Sprint Nextel Reviewer's Comments

Sprint merged with Nextel in mid-2005 to become one of the nation’s largest cell phone providers. Sprint Nextel offers excellent service, though their area coverage is smaller than our #1- and #2-ranked service providers and they don’t offer quite as many minutes.

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Plans:  

Sprint Nextel offers enough variety in plans to fit the needs of just about any caller. They feature a selection of free phones with prepaid, individual and family plans. This cell phone provider also carries smartphones for data plans. But Sprint Nextel doesn’t have any business or international plans, which can detract some users. 

Minutes/Features:  

Sprint Nextel’s free nights and weekends start at 7:00 p.m., two hours before most other cell phone providers. They also feature free mobile-to-mobile and roadside assistance (which is keeping in line with many other cell phone providers). But a unique plan is Sprint Nextel’s plan that offers free minutes on incoming calls.

Fees:  

Sprint Nextel has a $36 activation fee, slightly higher than most cell phone providers. Cancelling your contract will also cost $200, but a highlighted feature of Sprint Nextel is they only require a one-year contract, as opposed to most cell phone provider’s two-year contracts.

Included in Basic Plan:  

Sprint Nextel has more than a dozen plans, all of which vary widely in features. But some basic features include voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding and 3-way calling. Sprint Nextel plans also include numeric paging, a feature few cell phone providers offer.

Help & Support:  

Sprint Nextel has excellent help support via phone, a FAQs page and email for general questions, and even live chat on their website so you can speak online with a customer service rep. Sprint Nextel's direct coverage is extensive in the East and Midwest, but their roaming network covers the majority of the nation. See their coverage map here.

Summary:  

As a result of the merger, Sprint Nextel has closed the gap between the other major cell phone service providers by offering more competitive plans with useful options and standard features.