Sprint is making it easier for U.S. subscriber to stay in touch with loved ones in Latin America.
On Thursday, the company announced a new program that will discount data, text, and calls for relatives of Sprint customers living abroad. It is partnered with Telefónica-owned Movistar Mexico and El Salvador to let subscribers pay for a family member’s plan in Mexico and El Salvador.
It’s available through Sprint’s World Top-Up app. Starting Th, subscribers can add money to prepaid Plan Conectados accounts in 23 Latin American and Caribbean countries “irrespective of their in-country plan.”
Customers with family and friends in Mexico and El Salvador can add Plan Conectados to their Sprint account for $25 per month. Those with family in Latin America and Caribbean countries can dispatch funds directly to a prepaid account from within the Top-Up app.
The new benefit is aimed at addressing the growing number of immigrants who send money to their home country. U.S. immigrants sent $133.5 billion in 2015 and remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean grew nearly eight percent from 2015 to 2016. Mexico received more than $26 billion, and El Salvador close to $5 billion.
Plan benefits vary by country. Customers in Mexico receive unlimited calls and texts, 5GB of browsing data, and 2GB of social/WhatsApp data. Folks in El Salvador, meanwhile, get unlimited calls and texts within Movistar’s network, up to 400 minutes to call to U.S., and 300 national minutes for calls on Salvadoran carriers other than Moviestar along with 4GB of browsing/social data.
“Sprint and Movistar are both deeply rooted in the Hispanic community and we know that family ties are the center of everything,” Marcelo Claure, Sprint CEO and president, said in a statement. “We recognize that many families assume responsibility for supporting their loved ones abroad, and Sprint wants to make it easier for them to do so. By offering a way for our customers to provide their relatives with the best wireless plan available in their country we have created a unique and practical way to empower our customers.”
In many ways, the new plan is an extension of a limited-time Unlimited Freedom promotion Sprint launched in December. Unlimited Freedom Open World includes free, high-speed LTE data in 25 locations across the Caribbean, and expires March 31.
The telecommunications company has worked to improve its unlimited offerings. International Value Roaming, which is bundled into Sprint’s Unlimited Plus Plan, provides customers unlimited text and data in 15 countries across Latin America, Europe, and Asia.
