Sprint is looking to bring in new subscribers by offering a $100 trade-in credit for those who bring in their iPhones from another carrier and purchase a new iPhone 4S with a new two-year contract, and to make the move more enticing, Sprint still offers unlimited data plans.
Sprint said the limited time offer ends July 1st, but it will be accepting any iPhone models during the duration of the offer.
Both AT&T and Verizon ended unlimited data plans on their contracts, but some mobile customers were grandfathered in. However, Verizon announced earlier this week that it would push to end all unlimited data usage for its users this summer when it rolls out new shared data plans.
The top wireless company on Thursday issued a statement clarifying that only subscribers upgrading to a subsidized handset would lose their unlimited data plans.
AT&T in March made the decision to throttle heavy data users that pass a 3GB per month threshold.
Now that Verizon and AT&T are making the move to shared data plans and tiered pricing, their customers may be more enticed by Sprint´s user-friendly plans. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has committed to continuing its unlimited data plans when the next iPhone rolls out, even if its 4G LTE.
This strategy has somewhat worked in getting Sprint new customers in recent quarters, but profitability has lagged due to the high cost of subsidizing iPhone prices. Hesse said earlier this week that Sprint wouldn´t make a profit from the iPhone until 2015, but has no regrets in signing a $15.5 billion over-four-year deal with handset maker Apple.
“We believe in the long term,” said Hesse. “And over time we will make more money on iPhone customers than we will on other customers.”
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