Sprint (NYSE: S) is expanding its subscription offerings by including popular subscriptions to Amazon Prime, Hulu and Tidal Premium with its new unlimited data plan, Unlimited Premium. In addition to including these subscriptions, the Unlimited Premium plan includes Lookout Premium Plus, streaming in full HD, global roaming, Unlimited talk, text and 4G LTE data in Canada and Mexico, unlimited data, talk and text in the U.S. and other perks. Sprint’s Unlimited Plus plan also includes Hulu and Tidal Premium subscriptions, but you have to enroll in the Unlimited Premium plan to get Amazon Prime.
Here’s a comparison of Sprint’s unlimited plans:
Of course, some restrictions apply. For example, customers get the best price – $90 a month – on autopay, and they are limited to one Hulu limited commercials plan and one Tidal Premium subscription per account, not per phone. If you have three phones on your plan, you are still only eligible to get one Hulu and Tidal subscription. The fine print also says that Unlimited Premium members are subject to “data deprioritization during congestion.”
“Sprint has upped the ante,” said Dow Draper, chief commercial officer for Sprint, in the August 31 announcement. “We’ve promised to deliver Unlimited offers for all and we’ve heard from customers who literally ‘want it all,’ so we designed a plan that delivers just about everything a customer could want. No other carrier comes close. It’s a platinum-class wireless plan that can bring almost $500 in annual savings. It’s the best value in the industry today.”
Sprint says the Amazon Prime value is worth $12.99 a month, and Amazon is not a sponsor of the program, so Sprint is paying for Prime out of its own pocket. Sprint does not say what its relationship to Hulu and Tidal is. As another perk, Unlimited Premium customers will receive two $10 Uber credits each month for 12 months. Sprint also announced other Unlimited plans including Unlimited Military and Unlimited 55+.
In its announcement, Sprint boasted new improvements to its communications network:
“Recently, Sprint has made huge improvements to its network. In fact, Sprint has the most improved network according to Ookla as shown in Speedtest Intelligence data4 and PCMag’s 2018 Fastest Mobile Networks report. In both, the company’s year-over-year increase in national average download speeds outpaced the competitors5, including an 87 percent lift as reported in PCMag’s annual tests.”
The new plans didn’t impress investors much. On August 31, Sprint stock closed at $6.11 per share. As of 5:53 p.m. EDT yesterday, Sprint stock was valued at $6.09 per share.
Insider Take:
For some customers, this could be a potentially good deal, but they need to compare their current carrier plans, the services their plan includes, the perks and the fine print. Yes, Sprint has put together a pretty package with shiny subscriptions that will help save interested customers money, but it may not necessarily be the best deal. Full disclosure: I have been a Sprint customer since 2003. I am also a Prime customer and have the Unlimited Basic plan. The Premium plan doesn’t entice me, but some customers will love the bundle. We applaud Sprint for leveraging subscriptions people want with a service they need.