1. Price:
Pros: Sprint isn't necessarily the cheapest carrier,
but they are a good value and offer feature-rich
phones. The best plans require some kind
of 'back-door' knowledge. Their "Unlimited"
plans are usually the most generous among
the major carriers. Cons: You need to look for a Sprint 'promotional'
plan, if you get one of their 'regular' plans,
you may be disappointed. You need to negotiate
for their best plans..
2. Coverage:
Pros: Sprint covers all urban areas, most major
highways and a few surprises. The 'holes'
Sprint once had are growing fewer in number
all the time, however their expansion has
slowed. Sprint has taken over a few other
networks which have added to their coverage.
In some areas Sprint has contracted with
an "affiliate" for fill-in coverage,
and often those affiliates provide better
coverage than Sprint itself. Sprint users use these affiliate networks
as if they were Sprint's own.Where there is no Sprint signal, they have
good roaming agreements. Cons: Sprint's coverage is 'fragile' and depends
on the location of the cell sites, and where
you are. In some areas of the country, Sprint
is not adding any new sites, so what you
see on their coverage map is as good as it
gonna get.
3. Customer Service:
Pros: Sprint's agents are about average, but seem
to have less experience than other carriers'
agents. They aim to please and credit all
mistakes we hear about. They seem to be a
little more flexible in applying plan rules
such as getting a month 'off', without losing
your promotional plan. Calls to customer
service usually get answered in ten minutes
or less. Cons: As with all communications companies, Sprint
has difficulty keeping knowledgeable agents.
They are trained to tell you the stock answer,
and that may not solve your problem. It might
be better to hang up and try again. Their
management sometimes tries to force a cap
on the amount of time an agent spends with
a customer. In the middle of a call an agent
can go from sounding helpful to rushed to
get rid of you..
4. Phone Selection:
Pros: Sprint offers lots of cool phones. Some
carriers only offer a few. Watching for bargains
and rebates, you can pay a reasonable price,
or nothing, for a phone. Unlike other carriers,
you can buy a new Sprint phone every month
if you wanted. Cons: You rarely get a really good price on a
great phone. Of course there are exceptions,
but they want you to have an investment in
your phone...it keeps you more loyal.
5. Roaming:
Pros: Sprint has more roaming agreements than
any other carrier. You can use your phone
seamlessly over a lot of territory, and many
Sprint users may never need to leave the
Sprint network. Sprint's data services work
better while roaming than most other carriers.
Cons: In some areas, it is hard to deal with the
signal threshold that makes you hold a weak
Sprint signal over a strong roaming signal,
however some Sprint phone models have a "roaming
only" option that allows you to access
a stronger roaming signal. Sadly, this option
is missing from Sprint's newer phone models.
Often their PRL will connect you to a weak roaming signal,
even if a stronger one is available.
6. Features:
Pros: In additional to all the normal digital
services, Sprint's broadband service is quite
expansive and works very well. Their voice
mail system is one of the best we have used.
Some people use Sprint exclusively for their
web features. Cons: Some of Sprint's features are expensive.
7. Audio Quality:
Pros: Sprint's "all-digital-from-the-ground-up"
network gives them an advantage in audio
quality. Service can sound as good as a corded
phone. Cons: Wireless phones are not perfect, and Sprint's
digital phones have a rather odd sound when
the signal gets weak. Many Sprint users often
find themselves on the edge of useful coverage
and don't enjoy the audio quality most Sprint
customers receive.
8. Plans:
Pros: Sprint sometimes offers competitive included-minute
plans, but even better are their promotional
plans. And best of all are their "retention"
plans. Threaten to leave, and you get the
best deal, yet. It pays to be on the alert
for these plans, and they let you keep any
plan as long as you want. Retention plans
come and go, and are known by other names.
There appears to be some 'bending of the
rules' in assembling plans. Sprint also has
a "Loyalty" plan that offers a number of perks including
a discount on your plan or extra included
minutes. Cons: Sprint does not apply their plans equally
to all customers, and won't let you change
plans until the end of your billing month.
10: Data:
Pros: Sprint has one the best broadband networks
and while it may no longer be the country's
largest, it applies to more of their own
network than other carriers. And their data
resources often work with their roaming partners.Cons: There are no low-cost options. They are
not upgrading their network to 3G as fast
as other carriers.
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