Will The New 'All-in' Plan Give Sprint The Edge It Needs?

Today Sprint Corp S launched its new all-inclusive, or “All-in,” plan, which offers consumers unlimited mobile phone services for a base cost of $60 per month. The 3rd-largest U.S. mobile services provider after AT&T Inc. T and Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, Sprint is hoping the new unlimited plan will help narrow the gap with its top two competitors.

Alternative approach
Over the past few years, Sprint has shifted toward offering month-to-month leasing plans with service fees, as opposed to the traditional two-year contract plans offered by its major competitors. Sprint’s change in approach has started price wars in the past, leading rivals AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile US Inc. TMUS to offer a variety of new promotions and rates in response.

“All-in” plan details
Sprint’s newest venture provides customers with unlimited talk, text, and data for $60 per month, with a $36 one-time activation fee. In lieu of smartphone price subsidies, the “All-in” plan allows participants to lease a 16GB smartphone of their choice, such as Apple Inc.’s AAPL iPhone 6 or Samsung Electronics Co. SSNFL’s Galaxy S6, for an additional $20 per month—bringing the total cost of phone plus service to $80 per month. After 24 months, a smartphone under the “All-in” plan can be traded for a new device for $0 down.

Smartphones with greater than 16GB capacity will also be available under the new plan, for an additional fee.

Share prices
So far this year, Sprint's initiatives have resulted in the company's share price outperforming those of it's largest rivals. Sprint's stock is up 9.6 percent so far in 2015, while AT&T's stock is up just 6.5 percent and Verizon's stock is up only 0.2 percent.

T-Mobile's stock has set the gold standard so far among the four largest U.S. providers, gaining 45.3 percent year-to-date.