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Sprint is giving away free 32-inch Samsung LED televisions to new customers switching to Sprint or to existing customers who buy a new Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+ or Note 5 smartphone as part of an upgrade or new line of service.
The free TV offer starts Dec. 18 and runs through Dec. 24 or until supplies of the free televisions are exhausted, Sprint states in a Dec. 16 announcement.
The new Samsung smartphones can be obtained through a Sprint Lease, Sprint Easy Pay, by signing a two-year contract or by paying the full retail price for the handset, according to the company.
The free television is a 32-inch Samsung LED J4000 Series display that will be shipped to participating consumers within four to six weeks, the offer states.
New customers who are switching to Sprint can combine the free TV deal with Sprint’s other recent offer of 50 percent off for mobile plans to customers of competitors AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. The discount offer means that new customers who are switching from one of the competing carriers will pay 50 percent of the rate they had paid to the existing carrier if they give Sprint’s LTE Plus network a try. New customers can sign up for this offer nationwide through Jan. 7, 2016.
Under the offer, a customer paying $50 a month for a T-Mobile cellular plan that includes 2GB of high-speed data would pay $25 a month for a single line, or $50 a month for four lines based on T-Mobile’s $100 monthly rate. For a single line with 10GB of data from T-Mobile, a new Sprint customer would pay $40 per month, which is half the $80 charged by T-Mobile.
A former AT&T customer would pay $25 per month for 5GB of shared monthly data with Sprint, which is half the regular $50 a month charge from AT&T, plus a monthly access charge of $12.50 per line, which is half AT&T’s rate. A 20GB shared data package would be $140 from AT&T, but is $70 from Sprint under the offer, in addition to a half-off $7.50-per-month access fee on each line.
A former Verizon customer would pay $30 a month for 6GB of high-speed data from Sprint, compared to $60 a month from Verizon under the deal. An access charge of $10 for smartphones or $5 for tablets—half of Verizon’s rates—would also apply per device and line. A 20GB data plan would sell for $60 a month with Sprint, compared to $120 with Verizon, plus line access charges.
“A free TV from Samsung is the perfect gift for yourself or a loved one,” Roger Sole, chief marketing officer at Sprint, said in a statement. “Sprint is excited to team up with Samsung and offer consumers an exciting promotion with the popular Galaxy smartphones. And we invite new customers to switch to Sprint and save 50 percent off their current rate plan.”
In addition, Sprint will pay a new customer’s switching fees up to $650 per line via an American Express Reward Card if they come over to Sprint,
In October, Sprint announced enhanced WiFi calling capabilities for Sprint iPhone users, thanks to the rollout of Apple’s latest iOS 9.1 operating system, according to an earlier eWEEK story. Back in April, Sprint unveiled WiFi calling capabilities for customers with iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s smartphones, but the latest iOS 9.1 update offers the capabilities to more iPhone models and adds the shared-number capability, according to Sprint. WiFi calling lets users make phone calls over WiFi when normal cellular connections are weak or not possible, which vastly extends the range and service of the devices.