Sprint now has the cheapest unlimited plan, but its 4G LTE network is the worst
Verizon and T-Mobile aren't the only U.S. mobile networks with new "unlimited" data plans trying to win your hard-earned money.
Sprint, the fourth largest carrier in America, announced on Thursday a new "Unlimited Freedom" plan that matches Verizon and T-Mobile's and costs less.
Like its rivals, Sprint's "unlimited" plan offers unlimited calling, texts, and a solid amount of usable data (23GB) at 4G LTE speeds (speeds may be reduced during network congestion times after exceeding the data limit), unlimited HD video streaming and 10GB of mobile hotspot data per line.
Pricing for the new Unlimited Freedom plan is the same as the old one: $60 for a single line, $100 for two lines, $130 for three lines and $160 for four lines.
Sprint's new unlimited plan is sweeter for new customers, who can take advantage of special promotional pricing that runs until March 31, 2018. As detailed in the chart above, new customers will pay $50 for a single line and $90 for lines 2-5 until next year. After March 31, 2018, the pricing goes back up to normal pricing.
On paper, Sprint's revamped Unlimited Freedom plan definitely is a good deal, but look more closely and you'll see some fine print that might make it a deal breaker.
First, Sprint's pricing, like Verizon and AT&T's, doesn't include taxes and fees, which means the advertised prices in the chart are slightly misleading. The only carrier that includes taxes and fees in is T-Mobile. You'll have to run your own calculations to see which plan actually saves you the most.
Sprint's network coverage and 4G LTE download speed lags behind the competition.
Second, Sprint's network coverage and 4G LTE download speed lags behind the competition.
According to OpenSignal, Sprint is in last place in coverage compared to Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, and last place in average download speed.
Sprint's average download speed is 6.56Mbps compared to 12.26Mbps on T-Mobile and 11.98Mbps on Verizon. Even AT&T has faster average download speeds of 7.93Mbps. If you want the fastest LTE network, Sprint's just not going to cut it.
Even with the caveats, Sprint's new Unlimited Freedom plan is a helluva lot better than its old one, and it's even better if you're a new customer.
Unlimited data is back, baby, and you can thank good ol' competition for making it better on every carrier.
Raymond Wong is Mashable's Senior Tech Correspondent. He reviews gadgets and tech toys and analyzes the tech industry. Raymond's also a bit of a camera geek, gamer, and fine chocolate lover. Before arriving at Mashable, he was the Deputy Editor of NBC Universal's tech publication DVICE. His writing has appeared on G4TV, BGR, Yahoo and Ubergizmo, to name a few. You can follow Raymond on Twitter @raywongy or Instagram @sourlemons.
