Sprint Looks to Lure Talkative Customers

Sprint is testing a new cell phone plan in San Francisco that allows its talkative users to have unlimited calling, messaging, and internet usage for $120 per month.

Currently its cheapest unlimited plan is $200 per month, but only includes mobile calls. This will include the above, minus data access for laptops. Those wishing for that service will need to pay an additional $30 per month.

No decision has been made on whether the plan will be made available nationwide. A national carrier like Sprint offering such a plan could dramatically change the industry, some say.

With most used to having to 'watch their minutes,' an offering like this could accelerate the already brisk pace of consumers opting to drop their landline phones in favor of the convenience of the cell phone. However, such an exodus could also have profound impacts on call quality.

Cell networks have far less call capacity than fiber-optic landline networks, meaning more callers could equal poorer service. Case in point: in New York City, carriers like T-Mobile have struggled to keep pace with demand.

The result is poor call quality as the carrier is forced to restrict the amount of bandwidth available to each call -- or frequent "system busy" messages, a common complaint of the carrier's customers in the city. While carriers can add additional spectrum, the problem of bandwidth is still something that hasn't been solved just yet.

Analysts say that Sprint needs something to set it apart from its rivals in order to regain its footing in the industry. Its merger with Nextel has not done so well, and the company is losing customers at a significant rate. Service issues have been the most frequent complaint.

What remains to be seen is whether Sprint's network could handle the likely surge in usage. With complaints about quality already and issue, such a plan could make problems worse.