Sprint is the latest mobile phone company that seems to understand how important it is to offer its customers more prepaid handset options. The company recently announced it is going to be offering up unlimited text and talk with no data for $45 per month on new prepaid plans. The concept is to experiment with the popularity of a phone that can only connect to the web over a Wi-Fi network.
This kind of move is the latest by the big cellular providers in the prepaid smartphone market. That market is growing so much that recent reports indicate prepaid smartphones will actually outpace the sale of high-end devices by the end of 2017.
Sprint is already quite a few no-contract, prepaid contract offerings through Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile. The company also has its own branded Sprint As You Go plans. Sprint Prepaid is the latest launching as the company makes the claim that you just can’t have too much of a good thing.
The most interesting part of this offering is Sprint isn’t going after the younger market with this particular offering. This prepaid phone is for people who do more talking and texting than they do surfing. The Sprint Prepaid service is replacing the As You Go service and will offer up phones like the Samsung Galaxy 4 Mini as well as the Galaxy S3, the Moto G, and the iPhone 4S.
The basic offering doesn’t allow for 3G or 4G connectivity and has that $45 price tag. If users want to be able to connect to cellular networks, they can pay $60 a month and will then get 2.5 GB of unthrottled data. Sprint does also take away the unlimited talk time with this plan, as the voice minutes will be limited to 1,200 a month. While industry insiders agree the idea of a prepaid smartphone that doesn’t have cellular connections is an interesting one, most people believe it will have to offer cheaper plans.
If Sprint can find the right price tag, it can certainly join a growing chorus of companies allowing smartphones and savings to go hand in hand.
Edited by
Cassandra Tucker 
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