Sprint Prepaid has been re-branded as "Sprint Forward" as noted by Prepaid Phone News.
With the re-branding Sprint has consolidated its 3 prepaid wireless plans in favor of offering just two, with a family plan option available for each.
Sprint Forward Prepaid Plan Highlights
Sprint's lower tiered new prepaid plan is priced at $45 or $40 with an autopay discount applied and there are no activation fees associated with it. The plan includes unlimited talk, text and data with the first 4 GB at 4G LTE speeds. Mobile hotspot, unlimited international texting and 50 domestic roaming minutes are also included. Taxes and fees are not included in the price, and bring your own device is not may not be fully supported.
According to Sprint:
"Sprint Forward devices are specially designed to work with Sprint Forward plans. Sprint Forward plans are limited only to approved Sprint Forward devices; which may include devices from the Sprint device portfolio or devices brought from other carriers. Visit a Sprint Retail Store for specific device compatibility questions."
Special pricing is available to those who have multiple lines. Each additional line beyond line 1 pays just $30/month. A couple would therefore pay $70/month, a group of 3 - $100/month. A maximum of 5 lines are supported.
An unlimited LTE data plan is also available priced at $65 or $60/month with autopay enabled.
The unlimited plan has a few restrictions placed on it when it comes to streaming.
- Video streams are limited to a resolution of about 480p
- Music streaming is limited to about 500 Kbps
- Gaming is limited to about 2 Mbps
|See also: Comparison of all Sprint phone plans
Like all unlimited LTE data plans, network prioritization policies do apply. During times of heavy network congestion, data speeds may be temporarily slowed.
Analysis
Unlike nearly every other prepaid wireless brand in the country, Sprint's attitude towards those customers who want to bring their own device is still rather vague and confusing. still refusing to allow potential customers to bring their own device to their prepaid network. Rather than offering straight up support, potential customers will have to check in with their local Sprint store or call them on the phone to see if their device is eligible or not. Sprint's official policy is so vague the door remains open for the company to indiscriminately block devices as they so choose. It's a practice that the carrier applies to its other prepaid brands such as Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile as well. Virgin Mobile now only supports iPhones, while Boost Mobile has an equally vague policy towards those that want to bring their own device.
Plan consolidation is both a good and bad thing here. Studies have shown that when a consumer is faced with too many choices, they often don't make a choice.
Sprint's new plans seem to mimic what AT&T has done with its GoPhone plans. The price points offered by each provider are nearly identical, although AT&T offers 2 GB more high speed data at the $40 price point while Sprint offers partially full speed LTE data at the $60 price point while AT&T limits it to 3 Mbps.
Those considering service on Sprint Forward, may also want to check out this list of cheap phone plans or the list of Sprint MVNO's to see if they are better served elsewhere.