Sprint’s Unlimited Premium Review

Performance

Sprint didn't fare too well in J.D. Power's U.S. Wireless Network Quality Performance Study. The study evaluated top nationwide carriers in six regions based on the number of problems they encountered per 100 mobile interactions on cell phones, tablets, and other mobile broadband devices. Sprint came in last in every region except one, but the difference between it and other top carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile were fairly small. This doesn't mean that you'll receive poor service from Sprint. That largely depends on where you live, as is true of any other cell phone carrier, but it is something to be mindful of while reviewing your options.

Sprint's service should improve over the coming years as it continues to roll out its 5G coverage, which is currently available in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Kansas City, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Phoenix. 5G wireless service offers speeds that are 10 times faster than the 4G speeds we're all used to today.

Price

Sprint offers three unlimited plans that vary in terms of streaming quality, mobile hotspot data and additional services. There's the Unlimited Basic plan, which ranges from $60 per month for a single line to $100 per month for five lines. This plan includes a free Hulu membership and 500 MB of mobile hotspot data as well as 480p streaming speeds.

The Unlimited Plus plan ranges between $70 per month for one line to $150 per month for five lines and includes free Hulu and TIDAL memberships plus 50 GB of mobile hotspot data and 1080p streaming speeds. The Unlimited Premium plan costs between $80 per month for a single linen to $200 per month for five lines. It includes 100 GB mobile hotspot data and full HD streaming, plus Hulu, TIDAL, Lookout Premium Plus and Amazon Prime memberships.

There are also discounted plans available to adults 55 and older, starting from $35 per line for two lines, and for military members. Active-duty service members, reserve members, and veterans get 50% off Sprint lines two through six that they add to their plans.

Trustworthiness

The Big Four wireless carriers are targets for hackers and all four of them have had security breaches in the last few years, but Sprint appears to have a few more than the others. In August 2018, a Sprint security researcher gained access to a portal containing customer information using easily-guessed passwords, which prompted a change in company policy. In March 2019, a glitch in the system exposed other customers' information when users logged into their Sprint accounts. The issue was corrected after a few hours. And in July 2019, Sprint customers were hacked via a Samsung website. No credit card or Social Security information was stolen, but hackers did gain access to customer names, monthly bills, addresses and phone numbers.

We also evaluated each of the Big Four carriers on customer satisfaction. Cell phone carriers historically receive more bad reviews and good ones and this is also the case with Sprint. To provide a slightly more objective opinion, we looked to J.D. Power's latest U.S. Wireless Customer Care Study and found that Sprint scored the lowest of the Big Four carriers here as well. This isn't a guarantee that you'll encounter problems with Sprint, but it's something to keep in mind as you assess your options, especially if customer service is an important consideration for you.