United States Cellular Offers Free iPhone 7 to Lure Users
United States Cellular CorporationUSM is offering a free iPhone 7 to those who switch to its network from rival carriers in a bid to attract new customers.
According to this latest promotional plan, consumers who trade in as many as four qualifying smart phones can get Apple Inc’s AAPL latest model as well as unlimited data on the phones for as little as $40 per month. Qualifying smart phones include iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy S6, or better.
The cost of the iPhone7 offered will be covered by the company through 30 monthly bill credits of $18.28. Existing customers, who upgrade to any new iPhone will get a $100 United States Cellular promo card to buy accessories. Meanwhile, those purchasing a 9.7-inch iPad Pro will save $200 off the tablet. This lucrative offer from the company is sure to attract more consumers.
This offer from United States Cellular is a retort to the Sprint Corporation’s S offer of unlimited data, for a year, to users who switch as many as five lines from its bigger rivals. T-Mobile US, Inc TMUS is also participating in this competition, offering customers a second Galaxy 8 free when they buy the first at full price.
Unlimited Data Plan War
In Feb 2017, Sprint upgraded its unlimited data plan. Now new customers can buy a single line on it’s unlimited plan for $50 and two to five lines for $90, per month. Any extra line will cost $40 each. These rates will remain effective till Mar 31, 2018. After that, the company will raise the prices back to normal rates, per which, one line will costs $60 a month, two lines will cost $100 and every line beyond that will cost an additional $30.
The plan will also offer high-definition (HD) video streaming and 10 GB of LTE mobile-hotspot data per month for new subscribers. However, to enjoy HD video streaming on an unlimited plan, subscribers may have to pay a separate $75 per month. We observe that Sprint’s offer is cheaper when compared with the unlimited plans of other U.S. wireless carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile US and Verizon communications.
T-Mobile US’ unlimited plan starts at $70 per month for a single line, while two lines are available for $100 a month. Verizon offers a single line of unlimited data for $80 a month with a second line for $60. AT&T's unlimited plan starts at $100 a month, but it doesn’t include monthly taxes and fees, consequently raising the final cost. Notably, Verizon and AT&T do not include those fees in their advertised rates, either. However, T-Mobile US does.
United States Cellular’sPrice Performance:
United States Cellular is the sixth-largest wireless telecom operator in the U.S. in terms of customer count; with 4.93 million subscribers spanning across five geographic markets that cover 23 states. Over the past three months, share price of United States Cellular inched up 4.40 % while the Zacks-classified Wireless National industry declined 7.08 %. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
We consider the above points to be the reasons behind United States Cellular currently carrying Zacks rank #3 (Hold).
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