UPDATE 1-Sprint cuts broadband price after 2 weeks

Mon Nov 14, 2011 12:51pm EST

* Sprint cuts WiMax broadband prices after 2 weeks

* New data allowance slightly ahead of Verizon, ATT

NEW YORK Nov 14 (Reuters) – Sprint Nextel cut
broadband wireless prices for its fastest data service
customers after just two weeks to better compete with rivals
ATT Inc and Verizon Wireless in the holiday shopping
season.

Sprint on Monday began charging $50 a month for 6 gigabytes
of data downloads to tablets, mobile hotspots or laptop data
cards running on its fastest service, which runs on the
Clearwire Corp mobile network.

This compares with the $60-a-month fee for 5 gigabytes of
data that Sprint started charging on Nov 1, when it eliminated
unlimited-use plans for its WiMax broadband customers, making
its service more expensive than that of its bigger rivals.

Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. mobile provider, has been working to
recoup subscriber losses by positioning itself as a provider
for more cost-conscious customers than its rivals.

Monday’s change means that Sprint customers will get a
gigabyte more data for the same price as the fee paid by
customers of Verizon Wireless and ATT, which both charge $50 a
month for 5 gigabytes.

Sprint’s move, which does not apply to smartphone
customers, comes ahead of the holiday shopping period, often
the carrier’s busiest time of the year.

Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc , tried to position itself
better for the holidays with a promotional rate that doubled
its subscribers’ data allowances.

Sprint still offers service plans with unlimited data usage
for a flat fee to its smartphone customers.

Sprint also cut its price for heavier data users with an
$80 per month plan for 12 gigabytes of data compared with its
previous offer of 490 for 10 gigabytes of data. In comparison,
Verizon Wireless charges $80 a month for 10 gigabytes of data.

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