Aggressively priced multiline account targets potential switchers, Sprint’s stock rebounds
Sprint looks set to redirect some of the pressure currently emanating from its stock price and operational performance toward its rivals, announcing a new rate plan targeting customers looking to swap wireless brands.
The plan, which is set to launch July 31, offers unlimited voice calling, text messaging and 10 gigabytes of shared high-speed data across four lines of service for $100 per month. For an additional $20 per month customers can increase the shareable data bucket to 40 GB, though customers going over their data allotment will be charged 1.5 cents per megabyte. The voice-calling option does not include Sprint’s international services.
As part of the promotion, Sprint said it would waive the $15 per month, per line access fee for as long as customers remain enrolled in the plan. Customers will have to sign up for one of Sprint’s equipment installment plans for their new devices, turn in their old devices and port their numbers. Sprint is linking its early termination fee or device payoff option to the program.
The new plan looks set to overtake recently introduced plans that include 12 GB of shared data for $90 per month. That bucket can be shared by up to 10 lines, with Sprint not charging a per-line fee through the end of March 2016, at which point each tablet will be charged $10 per month, each smartphone $15 per month and each mobile broadband device $20 per month. Sprint has also been promoting a five-line plan that includes 20 GB of shared data for $100 per month for the first year, with the per-line access fees waived as part of the promotion.
Sprint claims the new offering provides more than double the data allotment of a similarly priced family plan from T-Mobile US, which includes 1 GB of high-speed data per line. However, T-Mobile US throttles customer speeds when they exceed their data allotment instead of charging an overage fee. Also, T-Mobile US recently rolled out new family plans that offer 10 GB of high-speed data for each line of service nailed to a limited-time promotion priced at $120 per month for four lines.
Both carriers look to trump pricing from larger rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility. Verizon Wireless’ current multiline promotion entails 10 GB of shared data priced at $80 per month, with each line charged a $15 access fee. AT&T Mobility charges $100 per month for a shared 10 GB of data with similar per-line access charges.
Sprint’s latest offer comes on the heels of second-quarter financial reporting from rivals that seemed to indicate Sprint could be in for a rough ride in terms of customer growth. T-Mobile US said it added 2.1 million net connections during the quarter, which may have officially pushed the carrier past Sprint for No. 3 in the domestic market. One potential positive for Sprint was that T-Mobile US said its porting ratio with Sprint remained flat during the latest quarter, though at an elevated 2.45-to-1 ratio.
Sprint stock rebounds
The latest offer also comes in the midst of a turbulent ride for Sprint’s (S) stock price, which on Monday dipped 11% to a new 52-week low of $3.10 per share. That drop followed a slow fade last week that saw the carrier’s stock price lose 10% of its value.
However, Sprint’s stock over the past two days has risen from those lows, gaining nearly 7% on Tuesday and trading as much as 9% higher on Wednesday.
Investors appeared concerned over Sprint’s ability to maintain the modest operational improvements posted during its last fiscal quarter. The carrier managed to hold on to its No. 3 rank in the marketplace in terms of total connections on its network through the first part of the year, but many analysts expect the carrier to officially lose that position to T-Mobile US once Sprint reports operational results on Aug. 4.
Sprint’s network enhancements are also coming under increased scrutiny as the carrier’s plans for more investments have the financial community on edge. Unfortunately, recent network testing conducted by RootMetrics that centered on 50 of the nation’s busiest airport locations found Sprint’s network lacking in coverage and capacity. Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure has proclaimed the carrier will have the No. 1 or No. 2 ranked network in major markets within two years.
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