i was deciding on a tdma/gsm multiband phone back in the day. I think nextel tried it at one time.
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3 free for you/3 free for me: Free Stock Trades : PM Me | |
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| | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| said by Jim Gurd :This sounds a lot like what MetroPCS offers. .. Yea... only Sprint's network isn't a ghetto network like MetroPCS's is.
I had a MPCS phone and account for a short period in Sacramento, and to say the least, I was NOT impressed at-all.
The only thing I think will happen is that their billing/plan model will follow suit. | |
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DataDoc
My avatar looks like me, if I was 2D.
Premium
join:2000-05-14
Greenville, NC | It's about time It was fine to charge by the minute when cell phones were unusual, but now they're ubiquitous. | |
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| lefty1
join:2002-10-25
Clay, NY
| Re: It's about time said by DataDoc :It was fine to charge by the minute when cell phones were unusual, but now they're ubiquitous. They're not only ubiquitous; they're everywhere. | |
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moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD | This will not end well for Sprint. Claims of abuse by certain people will cause Sprint to cancel these people like ISPs cancel for "network degradation." | |
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John Galt
Forward, March
Premium
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp
·CenturyLink
| Re: This will not end well for Sprint. said by moonpuppy :Claims of abuse by certain people will cause Sprint to cancel these people like ISPs cancel for "network degradation." And will result in various demands for the carriers to use a "by-the-minute" billing scheme to return "fairness" to the system.
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A is A | |
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jc100
join:2002-04-10
| Not sure about this... I think from a consumer standpoint, no minute limits would be great. However, from a business standpoint, this could be a red mark for profits. There will always be top users who sit on the phone 24/7. Kids, teenagers, etc usually make up this group though adults are not immune. Let's say someone sits on the phone 8 hours a day (home from work and talks nonstop). that would be 480 minutes x 30 days. That would equate to 14,400 minutes used in a given month. Now lets say this unlimited plan costs 100 dollars. Will sprint be able to turn a profit? Does the airtime, man hours in providing the airtime etc, cost less than the plan? There are some serious questions sprint, their board, and their shareholders need to address. Personally, I would love unlimited minutes though I RARELY use my cell phone. Why? Well its that comfort if I need it I never have to worry. Still, I don't think such a plan would be good for the company. | |
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NOCMan
Verizon Fios User
Premium
join:2004-09-30
Flower Mound, TX | Re: Not sure about this... Actually the costs for in network calling is practically nothing. I doubt people will sit on the phone all day long just because they can. Voice calls are small compared to the data calls. Compression gets them down to 3kbps per voice channel. | |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME
| Re: Not sure about this... True - spectrum wise, voice isn't huge, however, do not forget that not all calls in 'In', and carriers do have to pay for that. In this day and age, it is still relatively inexpensive (i.e. my house line is unlimited for $40/month).
Sprint is currently attempting to stop the bleeding of customers, and this may actually work well for them.
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Canada = Hollywood North | |
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| | | jc100
join:2002-04-10
| Re: Not sure about this... Well it might stop the bleeding, but you don't want to hemorrhage at one end, and simply bandage the problem to start at another. IE you don't want to make a way to keep all your customers, if it's going to simply put you into debt by doing so. Sprint will have to seriously analyze whether or not they can provide such a service effectively, while still turning a profit. Contrary to your example, calls are not their only expense. They have future deployments, manpower (technical support, technicians, etc), shareholders, and other expenses to consider. Sprint has to make sure that they aren't undervaluing their services, and can still pay the bill. If they sell this service too cheap, they risk having to make cutbacks in order to provide it. That is bad for the company. Hence, I hope if they go to this plan, they carefully look at all the pros and cons and sell it accordingly. Good business dictates the consumer comes first, but profits have to be made, too. | |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA | Re: Not sure about this... I do agree that deploying this kind of strategy by flat rate pricing my cost more than they can properly afford to support.
Time will tell if it is profitable or not.
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Canada = Hollywood North | |
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| | | | | jc100
join:2002-04-10
| Re: Not sure about this... Definitely. They are going to have to weigh a lot of factors and determine if such a competitive option is really the avenue they wish to venture down. While it might sound good on paper, there are a lot of costs and factors that have to be considered. As we all know, these don't ever come into play when looking at an issue from the surface. It's when those involved sit down and say hey lets crunch the numbers, does reality set in. We shall find out if after their accountants and lawyers peak this plan, if it'll actually happen or not. Stay tuned. | |
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tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI
| said by en102 :True - spectrum wise, voice isn't huge, however, do not forget that not all calls in 'In', and carriers do have to pay for that. In this day and age, it is still relatively inexpensive (i.e. my house line is unlimited for $40/month). Sprint is currently attempting to stop the bleeding of customers, and this may actually work well for them. They pay a flat rate for T1's going the last mile to the cell tower. Regardless, Sprint calls are routed to the switch for that market, then back out onto the network if it's going to a local L/L or wireless phone. And with major telco's having some form of "POP" site at most Sprint LD switches, connections to everything from DS3's to OC192's are in already there in place. They are not charge "per call". Why do you think when Sprint's CEO was asked, he point blank stated he would not sell off Sprint's LD service (which I'm surprised EMBAQ (aka LTD) didn't try to take it with them. He knows without Sprints legacy LD network, Sprint PCS would dry up and die an ugly death. | |
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tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI
| said by jc100 :I think from a consumer standpoint, no minute limits would be great. However, from a business standpoint, this could be a red mark for profits. There will always be top users who sit on the phone 24/7. Kids, teenagers, etc usually make up this group though adults are not immune. Let's say someone sits on the phone 8 hours a day (home from work and talks nonstop). that would be 480 minutes x 30 days. That would equate to 14,400 minutes used in a given month. Now lets say this unlimited plan costs 100 dollars. Will sprint be able to turn a profit? Does the airtime, man hours in providing the airtime etc, cost less than the plan? There are some serious questions sprint, their board, and their shareholders need to address. Personally, I would love unlimited minutes though I RARELY use my cell phone. Why? Well its that comfort if I need it I never have to worry. Still, I don't think such a plan would be good for the company. But what you don't realize is using your phone 24/7 doesn't cost Sprint anything. Rather you pay 79 bucks for all you can talk or 30 bucks for 1000 minutes. I'm sure everyone is drooling at the fact of get all for one low price but get real. I'm sure there will still be packages. Sprint has already tested markets for unlimited BOOST calling plans to counter MPCS. Once you start buying plans that have unlimited text, data, the price will go up. No shared plans so no more 5 people sharing 2000 minutes. Those are the ones who will pay more. One side of this coin also will make people like me dump my wireline, get a unlimited voice only phone and make it my home phone. I see this as a win/win for Sprint and the consumer. But those thinking the plan will be some cheapass price are going to be disappointed. Sweet spot for a NATIONWIDE network for voice only? $50.00 w/no contracts. I think I could deal with the occasional call to Sprints customer service for a price like that. | |
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myokitis
join:2004-06-19
Alexandria, VA
| Not A Long-Term Differentiator I don't get it . . . what will prevent T or VZ or TM from responding accordingly and offering their own flat-rate plans, if they're so-pressured?
This may change the game somewhat, but they won't be able to sustain any lead they gather from it, as a billing-arrangement such as this can be easily duplicated.
An unanswered question: What will such a flat-rate plan cost? Will it be affordable for most consumers?
If it's something that most people could afford then they'll just succeed in pricing-down their (and the entire industry's) customer base. | |
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| RchrdEllis
join:2007-06-11
Narberth, PA | Re: Not A Long-Term Differentiator I already saw an ad on Yahoo! which had a price of $119.99 | |
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Doctor Olds
I Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me.
Premium,VIP
join:2001-04-19
1970 442 W30
clubs: | That would make me actually want a cell phone IF the price.. ..was also reasonable.
Otherwise, I'm fine without one. Haven't needed one yet. | |
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FiL
Premium
join:2005-08-16
Silver Spring, MD | Re: That would make me actually want a cell phone IF the price.. Damn Doc, wish I was as resourceful as you! But your still stuck in the stone age, you got to work up to Barbarism THEN you can join us here in Feudalism! hehe | |
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FiL
Premium
join:2005-08-16
Silver Spring, MD | Re: That would make me actually want a cell phone IF the price.. Yea, thats what always happens... but what if you got a girlfriend or wife and they call? I leave mine on for those calls, but everyone else I look at the CID and determine whether i want to be hassled or not... | |
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| | robertg1234
join:2004-04-19
Palo Alto, CA
| said by KrK :I've found people EXPECT you to be reachable 24/7 if you have a cell. Even if they get a voicemail, they expect a response. Especially clingy girlfriends  | |
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Neyland
join:2003-02-04
USA
| Virgin Mobile pay as you go $20 cell phone. Charges you like $.15 min which is drawn out of your account. You pay into your account $15/3 months. Money only comes out of your account when you use the mins. In other words no expiration.
Free long distance and roaming.
The only time I turn on my phone typically is when I need to place an outgoing call. I use the phone around 20 mins or so a month (whole min rounding) which leaves a little surplus in the account. On a month when I travel or something and use over... I just eat up that surplus. If I go through the surplus, it auto bills my CC for another $15.
Really works great for me. | |
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Cheap Skater
@rr.com
| said by Doctor Olds :..was also reasonable. Otherwise, I'm fine without one. Haven't needed one yet. Prepaid cellphones cost as little as $3/month (Page Plus).
How low must we go? | |
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Doctor Olds
I Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me.
Premium,VIP
join:2001-04-19
1970 442 W30
clubs: | Re: That would make me actually want a cell phone IF the price.. I would prefer a POTS replacement, not an additional service especially at per minute charges pre-paid or not. Thanks. | |
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Killa200
Premium
join:2005-12-02
Spring City, TN | Pending on the price... ...this is the kind of deal that would make me glad sprint is the other alternative to cell in this area. | |
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The Beer
I Love It When A Plan Comes Together
Premium
join:2001-07-24
Omaha, NE
clubs:
 ·ViaTalk
| Price is not the problem Sprint has much larger problems than price.
Customer Service.
It's worse than a root canal during a colon exam.
If they can't make the customer happy, even a great price will not keep them around.
Personally I have the Sprint SERO plan and price wise can not be happier, my phone performs flawlessly in the Omaha suburbs.
I take my phone 30min west to Lincoln and it roams constantly drops calls and has 1 bar. (Still a 200k+ Town)
I have a Blackberry 8830 so my phone should perform in both places without a hitch.
This is what sprint needs to fix, sure they have the largest network, now it needs the network to work right. | |
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See 7 replies to this post |
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jack24
@bu.edu
| Good idea if the "price is right". If Sprint does this and hits the critical "price point" that will drive sales, sales may just go "through the roof".
Or at least this will shake up the market, which needs shaking up.
It will also make it "simple-stupid". You pay this price, you get a phone to use, period. If you want to cancel, fine, no charge.
It will also simplify billing and eliminate many billing problems and complaints.
And if done properly, customers won't need to worry about the "stick-it-to-you fine print legal-ease agreement" that most people never read anyway.
Sure, some people will never hang up their phone. But these "phone junkies" will "sing the praises" of Sprint's "Flat-rate" calling plan that is a "no-brainer".
The reality is that most customers calling habits will not change.
Looks like a "win/win" situation to me, but hey, what do I know? | |
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GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| Re: Good idea if the "price is right". said by jack24 :
Sure, some people will never hang up their phone. But these "phone junkies" will "sing the praises" of Sprint's "Flat-rate" calling plan that is a "no-brainer".
Looks like an opportunity for some entrepreneurial individuals to sign up for an unlimited Sprint cellphone plan and then take the phone to poor neighborhoods in big cities and resell phone access at a cheap rate per call for cash. They could do a good business setting up outside some "check cashing" stores.
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Internet News
My BLOG
My Web Page | |
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GMFreak8
join:2005-11-17
Malone, NY | Didn't ATT Offer This? I seem to remember seeing commercials a few years ago before Cingular came around where ATT was offering unlimited calling for $99 per month? Does anyone else remember this? | |
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| WeKnSmith
join:2001-08-09
Noblesville, IN
1 edit | Re: Didn't ATT Offer This? Yes, I had the $99 unlimited plan with AT&T back in 2002 - 2004. I dropped the service and ported over to Sprint when I changed jobs (no coverage at the new office.) | |
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NY Tel
Premium
join:2004-04-09
Smithtown, NY
·VOIPo
| said by GMFreak8 :I seem to remember seeing commercials a few years ago before Cingular came around where ATT was offering unlimited calling for $99 per month? Does anyone else remember this? Yes I think it was called Digital one Rate and for 90 bucks you got all you can eat. This essentially was the beginning of the Mobile to mobile and increased minutes plans. Prior to that you used to pay 19.99 a month for 30 airtime minutes. It was a bit ridiculous. | |
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Alcohol
Premium
join:2003-05-26
Somerset, NJ
| said by GMFreak8 :I seem to remember seeing commercials a few years ago before Cingular came around where ATT was offering unlimited calling for $99 per month? Does anyone else remember this? I remember that. It wasn't very popular as far as i can tell. | |
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See 8 replies to this post |
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gworkman7
join:2005-10-18
Vail, AZ | Bay Area Trial was a year ago It was priced at $99.00. They are now at $120/month for unlimited. | |
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MysticGogeta
The Robot Devil
Premium
join:2005-03-14
League City, TX
clubs: | Re: Bay Area Trial was a year ago Thats not bad Helio has it for 145 a month (But I get 50% off from my job and they run off sprints network)
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Team Discovery-Join the fight | |
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davoice
join:2000-08-12
Saxapahaw, NC | Re: Bay Area Trial was a year ago $99/mo promo ongoing right now. Just like in December.
}Davoice | |
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degauss1
join:2001-07-02
Hillsboro, OR | What about equipment? This wont get me there unless they will accept my moto q off of VZ's network. I don't want to spend for a new phone again. | |
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See 6 replies to this post |
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tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Floral Park, NY
| here's the deal.. If Sprint could do unlimited calling, unlimited d/c & free text/email for under $55/month inclusive of taxes/fees.. (standard roaming policy applies of course) I'd go for a 2 year contract & update my phone (banging on 4 years old already).. otherwise, I'm biding my time for google or someone else to do something similar without charging so much, especially in "unfees". | |
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partysource
join:2000-11-25
Phoenix, AZ | Re: Sprint Already Has This... **UPDATE**
Sprint removed the unlimited plan and changed it to 2500 minutes.
Blah! | |
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atmw
@iland.net
| Re: Sprint Already Has This... Part of the issue is that there are Soooooo many extra fees added to a Sprint bill. Just reviewed my daughters Sprint bill last night and Sprint had adding in about $50 in fees. Even paying the early term fee it's cheaper for her to switch to AT&T's Family talk plan with about the same # of minutes. She can then talk to us for free and no hit on minutes to the cells or land line.
Don't you just love all these "non-regulatory" fees that tag in. Base cost looks cheap but the final number that you have to write a check for is what tells the true cost. All the rest is fluff..... Compare that number with each plan to get a true cost.
I can see why Sprint is going down the tubes. Overcharging it's customers. | |
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| | | CMoore2004
Premium
join:2003-02-06
Jonesville, MI | Re: Sprint Already Has This... $50 in fees? I'd love to see that. I have 3 phone lines and 4 data cards and don't see anywhere near half of that in fees. | |
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| tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Floral Park, NY
| said by partysource :On the Sprint Sero Nextel plan this is already offered. Nothing new..they offer 99.00 unlimited voice, direct connect and text. If you don't believe me check this out! www.sprint.com/sero and use this email to get in savings@sprintemi.com $199 is too much, $99 is too much.. needs to be *REASONABLY PRICED*... that's the key to putting a stop to customer churn/hemorrhaging. | |
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N O Y B
St. John 3.16
join:2005-12-15
Forest Grove, OR | Mutually Assured Destruction Anyone?
If going down take as many down with you as you can along the way.
Anything that brings prices down and minutes up is all good by me.
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HellsBells
@sbcglobal.net
| Sprint Already Has An Unlimited Plan For $199.99 Per Month! Sprint has offered an unlimited plan option for some years for $199.99 per month, at least in southern California.
Also, last summer, Sprint through Boost Mobile began offering an unlimited plan for $55.00 per month in the Los Angeles and San Francisco markets I would assume to compete with with Cricket in northern California and Metro PCS entry in southern California.
What I don't know is if on the Boost plan you're using Sprint or Nextel service or a combination of both, including Push-To-Talk.
Senior management needs to fix the relationship with Wireless Advocates, the vendor that sells cell phones inside many of the Costco stores. Just a shame that room could not be made for Sprint, considering that Sprint was the first and ONLY cell phone company that was available at Costco for many years. T-Mobile and Verizon were added. Then AT&T was added and Sprint was dropped. Unless Sprint walked away from Costco/Wireless Advocates if Sprint required that they also carry Nextel phones and maybe Costco/Wireless Advocates said no to the Nextel phones.
Good to hear Sprint is not selling the long distance division. Does it matter? New customers can no longer sign-up for long distance through the web or by calling Sprint for your home phone. If you don't use your home phone long distance frequently, the Sprint 50 at Home gives you 50 free minutes each month, but Sprint is no longer accepting new customers as of late last year. | |
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joako
Premium
join:2000-09-07
/dev/null | Old News? Sprin't 'aint considering anything, they are offering: »sprintunlimitedaccess.com/
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CellPhoneWorks
@rr.com
| Re: Old News? Offering what exactly?
a contract (2 year)
overpriced monthly rate not including fee's,
a local calling area only, if outside the area wont work or in roaming
credit checks = possible deposit
a connection charge of upto $36 per line
the unlimited $119 - the fees is limited to 5 yes 5 markets only!
in this area there are on top of the other many "pre paid" outfits, 2 big players here, pocket and cricket that offer way way more at much cheaper rates! - all the ridiculous fees to boot. | |
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| | SlwFngrz
join:2001-09-27
Folsom, CA
| Re: Old News? SPRINT RULES.
I get Unlimited everything... Voice, Text, Pics, Data and unlimited reliable MOBIL PRIVATE DEDICATED FAST Broadband for $150 a month.
1K+ down 500K up. Or better.
Gaming Quality Pings.
Customer sevice actually answers the phone and helps.
did i say mobile...as I am sitting at the beach right now typing this!!!
Top That.
I was impressed when i joined. 6 Months later I am still impressed. | |
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Sprint Considering Flat Rate, Unlimited Cellphone Plan
Actual Limits
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