Sprint Corporation S has launched its new International Value Roaming plan which promises free unlimited international data roaming at up to 2G speeds in 15 selected countries. Thus, customers will be able to surf the web and remain connected at no additional charge when traveling to major areas in Latin America, Europe and Japan.
Additionally, the plan includes unlimited texting, with outgoing phone calls at just 20 cents per minute for countries incorporated in the plan. Notably, new and existing Sprint customers will be able to add the International Value Roaming plans to their domestic plans at no extra cost.
Moreover, Sprint will also let customers make free calls by means of Wi-Fi hotspots while traveling overseas. Notably, this new Wi-Fi calling feature is offered in over 200 countries and territories for calls to the U.S., and is accessible at no additional cost for customers calling a U.S., US Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico phone number. Moreover, Sprint has also extended its Wi-Fi calling to all iPhone models offered by it.
However, the only disadvantage that is likely to test the patience of Sprint’s customers is that in this era of 3G/4G networks, the free international plan will restrict them to 2G Internet speed. For customers looking at superior data speeds, the carrier’s Sprint International Speed Data Roaming options should be a more viable choice, with 3G network passes for 100MB of data for 1 day at $15, 200MB of data for 7 days at $25 or 500MB of data for 14 days at $50.
Interestingly, Sprint is highlighting its roaming plans as more cost effective compared to AT&T, Inc.'s T $30 monthly international add-on plan and Verizon Communications Inc.’s VZ $40 offer for the same. While both AT&T and Verizon charge their customers for data roaming services, Sprint seeks to serve its users in this regard at no extra cost.
Naturally, Sprint claims considerable savings for both consumer and business customers when compared to AT&T and Verizon’s similar offerings. Moreover, the plan seems to be more likely a direct retort to T-Mobile US, Inc. TMUS, which had also made international roaming free for its customers in Oct 2014.
We believe, through its International Value Roaming and Wi-Fi calling offerings, Sprint aims to lure more customers by mitigating their agony of paying huge data roaming bills. We believe the new plan should help the company reverse customer churn and evade a further plunge in position among the major wireless carriers in the U.S.
Sprint currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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