Sprint "Open World" plan (replaces International Value Roaming)

[fishhead_soup]

What does Sprint consider "high-speed" in this case? Under the IVR/GR plan, didn't it say high speed at 3G. Which actually is fine outside of Sprint's native US coverage.

 

Also, how are calls handled FROM included and extended countries TO the U.S.? I'm reading only how calls are free to the included countries. Yes, I tried to get ahold of Sprint International service but was disconnected after holding over 15 minutes.

 

I was able to add it online, however I only added it to one of our lines. I figure if one of our lines has unlimited calling, and the other has unlimited data, that should cover our needs since my wife and I would most like travel together.

[greenbastard]

What does Sprint consider "high-speed" in this case? Under the IVR/GR plan, didn't it say high speed at 3G. Which actually is fine outside of Sprint's native US coverage.

It actually said 2G for IVR, but Sprint also states that this "2G" is the equivalent of 64 kbps speeds (which is slower than what some 2G networks are capable of). I'm assuming for this new plan, it's whatever fastest technology your phone can connect to in the country you're visiting. Since there are still areas in Mexico and South America that act like T-Mobile with Edge-only networks, Sprint can't guarantee 3G or 4G.

 

Also, how are calls handled FROM included and extended countries TO the U.S.? I'm reading only how calls are free to the included countries. Yes, I tried to get ahold of Sprint International service but was disconnected after holding over 15 minutes.

0.20 cents/minute outside of Canada and Mexico.

I was able to add it online, however I only added it to one of our lines. I figure if one of our lines has unlimited calling, and the other has unlimited data, that should cover our needs since my wife and I would most like travel together.

Smart. Edited August 10, 2015 by greenbastard

[ITK79]

I switched over to Open World on Friday from the IVR plan while in Mexico. I was worried at first since I lost my connection for the remainder of the day, but when I woke up Saturday everything was back to normal and I could use my phone without issue. I am currently connected to Movistar on a HSPA+ connection. The latency is over 400ms on average with around 2Mbps down and less than 1Mbps up. I have gone through 3 times as much data as i did for the first 4 days I was here since many of my apps now auto update again.

 

When I talked to the rep about the plan she stated that all incoming and out going calls from the covered countries were free. I will not have a chance to test this till November when I am in Honduras for vacation. Hopefully there will be more clarification or user experiences by then.

 

Overall I am happy with the new plan, but I might also keep my wife's phone on the IVR plan just to make sure we are always covered.

[irev210]

Having two international offerings is confusing and should be consolidated into one.

 

Offer 1GB free high speed data (enough for 95+% of people traveling) then have it kick down to unlimited 2G.  If you want more high-speed, pay a reasonable 30/gb.

 

Eliminates the surprise of bill overages and still offers consumer choice.

[Rawvega]

Also, this is new I think, and hilarious

Cuba 20 Plus - $10.00

 

Yup, 20 minutes.

 

It came out in mid-June. Why is it hilarious though? If one has friends and family in Cuba there are certainly more expensive options. For instance, 20 minutes with AT&T Mobility would be $29 ($1.29/min.) including their $5/month World Connect add-on or $35.80 ($1.79/min) without the add-on; VZW would be $28.80 ($1.19/min.) with their $5/month Value Plan add-on and $39.80 ($1.99/min.) without the add-on. I don't think that $10/month for 20 minutes ($0.50/min.) and then $0.70/min. after the 20 minutes are used is such a bad deal comparatively.

[Rawvega]

Having two international offerings is confusing and should be consolidated into one.

 

Offer 1GB free high speed data (enough for 95+% of people traveling) then have it kick down to unlimited 2G.  If you want more high-speed, pay a reasonable 30/gb.

 

Eliminates the surprise of bill overages and still offers consumer choice.

 

That makes sense and I honestly think this is where it's going after it's all said and done. Maybe they're doing it this way to iron out wrinkles first or get an idea of usage tendencies.

 

One thing that's a bit perplexing is why they don't just go ahead and make Softbank's network in Japan like native coverage by default (at least for those with W-CDMA/LTE capable phones).

[jamesinclair]

It came out in mid-June. Why is it hilarious though?

 

It reminds me of the plans way back in the day that offered 20 minutes.

[Rawvega]

It reminds me of the plans way back in the day that offered 20 minutes.

Lol yeah I remember those days.

 

Hopefully if the US and Cuba continue to progress towards being on amicable terms Cuba eventually will be treated the same as any other international calling destination and not need it's own separate plan.

[GoBigRed79]

Ha!  My first Sprint plan in 1998 I think was 120 anytime minutes, no N&W or anything like that, obviously no data and it was $40 a month.  And that was considered good pricing. 

[jamesinclair]

Ha!  My first Sprint plan in 1998 I think was 120 anytime minutes, no N&W or anything like that, obviously no data and it was $40 a month.  And that was considered good pricing. 

 

Was it considered roaming if you travelled to another state?

[GoBigRed79]

Was it considered roaming if you travelled to another state?

 

As long as you were on Sprint there was no roaming.  That was something actually pretty unique to Sprint at the time.

[greenbastard]

As long as you were on Sprint there was no roaming. That was something actually pretty unique to Sprint at the time.

Mexico, until not long ago, still had mobile operators charge Roaming if you used your phone on their network outside of your home state.

[jamesinclair]

So I tweeted Marcelo and customer care reponded:

 

Me: Sad that sprint exclusive Sharp Aquos phone not compatible with free calls to Mexico plan (Open World). Feeling left out

Them: Sprint One World refers to traveling to those countries. http://sprint.com/international  to view our intl LD plans @marceloclaure

 

 

Thats really embarassing. They got the name of the plan wrong AND they dont know what it offers! I

 

Sprint still has an issue with their customer service where it takes 2-3 weeks from anouncement until the reps are trained. When IVR came out I was lectured about how there was no such thing as free international data.

[lilotimz]

So I tweeted Marcelo and customer care reponded:

 

Me: Sad that sprint exclusive Sharp Aquos phone not compatible with free calls to Mexico plan (Open World). Feeling left out

Them: Sprint One World refers to traveling to those countries. http://sprint.com/international to view our intl LD plans @marceloclaure

 

 

Thats really embarassing. They got the name of the plan wrong AND they dont know what it offers! I

 

Sprint still has an issue with their customer service where it takes 2-3 weeks from anouncement until the reps are trained. When IVR came out I was lectured about how there was no such thing as free international data.

Not sure why you're complaining the aquos is not compatible.. Its cdma + LTE only.

 

In the other countries they're roaming via gsm /umts(Wcdma/hspa) or lte networks.

 

 

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

[jamesinclair]

Not sure why you're complaining the aquos is not compatible.. Its cdma + LTE only.

 

In the other countries they're roaming via gsm /umts(Wcdma/hspa) or lte networks.

 

 

Im not talking about the roaming part.

 

The thing is that the plan offers free calls FROM the US to Mexico....that doesnt require GSM at all. I would like to make calls using the Aquos from the US to Mexico.

 

I am simply trying to point out to Marcela that by bundling the ability to call Mexico from the US for free with the ability to roam, CDMA phones are left out for no good reason.

 

I believe they could add a seperate CDMA-only check box that would enable CDMA phones to take advantage of the parts of the plan that are technologically possible. Thats all Im asking for.

[S4GRU]

The issue is being that Sprint is having a tough time negotiating new agreements on international CDMA, as roaming companies internationally are removing CDMA networks.  And Sprint cant afford to pay the market rates for CDMA roaming internationally.  Soon you won;t be able to roam in CDMA anywhere anyway.

[jamesinclair]

The issue is being that Sprint is having a tough time negotiating new agreements on international CDMA, as roaming companies internationally are removing CDMA networks.  And Sprint cant afford to pay the market rates for CDMA roaming internationally.  Soon you won;t be able to roam in CDMA anywhere anyway.

 

I understand that. I am not talking about roaming, I am talking about making a call from the USA, to Mexico.

 

Is there any technical difference between me making a call from NYC to Mexico City on a Galaxy 6 or a Sharp Aquos?

 

I can't see why there would be.

[lordsutch]

As long as you were on Sprint there was no roaming.  That was something actually pretty unique to Sprint at the time.

 

Sprint did, early on, have some lower-priced plans that were local/regional only, at least in some areas. I think they were dropped around the time Power Vision (EVDO) plans started to roll out.

[Ascertion]

The issue is being that Sprint is having a tough time negotiating new agreements on international CDMA, as roaming companies internationally are removing CDMA networks.  And Sprint cant afford to pay the market rates for CDMA roaming internationally.  Soon you won;t be able to roam in CDMA anywhere anyway.

But nearly all Sprint phones support 850/1900 frequencies on GSM networks.  Why can't they utilize those for roaming?

[Rawvega]

Im not talking about the roaming part.

 

The thing is that the plan offers free calls FROM the US to Mexico....that doesnt require GSM at all. I would like to make calls using the Aquos from the US to Mexico.

 

I am simply trying to point out to Marcela that by bundling the ability to call Mexico from the US for free with the ability to roam, CDMA phones are left out for no good reason.

 

I believe they could add a seperate CDMA-only check box that would enable CDMA phones to take advantage of the parts of the plan that are technologically possible. Thats all Im asking for.

 

Yeah, I get what you're saying and that does make sense. The only thing that I can think of is that maybe they're trying to give incentive to those on non-LTE/World phones to upgrade. That's certainly not of any comfort to a consumer such as yourself. I don't know about the yahoos that they have running their social media accounts. Maybe an email where you could explain your grievance in more detail might be a better option.

[jamesinclair]

Yeah, I get what you're saying and that does make sense. The only thing that I can think of is that maybe they're trying to give incentive to those on non-LTE/World phones to upgrade. That's certainly not of any comfort to a consumer such as yourself. I don't know about the yahoos that they have running their social media accounts. Maybe an email where you could explain your grievance in more detail might be a better option.

 

Yeah I really hate the twitter limitations, extremely hard to make a coherent point.

 

However, the fact that it is public, IMO, means a better chance at a resolution.

 

My point in tweeing Marcelo was simply to raise the point that CDMA phones are being left out of a feature that they can support because the new plan bundles the romaing aspect (which they cant support) with the free calls from USA aspect (which they could do). I think that was an oversight that can be corrected.

 

The fact that Sprint made so much noise about the Aquos and yet it was not a world phone is major bs, but thats a whole other topic which I am not attempting to address here and on tiwtter because that ship has sailed. 

[lilotimz]

But nearly all Sprint phones support 850/1900 frequencies on GSM networks.  Why can't they utilize those for roaming?

 

This is exactly what they're doing. GSM + WCDMA + LTE roaming. 

 

Sharp Aquos does not have GSM / WCDMA capability. 

[S4GRU]

I understand that. I am not talking about roaming, I am talking about making a call from the USA, to Mexico.

 

Is there any technical difference between me making a call from NYC to Mexico City on a Galaxy 6 or a Sharp Aquos?

 

I can't see why there would be.

 

There shouldn't be.  I wasn't grasping what you were talking about.  Thank you for clarifying.

[S4GRU]

But nearly all Sprint phones support 850/1900 frequencies on GSM networks.  Why can't they utilize those for roaming?

 

The Aquos does not support GSM.  Just CDMA+LTE Only.

 

EDIT:  Props to lilotimz for answering the point first.  I didn't scroll all the way down and read before responding.

[Ascertion]

The Aquos does not support GSM. Just CDMA+LTE Only.

 

EDIT: Props to lilotimz for answering the point first. I didn't scroll all the way down and read before responding.

Sorry, thought you post was about Sprint roaming in general.

 

Sent from my M8