Sprint is willing to pay off the contracts of AT&T and Verizon customers, give them new phones and cut their previous bills in half.
Sprint says it will match its competitors' plans, including data allotment, while allowing expatriates to pay half the price of their previous contracts for monthly service. Any AT&T and Verizon wireless plan is eligible to be halved by Sprint.
The nation's third-largest wireless carrier will also pay up to $350 per line to help AT&T and Verizon customers terminate their contracts to make the move. The termination fees will be paid to consumers via Visa prepaid cards, which could take up to 12 weeks to arrive.
The Cut Your Bill in Half event starts on Dec. 5, with registration continuing until March 15, 2015. The event is meant to serve as evidence of the unrivaled value Sprint brings to the wireless market, says Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure.
"It's as simple as this: Bring Sprint your Verizon or AT&T bill along with your phone and we'll cut your rate plan in half," says Claure. "That's a 50 percent savings on your rate plan every month. And this great deal is not just a promotion. This will be the customer's ongoing price."
To take advantage of the bill-sheering event, AT&T and Verizon customers most show Sprint their most recent billing statement. Consumers can upload a copy of their bill online or stop by a Sprint store.
After selecting a device from Sprint, the new converts will have to turn in their old phones at a Sprint store and request a prepaid shipping kit -- Sprint is also waiving the $36 activation fee for its devices. Sprint will charge $200 bucks per line for every old device that isn't turned in within 30 days of activating the new hardware.
Converted customers will need to port their phone numbers to Sprint and then the wireless carrier will reimburse the early-termination fees.
Sprint's aggressive new strategy is the type of effort that it'll require to lure customers away from AT&T and Verizon. AT&T only lags behind first-place Verizon by a small margin, but customers of both companies are extremely loyal to their wireless carriers, according to Micheal Hodel, an analyst at Morningstar.
"Verizon Wireless' continued strong customer loyalty indicates that a large percentage of customers choose the firm for attributes it controls directly, including its network reputation," said Hodel.
