Leap Wireless may be in the midst of some organizational changes, but the carrier is looking to keep its Cricket brand moving forward announcing a pair of new limited-time initiatives.
Leap said that beginning Jan. 26, customers would be able to sign up five lines of smartphones for $100 per month. The plans include unlimited calling, messaging, one gigabyte of un-throttled data and access to the carrier’s Muve music offering. Customers can save an additional $5 per month if the select Cricket’s automatic bill pay option.
To further sweeten the pot for those coming from a rival carrier, Leap is also offering a device trade-in program that provides for triple the “value” of a device being traded in up to $200 above the retail value of a device. The carrier explained that a device that it deems to have no value is still worth a minimum of $15, while a “worthless” smartphone is worth $30 towards the cost of a new Cricket device. If a device is deemed to be worth $100, Cricket will provide a $300 credit.
The offerings are set to run for a limited time.
The move could take a sizeable chunk out of Leap’s average revenue per user results, which had been been showing signs of improvement late last year. Leap reported that customers spent an average of $45.45 per line during the third quarter of 2013, which was a significant year-over-year improvement.
Leap is in the process of being acquired by AT&T, which is expected to close during the first part of the year. The deal, which was announced last summer, will see AT&T maintain the Cricket brand as the lynchpin of its growing prepaid strategy that will result in the eventual elimination of AT&T’s Aio Wireless brand.
Leap lost nearly 600,000 customers through the first three quarters of last year as rivals increased attention towards the no-contract space. Rival MetroPCS was acquired by T-Mobile US last year, which fortified T-Mobile US’ position in the no-contract space, while Sprint and AT&T Mobility both updated their offerings to better target the market.
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