A common battle cry in the carrier war heard in recent years has been "yeah, but those plans all suck compared to
Sprint SERO." A little too common, in fact -- a significant fraction of subscribers signed up for the incredibly lucrative employee referral packages didn't actually know any Sprint employees -- but at $30 for several hundred voice minutes plus unlimited data and texting, that whole referral thing was an ordeal worth enduring. Well, you can kiss that sweet little deal goodbye, because SERO has been replaced with the more slickly-named "Everything Plus" package which packs basically the same features for $59.99, a healthy bump in price of 100 percent. What's more, would-be buyers now need to know a Sprint staffer's employee ID to sign up, closing a longstanding loophole that required no more than an email address, which is usually a pretty easy bit of information to score. All told, the plans are still decent deals, but still, grandfathered SERO customers have got to be chuckling to themselves right about now.
[Via
phoneArena]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
TheGasMan @ Jul 13th 2008 11:41AM
Wow, I don't think there was any warning for this. Glad I locked in my 1500 minute SERO plan last year!
yanks86 @ Jul 13th 2008 12:25PM
If you look on howard forums or sprintusers they have known for weeks now this was going to happen. Sprint never officially announced it though.
TheGasMan @ Jul 13th 2008 12:48PM
Oh, really? I haven't logged in there in a while. I've heard rumors SERO was going away for a couple years now and figured it was just aimless speculation.
fred hegel @ Jul 13th 2008 12:01PM
Even with SERO gone Sprint still has the best priced plans of any of the big three carriers.
derX @ Jul 13th 2008 2:02PM
Meh. At least where I live, the coverage for Sprint is just okay. Though it may report a signal, reception is truly unreliable. Their customer service is notoriously horrendous and their phone selection is lacking--although still beating TMobile and VZW.
Without SERO, I don't see a reason for Sprint to exist.
Charles Han @ Jul 13th 2008 12:16PM
wow even less incentive to hit up sprint, if they even had major incentives at all.
TheGasMan @ Jul 13th 2008 12:47PM
Yes, they're in financial trouble and everyone loves to hate them because of that, but that doesn't affect you or any of their subscribers.
The only legitimate argument against Sprint is in regards to their customer service, which has improved significantly in the past 6 months or so. And if you're like me, you never need to call in the first place.
mingkee @ Jul 13th 2008 12:45PM
Sprint needs to stop losing money
they stole customers by using this unusual low price special SERO, now they reap whatever they planted
Thomas @ Jul 13th 2008 3:07PM
I love how people are sitting there bashing Sprint about how they will reap what they sow when Sprint was the only company that even offered this kind of thing. I mean I could careless about Sprint, but it just amazes me how people will say "Well now that I can no longer get your cheap *** plan you just suck." I am glad my company issues me a work phone otherwise I would be looking for the cheap plans. Gasman said it best people only hate on companies when they are suffering. I can remember when people trashed on Verizon for horrible cellphone selection and the big issue with bluetooth on the Moto 710.
PatrickC @ Jul 13th 2008 3:34PM
I currently have SERO, plan and was wondering if anyone knows if Sprint will honor my current plan if I pay full price for a phone? if so, i'll never drop this plan!! :)
loker @ Jul 14th 2008 2:23AM
yes because anyone who already has sero will be grandfathered with the old plan...you can keep it as long as you don't change your plan...a device change does not = a plan change....you should even be able to get discounted devices at contract renewal time without changing your plan...
Dave @ Jul 13th 2008 4:11PM
I'm on the "old" SERO and love it, and it was an unbeatable deal. However, this isn't as bad as it seems if you have the right phone setup. This $60 includes Sprint TV, GPS Navigation, and Blackberry data, all not included on the regular SERO. TV is extra $8, navigation is about $10 I think, and Blackberry was an extra $40 (on top of the $30 - wasn't included in original SERO "unlimited data"). When I signed up for Sprint, I was thinking about a Blackberry, but couldn't with the way SERO was set up. You won't find a better Blackberry plan anywhere in the US, I would wager, not even with "old SERO".
Just sayin'. But if they decide to cancel all the old SERO plans, I'm gettin' an iPhone 3G :P
wai @ Sep 3rd 2008 11:47AM
what is the difference between black berry and unlimited data line, and why do I need navigation if I got unlimited data access to mapquest?
champ22 @ Jul 13th 2008 5:26PM
so does this classify as a breach of contract by sprint......and a get out of jail free card?
loker @ Jul 14th 2008 2:22AM
no because anyone who already has sero will be grandfathered with the plan...you can keep it as long as you don't change your plan...
robinsmad @ Jul 14th 2008 2:22AM
Not at all. SERO users get grandfathered in and their contracts stay the same.
Eric @ Jul 13th 2008 6:13PM
SERO - Sorry Everyone Ride's Over
kalibar @ Jul 13th 2008 6:56PM
Oh hey, an Engadget comment that was witty enough I didn't feel like stabbing my eyes out.
Thanks dude, one in a million!
sternrules @ Jul 13th 2008 9:53PM
ditto
Mr Maze @ Jul 14th 2008 12:39AM
I am indeed enjoying my newly acquired/now grandfathered SERO plan. As well as the great customer service I have gotten from the local Sprint store.
Ryan O. @ Jul 14th 2008 1:24PM
Woah. Just locked into my $30 SERO plan last Thursday. If this had happened five days earlier, I'd have an iPhone right now. I was completely on board to get one until I realized that I'd be paying more than double monthly with AT&T.
Nel @ Jul 15th 2008 7:34AM
That kinda sucks. I can tell you thins much a whole lot of people are gonna be angered. A lot are also gonna cry the time to leave cry? lol but like people say its still cheaper than a lot of other carriers.