Sprint announced today that Verizon or AT&T customers who make the switch to Sprint can get a data plan that is half the price they currently pay on the competing carriers.
The deal, dubbed the "Cut Your Bill in Half Event," begins Dec. 5, and will provide unlimited talk and text – regardless of a customer's current plan – and a data plan that is half the cost of an existing AT&T or Verizon plan.
The catch, however, is that Sprint might prioritize the traffic of users who are paying full price for data. "Other plans may receive prioritized bandwidth availability," Sprint says in the fine print. "To improve data experience for the majority of users, throughput may be limited, varied or reduced on the network."
Meanwhile, you have to get a new phone when you make the switch to Sprint. If you don't turn in your old phone within 30 days, Sprint will apply a $200 charge per phone to your bill.
To take advantage of the deal:
- Upload a copy of your current bill to sprint.com/halfprice.
- Bring a copy of your latest bill and all of the phones on your Verizon or AT&T account to a Sprint store.
- A Sprint representative will select the service plan that most closely matches the data allowance in your current monthly rate plan.
- Select a new phone or phones and whether you want to pay for them outright or via Sprint Easy Pay installment billing.
- Turn in your old phones.
- Port your number to Sprint
If you're locked into a contract with Verizon or AT&T, Sprint said it will pay up to $350 per line (via a Visa pre-paid card) to cover Early Termination fees - or the balance on an installment plan. That card could take up to 12 weeks to arrive, though.
It's unclear if the half-price data will be permanent or if it expires after a certain period of time. A Sprint spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sprint has been locked in a battle for customers against its bigger rivals, AT&T and Verizon. A proposed merger with T-Mobile went south this summer, prompting Sprint to replace CEO Dan Hesse with new chief Marcelo Claure, who has promised aggressive action against competitors. For more, see After T-Mobile, Where Now for Sprint?