On the heels of announcing plans to offer Apple’s slate of iPad products, Sprint Nextel released no-contract data plans catering to those devices that undercut similar offerings from larger rivals.
Sprint Nextel said beginning Nov. 11 it will offer tablet-specific data plans beginning at $15 per month for 300 megabytes of data transmission, ranging up to $80 per month for 12 gigabytes. The plans will not require a contract. The carrier added that it would waive the usual activation fee for those plans for a “limited time.”
Current Sprint Nextel customers using a smartphone with unlimited data will be able to add a tablet to their account for $15 per 1 GB of data specific to that device.
Apple earlier this year unveiled an updated iPad device that for the first time included support for LTE networks, which domestically was limited to Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility. To support the two operators, Apple made a pair of devices, one to support Verizon Wieless Band Class 13 and legacy CDMA-based 3G networks, and one for AT&T Mobility’s Band Class 17 and legacy HSPA-based 3G offering.
This time around, Apple has added support for Sprint Nextel’s LTE network in the 1.9 GHz band that is also known as Band Class 25. That support includes both the updated iPad and the new iPad Mini. Sprint Nextel currently offers just the Wi-Fi-only Motorola Xoom tablet directly to consumers, so no cellular data plan is offered.
AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless recently introduced shared data plans that allow customers to add tablet devices to their allotment of data for a fixed price of $10 per month without a contract.
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