Sprint (NYSE: S) wholesale partner nTelos Wireless is launching a promotion in conjunction with its new equipment installment plan that gives its subscribers unlimited voice, texting and 10 GB of data for $45 per month.
According to the fine print on nTelos's website, the offer expires Sept. 30. Customers who take advantage of the $0 down installment plan for device financing can opt to get unlimited data for $10 more per month. Further, nTelos is offering customers switching from other carriers up to $350 in device credit when they port their number over and sign a new, two-year contract and a 24-month EIP agreement.
The offering is quite attractive compared with similar offers for individual lines from the Tier 1 carriers. And nTelos' fully unlimited plan is actually $5 less than Sprint's new, cheaper unlimited plan for individual subscribers, though Sprint's plan is not a promotional offer.
NTelos' promotion comes amid intensifying competition among the Tier 1 carriers. T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) said earlier this week it is quadrupling the amount of data customers on its low-cost "Simple Starter" plans can get per month to 2 GB for $45, just $5 more than the existing plan, which offers 500 MB of data.
Earlier this month nTelos announced its EIP program, in which customers get devices for $0 down and pay off their devices in monthly installments, similar to the early upgrade programs from the Tier 1 carriers. After 12 monthly payments, nTelos customers can upgrade to a new smartphone, with all unbilled installments waived when they upgrade. Customers can also save $15 per month per line when they sign up for one of the carrier's new nControl customizable plans.
"These industry leading promotions and data options give our customers the freedom and flexibility they demand," Rob Cale, the nTelos's vice president of marketing, said in a statement. "We are committed to providing our customers the best smartphones available today and putting them back in control of their wireless experience."
In late July, nTelos CFO Steb Chandor said on the company's second-quarter earnings conference call that "not having an EIP in place put it at a competitive disadvantage for the first half of the year." The company expects the new EIP program to have a positive impact on its postpaid business.
The second quarter was a relatively quiet one for nTelos, which added just 400 total net subscribers in the period, including 3,300 postpaid adds and 2,900 postpaid net losses. The carrier ended the quarter with 458,100 total wireless customers, including 308,200 postpaid subscribers and 149,900 prepaid customers.
For more:
- see this nTelos release
- see this nTelos site
- see this separate nTelos site
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