Just one day after T-Mobile CEO John Legere announced the wireless provider surpassed Sprint to become the number three carrier in the country, Sprint today announced a new aggressive shared data plan that it says offers better value compared to T-Mobile, ATT, and Verizon.
The new $90/month Family Share plan offers 12GB of data for up to 10 lines with unlimited talk and text (the 10 lines offer lasts through March 31, 2016). The plan compares favorably to similar options from the other guys (as pictured in the chart from Sprint above), but there are a few caveats.
Some things to keep in mind when comparing Sprintâs new plan to the other carriers: T-Mobileâs plan offers unlimited international text and data, while ATT and Verizon offer unlimited texting to international numbers along with some free cloud storage. You wonât get those features with Sprint.
Sprint also notes that itâs reducing the data access charge, that fee you spend monthly for adding a device to your shared data plan, on the $90 Family Share Pack plan $15 for handsets from the previous $25 fee. It will also drop the fee for new customers on the new 128GB plan:
For customers switching their number to Sprint from another carrier, Sprint is waiving the access charge for handsets, tablets and mobile broadband devices on 12GB or higher data allowances for up to 10 lines for one year. All devices must be purchased through Sprint Easy Pay or the Sprint iPhone for Life Plan. A family of four will save $720 in data access fees for the year.
T-Mobile announces new $100 unlimited 2-line data plan, $100 10 GB 4-line plan
Sprint announces âCut Your Bill in Halfâ promo for ATT Verizon switchers
Individual data lines (with no overage but throttling after limit) allows me to add my brother-in-law on my plan at a great discount for him, but without me caring about his usage at all.
I share my data plan with my elderly parents and I get to use a vast majority of it because they are rarely out of wifi range.
An individual plan would be a âtrapâ for us.