Wow.  This is my sentiment of the new plans rolled out by Sprint on 2/29/08.  This is a screaming deal for anyone looking for the best value in the marketplace ($50 less per month than competiting carrier offers for smartphones), there is no comparison in terms of price and value for what you get. 

The short analysis of this is that Sprint is creating an opportunity for adoption by the USA.  By bringing all data services bundled down to $10/month, the consumer gets a tremendous value and can truly experience what a real 3G network is about.  Sprint’s bet is that innovation and value will retain the customer with Sprint long term.  Sprint is also re-introducing push to talk, included for Free, with their package.  Secondly, the consumer can also truly think about severing their legacy attachments to their land lines.  Why pay an extra $20-$30 per month for this line at home which I rarely use anymore?  I can take that money and get me an unlimited plan with Sprint and still be way ahead of my usage overall and get better service wherever I am.  Verizon and ATT maybe going gangbusters with their wireless division but this just put a large hole in their landline business.  My last prediction is that GPS in terms of separate devices from the phone will begin to slow and become obsolete.  Why?  you are getting GPS navigation for free now with your phone (it’s that simple).  This was previously a $20/month ($240/year value, $15 data plan and $5 for navigation) that is now free.  Device manufacturers will have a tough time against software based free navigation on phones.   

Is this a price war? Yes.  Sprint just wrote off $29.5 billion dollars.  Not much more to lose here and all the upside in the world.  Go for it Dan, this is a bold and necessary turnaround.

Let’s break down the details of this plan for businesses and for consumers.  We will start first with consumers.

The plans segment the world into two types of consumers.  Ones who want data and ones who just talk and text.  Unlimited voice and text messaging for $89.99,  plus free push to talk services (PTT) .  In other words, you get what the other carriers are offering plus an extra PTT feature.  For smaller plans, $69.99/month for 900 minutes and 7pm nights (an extra 120X30 minutes per month = 3600, a buy up with ATT and Verizon for $8.00/month).  The smallest plan, 450 minutes for $49.99/month, again free PTT and 7pm nights. 

For consumers who want data services (GPS Navigation, Internet, Radio, and TV), they can select the Simply Everything plan for $99.99 a month for unlimited voice users and $89.99/month for 900 minutes and $69.99/month for 450 minute users.  This is about $10-$20/month per unit in savings for consumers.  This is huge.  The savings of these offerings from Verizon and ATT range in the $10/month to $40/month per user.  For most consumers, $40/month (plus getting rid of landlines $20/month) makes for a very compelling offer.   

This is much more dramatic in terms of pricing when you consider owning a Smartphone like the Blackberry device.  In effect, you can have an unlimited Blackberry for $99.99 per month: unlimited voice, data, GPS navigation, TV, and Radio.  Why buy an extra iPod?  Why buy that extra GPS device and pay for yearly map updates?  Why not Simplyfy your life, one bill, everything you want, and NO MORE OVERAGES OF ANYKIND.  This is a phenomenal deal for adopting new service.      

For business customers, you now have unlimited multi-line plans.  You can have unlimited cell phone service for up to 1 to unlimted lines, this will be $45-$75 less per month per line for competing service with ATT and Verizon.  Your a business with Verizon and pay out the nose and you are given now the opportunity to save $45 per line per month on your heaviest users.  Why not switch them?  The savings will far exceed early termination fees and you can get the latests phones.

For Blackberry Enterprise customers, there is a $20 per month buy up per line.  This is still $30/month less than comparable service with ATT and Verizon.  Unlimited Blackberry and BES for $119.99.  Wow. 

This is a push for new subscriptions, there really is no reason not to try Sprint today. 

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