Existing Sprint customers who signed up under two long-running deals are about to get a very unpleasant new years’ price increase. The “Unlimited freedom” and “50% off” deals, which have been running for two years, are ending this month, which means that some bills will go up by as much as 90%.
“Customers on Unlimited Freedom and 50% off were informed when they signed up with Sprint that the plans were introductory pricing and would increase in price at a future date,” a Sprint spokesperson told Fierce Wireless. “The great news is these customers are still paying less for their service compared to other major carriers. Plus, Sprint now provides unlimited customers Hulu at no additional cost.”
The amount that bills will increase depends on what rate plan customers were on in the first place. The “50% off” deal was offered to customers switching from Verizon or AT&T; Sprint promised to cut those bills in half, so the pricing can vary from customer to customer. The “Unlimited Freedom” deal offered 5 lines for $20 each, or $100 total; with the end of that deal, customers will have to pay $30 a month more per line for lines 3-5, which could mean a bill of $190, up from $100.
The price increases are in line with Sprint’s recent strategy. Ever since merger talks fell through late last year, Sprint has decided to stop slashing prices, and instead invest serious money upgrading its network, which currently ranks in last place among the big-four wireless carriers.
Investing in networks isn’t cheap, though, so Sprint pricing has been increasing across the board. As well as ending its best deals, Sprint increased the price of its unlimited plan by $10 to $60 back in October, and there are rumors that more price increases could be coming in the future.
