Sprint Nextel offers packs to expand data uptake

Sprint Nextel Corp. recently introduced a new series of segmented data packages, offering various options at similar or equal price points in order to appeal to different categories of customers. The carrier is offering six different CDMA-based consumer data packages, dubbed Vision Packs. They include packages that focus on navigation, music, television, as well as expanding the carrier’s basic Vision offering while retaining the same price points as it previously offered.
Current Vision customers will not see a change in their bills, according to Sprint Nextel spokeswoman Emmy Anderson-but they’ll have access to 99-cent music downloads and $3 per-day use of the carrier’s turn-by-turn GPS navigation service.
“We’re looking for new ways to encourage customers to use data in a way that’s really relevant to them,” said Anderson. Dividing data products into service-specific packs helped customers decide which is best for them, she added. In-store kiosks are set to help educate customers about their options, and the packs are detailed on the carrier’s Web site.
Sprint Nextel kept its basic price points of $15, $20 and $25 per month for data packages, but changed the $20 price point from simply an enhanced general data package to the service-specific packages for music, television and navigation. The two $25 options include a “premier” package that includes all of its services; and a business-focused data pack that includes navigation.
The music package includes the basic data offering plus 50 streaming audio stations (previously the carrier only offered access to 10 channels) and a music video channel. The navigation pack tacks on unlimited use of the GPS navigation application to the basic option, and the television package includes an extra 20 channels on top of the basic entertainment package. (Sprint Nextel relies on a combination of clips and streaming video for its TV offering.)