Skip to main content

No, Sprint isn’t really cutting your phone bill in half

5 ways Sprint can move on
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Sprint may be the lowest-ranked carrier in the United States, but that’s not stopping the company’s new CEO Marcelo Claure from trying to get more customers to switch. Sprint’s latest promotion claims to cut AT&T and Verizon users’ bills in half, if they switch to Sprint’s network.

To take advantage of the promotion, AT&T and Verizon subscribers simply need to upload a copy of their most recent bill onto Sprint’s website. The carrier will then let you know how much you’d save if you switch to Sprint’s network. Sprint will offer a plan with unlimited calls and texts, as well as a data allotment that’s close to what you already have. From there, you’d be able to choose your new smartphone, keep you old number, and Sprint will even buy out your old contract with up to a $350 credit per line.

Of course, there are a few catches to the deal. First of all, Sprint will only cut the service portion of your bill in half, so the cost of your devices isn’t included. To make matters worse, Sprint’s deal requires you to trade in your AT&T or Verizon phone within 30 days or you’ll be hit with a $200 “non-return phone charge.” Then, you have to buy a smartphone for its full, unsubsidized price on Sprint’s Easy Pay monthly installment plan, or its phone leasing plan. In the end, it turns out that you may save big on service charges, but you’ll lose big on device payments.

To clear up the confusion, CFO Joe Euteneuer assured investors at a Merrill Lynch conference on Tuesday that the deal still offers great savings, even though the average discount for most users is much lower than the promised 50 percent.

“They are still probably getting a 20 percent sort of net discount,” Euteneuer said, as reported by Recode.

When asked why Sprint isn’t offering to halve T-Mobile customers’ bills, Euteneuer said that the customers who are most likely to switch to Sprint come from Verizon and AT&T.

You can check out the details of the offer here, but be sure to read the fine print and the FAQs page.

Editors' Recommendations

Malarie Gokey
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…
The judge in the T-Mobile merger trial isn’t interested in a drawn-out affair
t mobile sprint merger ceo

The trial that ultimately decides whether T-Mobile and Sprint can merge began in a Manhattan federal court Monday, and it's clear that the presiding judge isn't interested in a lengthy affair. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero asked both sides to skip opening arguments to begin questioning witnesses immediately, and trim their witness lists.

Marrero, who has also presided over high-profile cases including the legality of the Patriot Act and Trump's tax returns, said he didn't want to be "beaten over the head" with testimony, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Read more
Xiaomi confuses everyone with new Mi 9T Pro that isn’t really new at all
xiaomi mi 9t pro news

The Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro is new in name only. The newly announced smartphone from Chinese brand Xiaomi is a renamed version of the Redmi K20 Pro, which was initially launched at the end of May. It follows the Xiaomi Mi 9T, which was itself a renamed version of the Redmi K20, also revealed alongside the K20 Pro in May. The Redmi-branded phones are already available in China, while the Mi 9T models are destined for Europe and other countries.

While the rebranding makes sense — the Redmi name is not well known outside China — it’s unfortunate Xiaomi decided to stagger the release. Giving people the choice of both phones at the same time would have been fairer. Xiaomi’s annoying practices aside, and based on how good the Mi 9T was during our time with it, the higher-specification Mi 9T Pro will be even more desirable.

Read more
People are buying 5G phones when they don’t even have 5G
qualcomm snapdragon 5g devices mwc 2019 phones moto z3

Mobile carriers have touted 5G as the next giant leap in wireless communication and technology, with expectations to impact health care, transportation, and robotics to name a few. Despite the buzz and pending implications, 5G is only available in select cities, and typically in even more select areas of those cities. That hasn’t thwarted people from buying 5G phones, though.

A new report from global research firm, Counterpoint Technology Market Research, states that the majority of 5G smartphone sales in the month of May came from areas that currently don’t have 5G service.

Read more