By In yet another attempt to smear the AT&T/T-Mobile merger proposal, Sprint is said to be offering customers $175 credits when porting their number over from T-Mobile to Sprint. Think of it as sort of a “safe haven” for business customers who are uncertain about Magenta’s future. The $175 should cover most of the ETC you’d otherwise pay (and depending on what type of phone and plan you get, could pay for 2-3 months of service before you’ll have to come out of pocket).
The document states that business customers who ported their number with this promotion can leave Sprint for T-Mobile and get their ETF waived if the acquisition doesn’t go through, though they have 90 days from the announcement day to do so. And if the proposal does end up being approved, Sprint states you’re theirs “for life”.
Sounds a bit diabolical for Sprint’s taste, I’d think. But you aren’t actually theirs for life – you can just as easily cancel your contract or wait for it to expire. Bad choice of words there. This supposed promotion is said to end July 23rd. Be sure to call around and see if this is legit if you’re intrigued by the offer. [via Spantechular]
Nice. I like what sprint is doing although I do not think carriers should be allowed to charge ETF’s anyway but maybe someday they will go away.
This doesn’t make any sense. You sign a contract, then think they should just let you end the contract whenever you want with no penalty? That would defeat the whole point of having a contract.
I’m not saying that but I don’t think the ETF should be more than what the phone costs. I mean the discounts arent that great for most higher end phones that with the 375 or whatever the etf is now.
High end smartphones are 600-800 bucks unsubsidized. You pay $199. A $375 ETF is not unreasonable.
what smartphone is 800? and if you looked lately most 4g phones are going for 250+ with 2 yr contract.
$250 for a phone that costs $500+. Look at any smartphone out of contract rate and the ETF is less than the difference.
That’s the angle you’re gonna take? Really? Ok, let’s say 600-700 bucks. And if you want to be all about the details, where are you getting “most 4G phones are going for 250+”? Go online and look at all the currently available 4G devices. How many of them are $250 or more? 1? You can easily get the Thunderbolt for under 200 and the Charge really isn’t available yet so maybe the answer is 0. Either way 700-300 = 400. How is a 375 ETF not justified?
Exactly.
@blackkristos:disqus What phone is $250? You can easily get the Thunderbolt for under $200 and the Charge is $700 off contract. My argument stands.
The ETF isthe trade off for having a big discount on your phone
As well as plan rates that are gouged into absolute insanity. Don’t forget about that
Had Sprint before, never again. They burned that bridge with napalm a long time ago.
It states it’s for business customers.
Leave sprint to go to Tmo and get fee waived?
Sprint gives you $175 to switch to Sprint from T-Mobile if you don’t want to wait for the outcome of the possible merger. If the merger doesn’t go through, Sprint will allow you to go back to T-Mobile with no ETF.
I love my Nexus S but it will take a lot more than that for me to switch to Sprint right now. I have a cheaper bill, faster 3G internet, more battery life because of the 3G and not WiMax, and I am not on a contract. Unless I have to then I will. If I find out that they will being getting the Nexus 3 first then there is no question that I will go with Sprint.
T mobile still has faster 3.5 g n comparable rates!…. sprint needs to focus on 4g expansion. I’m sick of paying for it!
I’m not the biggest fan of Sprint, they seem to be trying way too hard to turn this merger to their benefit, and it will be. But I’m not jumping my magenta ship until I hear an outcome from this meger, I just love my T-mobile too much.
@facebook-1394456029:disqus You have to understand that Sprint has to turn the merger to their benefit or they will go down the tubes in a duopoly. The only way to Sprint to remain competitive is for them to gain some of the customer base that will come from T-Mo customers who don’t want to be a part of the merger.
”
customers can leave Sprint for T-Mobile”
I think you mean T-Mobile for Sprint.
no, I meant Sprint for T-Mobile. The doc states that if the merger doesn’t go through, those who ported their numbers from Tmo with this promotion can go back to Tmo without paying.
I see. I guess that’s what I get for lazily skimming the article.
Get em Qentyn
I had Sprint before T-mobile with no problems. My only issue was the bloatware that they placed on my Sprint Hero and that it was taking them way to long to update it from 1.5. I switched to T-mobile by breaking my 3-month old Sprint contract with an ETF waiver. If AT&T acquires T-mobile, I prefer to move back to Sprint over AT&T or Verizon. At least, they just got the Nexus S, hopefully with no bloatware.
As current T-Mobile customer who is thoroughly displeased with the proposed merger with AT&T, this is a VERY enticing offer. So, I decided to call Sprint up to verify that they are indeed offering said credit.
The rep I spoke to mentioned a very important piece of info that I didn’t see on the screen shot above: the offer of $175 is contingent upon your purchase of a SMARTPHONE. Non-smartphones will only get you a $50 credit.
Now, I could have mis-heard the rep, she could have given me bad/incorrect info, etc, but for me, this bit of “fine print” is important to know in advance, as not all customers desire a smartphone, despite the market shifting in that direction.
I’m sure that there are ways around this, but it seems like a bait ($175 ETF credit) and switch (“Well, it’s only $175 if you get a smartphone”)…
I’ll still probably end up switching to Sprint anyway when my contract is up, and this is a great offer, but it isn’t enticing enough for me to switch just so I can get a smartphone that does 10 million things that I won’t use it for.
Full disclosure: I’m married with 8 month old twins…I don’t really have time for ANYTHING but them, and a smartphone is a HUGE and un-necessary distraction at this point in my life.
weird that this is a fine print gripe on an android site… I think it’s kind of a given that none of us are going to drop our nexus ones/mytouch4gs for a razr…
@Adam, I called and heard the same thing. Unfortunately, the only phone that interests me is the EVO 3D (really, I want the HTC Sensation, but what can I do?)….and the best they could tell me is “available in summer”. When I pressed them for a more accurate answer….they said September. The language barrier was significant though….as it took me 3 times asking that question to get an answer. I hung up. :(
Smartphones are actually going to be great to help your kids learn. I used mine to help teach colors, animals, letters, numbers, and now I have a 3.5 yr old learning to read with my smartphone…
Aside from that thought process just one quick question… You do realize that you are on a website that is dedicated to the most popular smartphone os dont you? (as well as a tablet os and soon to be tv os) dont you?
I would of stayed with Sprint if my 4G data wasn’t constintly deconnecting!!
Bye! -grin-
….
The document states that business customers can leave Sprint for T-Mobile and get their ETF waived if the acquisition doesn’t go through….
Wait, leave Sprint for Tmo? Other way around.
Read it again.
My phone is on a corporate plan with Verizon and one day Verizon really pissed me off so I decided to call a meeting with a Sprint rep. He told us that if we brought our business to Sprint, they would cover our ETF expenses (we’re talkin’ close to 100 phones). We decided not to switch and that rep hounded the crap out of me for months.
Sprint needs customers.
I think any rep would hound you for months with a account that big.
You think AT&T would pay $18,000 in ETF charges?
The irony of Sprint fighting the AT&T/T-mobile merger is from a consumer standpoint Sprint has the most to gain. I think people who chose T-mobile are now a lot more likely to choose Sprint than Verizon.
I agree.
Left AT&T year ago June and bought the EVO 4G at Sprint. Best move I ever made. I am posting this VIA a 3G connection tethered to a Dell Laptop. I have no problems with 4G …. except the limited availibility. Still well worth it!
Did the same in august, tethered to an iPad, good 4g here in Kansas, 2 down 1 up speeds.
LOL that’s 4G? I get 7-8 mbps down and 3-4 up on Tmo. Sprint’s a joke
You insecure bastard this ain’t a pissing match, 2 mbps is good enough for
me, im not looking to replace my cable connection, I did at work, but not at
home. I just look for tether and browse on my iPad. You peace of shit what
are you going to do with those speeds torrent? ‘ till you hit your cap, play
online games with mobile data ping times? Now go take a shower! You’re
starting to stink up the place.
I left T-Mobile a little over a year ago and came to
Sprint…initially w/the Hero and now with the EVO 4G. As much as T-Molbile fanboys
try to pretend, it was clear then and even more so now…Sprint is crushing
you. I’m browsing 4G in Richmond, Va when before T-Mobile would lose signal on my
15th floor apartment…looking dead at the tower standing less than a mile away. Haha Gooooodbye. #Wack
I feel the pressure.. oh wait.. nope just needed to burp.. Nothing Sprint (or Verizon) is doing, has been doing, will do, or nothing either of them have, has any affect on me whatsoever.. sorry I don’t feel “crushed”, or in any way fazed by either of them.. Now.. that said, the AT&T deal is another story… But the plan is (no pun) to upgrade my phone with T Mobile in about a month or so, and ride the T Mobile train as long as I can, and see what happens.. I am already an AT&T customer with internet and phone, and I don’t have the blind hatred that others have, because I haven’t had any problems with them whatsoever.. chips fall where they may with the new deal.. I’ll be fine.
@dbcad7 I can tell you as I have had AT&T internet before (which was great), that the cell service and internet are NOT the same. The customer service people are vastly different, and the coverage for me (Los Angeles) was spotty at best. I love T-Mobile…..but sadly, they will be no longer. If the deal doesn’t go through I fear they will have hemorrhaged so many customers (500K last month) that it won’t matter anymore.
No way in hell would I ever be on at&t. Sprint all the way.
@
GawkerRedesignSucks I was referring to a subsidized cost of (approx) $250 for a phone that may cost $500+ off contract.