Sprint unveils new prepaid plans, phones

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., March 14 (UPI) -- Sprint is launching the "Sprint Prepaid" plan, a revamped version of an existing plan, amid growing competition from Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile.

The carrier is attempting to give its prepaid service a much needed boost, as apart from regular competitors, Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile, other carriers like T-Mobile and AT&T are preparing to make concerted efforts into this segment. T-Mobile already provides prepaid services through its MetroPCS brand and AT&T recently completed an acquisition of Leap Wireless, a definite move into the prepaid segment.

Sprint Prepaid is designed for customers who do not want a contract but still want to stick with a national carrier like Sprint, the company said. The carrier is offering two new plans: A $45 monthly plan that will provide unlimited talk and text messages, but no data; and a $60 plan that provide the same features as the previous plan with an additional 2.5 GB of data.

The smartphones available for these plans are the Spark-enabled Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, the LTE-capable Galaxy S3, and the 3G-enabled Moto G. Sprint will allow its users to tap into its 4G LTE network, including its enhanced Spark network, but reserves the rights to slow the connection to 3G for video streaming.

The Apple iPhone 4S will also be available but plans for that device will start at $60.

Sprint also launched Sprint Money Express, a mobile-banking service on Android phones that will allow users to send money, checks and pay bills using a Sprint-branded Visa prepaid card. The carrier is attempting to target lower-end customers without access to banking services.

[Sprint]