No. 4 carrier Sprint is taking its gloves off in the wireless battle. This time, though, the company isn’t targeting T-Mobile with trash talk — it’s targeting AT&T with a marketing promotion that could cause a mass exodus.
Sprint is making a one-time offer to DirecTV customers: free service for an entire year when they switch to Sprint. That’s nothing to sneeze at and could cause AT&T to at least clear its throat in the face of this aggressive competition. AT&T acquired DirecTV for $ 49 billion in July.
“DirecTV customers love their TV service — but they shouldn’t have to settle for AT&T wireless,” said Kevin Crull, chief marketing officer at Sprint. “Why not build the perfect bundle by combining with Sprint wireless? We’re winning awards across the country because our network has never been stronger, faster or more reliable, and our customers have never been more satisfied.”
How It Works
Earlier this month AT&T came out with a strong deal. The company is offering a $ 500 per line credit to DirecTV and U-verse customers willing to switch to its wireless service. Based on a $ 50 per line cost, Sprint’s deal appears just a little sweeter.
If you want Sprint’s deal, though, you’ll have to move quickly. The deal is only good through September 30. The offer lets DirecTV customers switch to Sprint — or existing Sprint customers add new lines of service through Sprint Lease, iPhone Forever, Sprint Easy Pay1 or pay full retail price for their smartphones — and get 12 months of unlimited talk, text and a full 2 GB of data per line. The deal is good for up to five lines.
Here’s how it works: Qualified DirecTV customers can upload a recent DirecTV bill at www.sprint.com/directvoffer. Next, they go to Sprint.com or call Sprint Telesales to switch allegiances. Customers can also visit their local Sprint stores and log on to their DirecTV accounts online to show verification and take the company up on its offer.
Is there a catch? Kind of . . . customers will be responsible for the one-time $ 36 activation fee and monthly taxes and surcharges. But there’s also an added bonus: Sprint will pay off users’ old phones and contracts. And if they’re not on contracts and don’t have installment billing phone payments, Sprint will buy back the working smartphones they’re currently using for up to $ 300 per line.
That’s not where the offer ends, though. At the conclusion of the 12 months of free service, Sprint customers on this plan can move immediately to what the company describes as a “competitive rate-per-line plan” for unlimited talk, text and 2 GB data. Specifically, one line will run $ 50, two lines will run $ 90, three lines will run $ 120, four lines will run $ 150 and five lines will run $ 180.
Will It Work?
We caught up with Jeff Kagan, an independent technology analyst, to get his thoughts on the deal. This sounds nuts, but nuts could be just what Sprint needs right now, he told us. Every carrier needs to define itself — but since Sprint management changed many industry watchers have been struggling to understand the flavor of the new company, he said.
“We know AT&T and Verizon. We also now know T-Mobile with their loudmouth CEO approach to marketing. However, Sprint has been a blank spot over the last year,” Kagan said. “Sprint is starting to come out of its cocoon in a very interesting way. This move helps define who Sprint will be moving forward.”
As far as the free year of service, Kagan confirmed this is an industry first. It sounds like Sprint is starting to use industry events to offer attractive deals on its wireless services, he said. He called the idea innovative, but questioned whether or not it will actually be successful. Either way, the potential is interesting, he added.
“The challenge is that Sprint needs to break through all the industry noise and capture additional market share,” Kagan said. “With this strategy, Sprint is taking the high road, congratulating AT&T on their DirecTV acquisition, rather than taking the ugly Comcast route of competing on the negative side.”
