Sprint expanded its recently introduced international roaming plan, providing access in additional markets and to higher speed data bundles. The move should put a dent in the growing practice of consumers voicing their displeasure over international roaming charges, typically delivered via YouTube.
The service, which was initially announced late last month, adds access in Japan, South Korea and Russia to the initial markets of Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Spain, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Germany and the U.K. The expansion would seem to take advantage of agreements from parent company Softbank.
Sprint customers in those markets and with compatible devices have free access to unlimited messaging and 2G data speeds, with voice calls charged at 20 cents per minute. Customers can add access to buckets of 3G data speeds priced at $15 for 100 megabytes for one day; $25 for access to 200 MB over a one-week period; and $50 for access to 500 MB over a 14-day period. The International Value Roaming service and additional data access can be added to any Sprint plan.
The services align pricing-wise with T-Mobile US’ international roaming package that was launched in late 2013. However, T-Mobile US’ package provides access to services in more than 100 countries.
Sprint does concede that its package is currently limited in scope compared to services offered by larger rivals AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless, but counters with being substantially less expensive.
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