aNewDomain — Sprint’s fortunes naturally swing with the ups and downs of the industry it plays in. The failed WiMax project and stiff coverage competition, just to name two examples, continue to be challenges for the company. But now Sprint is swinging for the fences by offering its new DIRECTV customers free mobile services. The Sprint free offer is a response to the AT&T/DIRECTV merger.
I won’t be taking the Sprint free offer. I’ll tell you why below, but for now, here’s a little background on how it’s even happening at all.
How is this possible?
The relevant details are all in the news release. Sprint is offering any DIRECTV customers that are new to Sprint a free line of service for one year through its Sprint Lease, iPhone Forever and Sprint Easy Pay plans.
Existing customers are not completely left out. Existing customers who decide to add a line will also get the line free for a year as a part of this new deal.
What’s so special about DIRECTV?
Sure, the new merger of AT&T and DIRECTV gives AT&T a slight edge in publicity and marketing. The news hits the airwaves and immediately potential customers want to look into what AT&T has to offer as a mobile provider.
Some even expect great deals as part of a “merger celebration.”
So Sprint is out to top it all with the free offer.
It’s a pretty interesting tactic, actually. The costs of smartphones will really hit consumers in the pocket now that mobile providers are not offering price subsidies. You’re not only responsible for your monthly bill, but you’re responsible also to payoff your device in a timely manner. This makes the Sprint offer attractive for all the obvious reasons: It lets customers keep a little money each month. Check out the Sprint chart below.
After a year, reasonable rates will be put in place for voice and data coverage.
Even with my smartphone fatigue, this offer does sound interesting.
But I’m not doing it
Good thing I’m a partial cordcutter with a DIRECTV package. I could jump on this offer. But I won’t. Here are a couple reasons why:
- Coverage area — The smartphone is only as good as a tablet if it doesn’t have connectivity to a mobile network. Sprint has not been the best for coverage area in my region, so I think I’ll pass.
- Device Availability — With my previous history, phones available to other carriers were not available to Sprint. This can be frustrating when looking for the hot new phone of tomorrow.
But what are your thoughts? Will you do what I’m un-willing to do? Why or why not? Leave me a comment below with your thoughts.
For aNewDomain, I’m Ant Pruitt.
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