Sprint unveils new home phone service for $20/month

Sprint (NYSE:S) took another step into the crowded home phone business with the launch of its new Phone Connect System 1, hoping to get cord cutters over to its wireless network.

sprint Phone Connect System 1

Sprint Phone Connect System 1

Sprint said the new services offers homeowners and small business customers two cordless phones for $49.99 with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement (excluding taxes). When customers bundle that with Sprint's Phone Connect plan, they get unlimited local and domestic long-distance calling while on the Sprint network for $19.99 per month (excluding taxes and surcharges). This system includes two Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication (DECT) phones and can support up to four handsets (though additional handsets are sold separately).

For those who already own conventional corded or cordless phones, Sprint already offers Sprint Phone Connect 2, which is a plug-and-play device lets users plug their existing office or home landline phone into the Sprint Phone Connect terminal and use the features they are accustomed to from a landline phone provider. That product is compatible with most conventional corded and cordless phones, Sprint said.

Of course, Sprint is not the only carrier going after the home phone market. Verizon offers a solution called Verizon Wireless Home Phone Connect. In June, U.S. Cellular (NYSE:USM) launched its Home Phone device, which it sells for a penny with a two-year contract and provides unlimited nationwide calling over its CDMA network using standard corded or cordless phones for $20 per month. And In March, AT&T launched a $20 no-contract option to entice consumers to cut their wireline-based voice cord and switch to its Wireless Home Phone service.

Further, some carriers are adding Internet connections into the mix. In July, AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) started offering a home phone and Internet service modem in select markets that uses its LTE and HSPA networks. And in September, Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) answered that product with its MiFi Powered 4G LTE Broadband Router with Voice from Novatel Wireless, which supports voice and data services over the carrier's LTE network.

For more:
- see this release

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