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Sprint and Verizon Wireless have bumped up their own free data salvos for customers now that AT&T began a recent promotion to double some cellular data packages at the same prices for users.
In late September, AT&T launched its double data offer for customers who buy shareable data packages for between 15GB to 50GB per month, giving users 30GB to 100GB of shareable data for the same prices.
Now Sprint is hiking its own shareable data packages for users who buy monthly shared plans for 32GB, 40GB or 60GB of data, offering users free increases to 60GB, 80GB or 120GB respectively, according to an Oct. 1 announcement by the company.
Verizon is also joining the battle, doubling the included shareable data for business customers who buy monthly packages of between 20GB to 50GB, which will provide 40GB to 100GB of data to users, according to an Oct. 1 announcement from Verizon. Families that purchase smaller shared data plans for 12GB of data monthly will be boosted to 15GB of data, while families that purchase 16GB monthly plans will be bumped up to 30GB under the promotion.
For all of the offers from the three cellular providers, all of the details are in the fine print.
At Sprint, the free data offers are available to new and existing customers under the company’s 32GB, 40GB and 60GB Family Share Pack plans, as long as users sign up by Oct. 31 at Sprint retail stores, Sprint.com or through Sprint Telesales, according to Sprint. The free data promotion will also be available in additional retail outlets soon, but that timetable has not yet been announced.
As part of the promotion, the company will also waive the $10 to $20 monthly line access charges for new devices on 20GB or higher data plans for customers who switch their number to Sprint from another carrier. The new devices must be purchased through Sprint Easy Pay or the Sprint iPhone for Life Plan to be eligible for the waived access fee. The monthly access fees will be waived through the end of 2015, while the extra data packages can be kept for as long as the account remains active.
Under the promotion, customers would pay $130 per month for 60GB of shared data, $150 per month for 80GB of shared data or $225 per month for 120GB of shared data, plus taxes and fees, according to Sprint.
Sprint Business Plan customers are also eligible for double data offers for data plans that offer 40GB, 60GB, 80GB and 100GB of shareable data per month, according to Sprint. The business plan promotion begins Oct. 3, and will double the data in those plans to 80GB, 120GB, 160GB and 200GB of data, respectively. Customers must sign up for the business promotion by Oct. 31.
Sprint and Verizon Join AT&T’s Double Data War for Customers
Monthly device access charges will also be waived through the end of 2015 for business customers who transfer a phone number to Sprint and activate a new, nonsubsidized device on data plans of 20GB or more. Spring will also offer to pay up to $350 in Early Termination Fees for users per line. The extra data packages will continue for customers as long as their accounts remain active.
Monthly charges under the Sprint Business Plans under the promotion are $135 for 80GB, $200 for 120GB, $270 for 160GB and $330 for 200GB, plus taxes and fees.
All Sprint Family Share Pack and Sprint Business Share plans include unlimited talking and texting on the Sprint network.
Meanwhile at Verizon, the extra free data offers target the company’s MORE Everything and MORE Everything for Business plan holders, starting Oct. 2.
Families on MORE Everything shared data plans will get 15GB of data, up from 12GB, for the same $110 per month, or 30GB of shared data, up from 16GB, for $130, according to the offer. Customers must sign up for the promotions by Oct. 31.
Business plan users will pay $150 per month for 40GB of shared data, up from 20GB; $225 for 60GB of data, up from 30GB; $300 for 80GB, up from 40GB; or $375 for 100GB, up from 50GB, according to the promotion.
A monthly access fee of $15 per line also applies for customers who have Verizon Edge plans, are buying or upgrading a smartphone, or bring their own devices, according to Verizon.
AT&T’s recent double data promotion was unveiled on Sept. 27, shortly after Sprint and competitor T-Mobile announced their own free data offers to lure more customers to their services. The AT&T offer applies to all Mobile Share Value plans that include 15GB to 50GB of shareable data and two to 10 cellular service lines. That means that for a monthly plan charge of $130, a user would get 30GB of shared data, up from the normal 15GB, to be shared between two and 10 lines. Users of a $150 data package would receive 40GB of shared data, up from the normal 20GB of data. Users of a $225 data package would receive 60GB of shared data, up from the normal 30GB, while users of a $300 data package would receive 80GB of shared data, up from the normal 40GB. For $375, users would receive 100GB of shared data, up from the normal 50GB allotment.
The offer is open to new and existing users who sign up for the special promotion by Oct. 31. Users must also pay $15 per line for unlimited calling, texting and international messaging (from the United States to select countries) each month. For a user with two lines, that means the special extra data promotion would cost $160 per month plus taxes and fees for 30GB of shared data. Customers can also get the special data promotion for $40 per month per line under a two-year contract, in addition to the shared data charges.