Coverage: Sprint has CDMA coverage in every state, but coverage in Alaska is limited to analog roaming only. Nextel's iDEN network has coverage in every state except Alaska and Montana. As with all carriers, individual coverage will vary by location and we recommend searching fo out consumer generated Sprint coverage map on the right. For international coverage CDMA roaming is available in 26 countries while Nextel iDEN roaming is available in 11 countries. Their coverage is spotty in a few areas around the United States and roaming charges do apply to some areas. However, if you live in a major metropolitan area it is likely you will have comparable coverage to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in most areas. One benefit of being a customer of a smaller carrier means you are likely competing against less users for network capacity. This usually results in less data and voice congestion problems when you are at a stadium or on a crowded freeway. Sprint and Clearwire Communications announced plans to launch their respective 4G mobile Internet services in 2009 and is rolling out in many large cities. Each of the companies will offer 4G under their own 4G brand which seems like a waste of resources in our opinion. However, Comcast will likely be the consolidator of the two companies in the future and acquire both within a few years. We think that Comcast will soon start leveraging their large footprint of cable lines connected into homes in the US in order to roll out femtocells to customers and have a quadruple play service. In-building home coverage is the weakness of all US carriers and Sprint been always been an early adopter in the space with its' Airwave enhanced coverage microcell tower.
Plans: Sprint is beginning to attract more customers with the a compelling device line-up like the and the clarity and simplicity of plans. Plans are typically less expensive, particularly for unlimited internet access, text and messaging services. They offer several plans pre-paid, family and individual plans. Sprint's Power Pack plans have extended night and weekend hours. Nextel offers plans with unlimited incoming calls and a strong set of business-friendly features, including adding a second line to a handset. Nextel pioneered push-to-talk technology with its Direct Connect (now called Walkie-Talkie) service.
Plans available:
- Sprint offers a 3G (EV-DO) network but coverage limited to urban areas.
- Rolling out 4G services in major cities in partnership with Clearwire.
- Has the Airwave femtocell product for enhanced in-building coverage.
- Push-to-talk technology with Direct Connect (now called Walkie-Talkie)
- Sprint's CDMA network and Nextel's iDEN network are distinct technologies that use separate networks with different coverage areas.
- International CDMA and iDEN coverage has a smaller footprint than GSM, though the carrier now offers dual-mode CDMA/GSM handsets and a dualmode iDEN/GSM device.
- We recommended you monitor your text messaging usage closely and get on an unlimited plan so you don't get charged the outrageous .25 cents per message if you go over.
- Sprint has the Android phone on the HTC Hero handset with unlimited data plans. We highly recommend it!
- T-Mobile Service Plans and Coverage Review
- Verizon Wireless Service Plans and Coverage Review
- AT&T Wireless Service Plans and Coverage Review
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