Less than four months ago, Sprint announced its “One Up” pricing program. The offering was a reaction to T-Mobile’s “Jump!” announcement, which allowed T-Mobile subscribers to Pay for their smartphones through monthly payment plans while using T-Mobile service through a no-contract monthly agreement. The system allowed for customers to upgrade their devices yearly, with no extra down payments.
Sprint’s One Up pricing was very similar to T-Mobile’s Jump, allowing customers to pay off their devices over the course of two years. Sprint was the last of the four major U.S. mobile providers to launch a competing service of this type, and now it is the first and only one to have abandoned its program.
A trip to the One Up page on Sprint’s website will now redirect visitors to an FAQ page. The page reveals that the One Up offering was pulled on January 9.
Customers that signed up for Sprint service under the One Up program are still on the hook for their monthly payments, though they will be eligible for a $15 monthly service discount for Sprint’s Unlimited, My Way, and My All-in plans. The discount will eliminated for One Up customers at their next upgrade or when they switch plans.
The date of the One Up program’s end was just one day before the rollout of Sprint’s new “Framily” offering. Through the Framily plan, up to 10 customers are able to subscribe to Sprint under the same plan, with each of them billed separately. Some aspects of “One Up” seem to have made it into the Framily scheme, including the ability for customers to upgrade their devices on a yearly basis.
via BGR
