identified800
10-20-2012, 03:31 AM
Sprint, which quashed byod mvnos before like Liberty Wireless is now officially sanctioning and launching the BYOSD Initiative. A pilot program in which some of their mvnos are allowed to activate clean esn/off contract Sprint postpaid devices to the PLBL data base with no hassles.
There are currently some restrictions to this program. Not every mvno has it (Only Kajeet and minor league newcomes Prepayd and Eco Mobile officially have it. Newcomer but relative heavyweight Ting will be getting it soon.).
No iphones, Blackberries, Push to talk devices, bad esn devices, non Sprint devices, Boost/Virgin Mobile phones, LTE phones and WEB OS devices are allowed.
Windows Phone/Mobile, Android, Feature phones and Wimax phones ARE allowed. It is possible that other PLBL Sprint mvno phones are allowed too.
Activation is done manually via call center and takes anywhere from 20 minutes to a week depending on the carrier.
Phones must have a master reset done on them first . Wimax phones may take longer because of Mac Address activations with Clear/Wimax network.
Once a Sprint postpaid device is in the PLBL esn data base, it CANNOT go back to being a regular Postpaid Sprint device. It can however be flashed to non Sprint networks like Page Plus, Cricket, etc.
MMS/Picture mail can be an issue with some phones (like the Samsung Instinct. ). But all in all even with restrictions this is a GIANT step for Sprint mvnos. Sprint mvnos have always competed by offering the best paygo/unlimited plans but with other Big 4 mvnos getting more aggressive and matching their advantages, they have to go address their weakpoint of no byod . My hope is that the more larger and better established Sprint mvnos start getting it too soon. Like Platinum Tel, Total Call, Ready, STI, etc. Kajeet is the only major one with it so far and their price plans aren't too competitive.
There are currently some restrictions to this program. Not every mvno has it (Only Kajeet and minor league newcomes Prepayd and Eco Mobile officially have it. Newcomer but relative heavyweight Ting will be getting it soon.).
No iphones, Blackberries, Push to talk devices, bad esn devices, non Sprint devices, Boost/Virgin Mobile phones, LTE phones and WEB OS devices are allowed.
Windows Phone/Mobile, Android, Feature phones and Wimax phones ARE allowed. It is possible that other PLBL Sprint mvno phones are allowed too.
Activation is done manually via call center and takes anywhere from 20 minutes to a week depending on the carrier.
Phones must have a master reset done on them first . Wimax phones may take longer because of Mac Address activations with Clear/Wimax network.
Once a Sprint postpaid device is in the PLBL esn data base, it CANNOT go back to being a regular Postpaid Sprint device. It can however be flashed to non Sprint networks like Page Plus, Cricket, etc.
MMS/Picture mail can be an issue with some phones (like the Samsung Instinct. ). But all in all even with restrictions this is a GIANT step for Sprint mvnos. Sprint mvnos have always competed by offering the best paygo/unlimited plans but with other Big 4 mvnos getting more aggressive and matching their advantages, they have to go address their weakpoint of no byod . My hope is that the more larger and better established Sprint mvnos start getting it too soon. Like Platinum Tel, Total Call, Ready, STI, etc. Kajeet is the only major one with it so far and their price plans aren't too competitive.