Customers of Sprint now have more international locations to easily access mobile data applications, thanks to new reciprocal wireless service deals with Bell Canada and Iusacell in Mexico.
The North America data roaming agreements are part of an aggressive international services expansion by the U.S. wireless data leader throughout 2006 and beyond.
Sprint is facilitating data access availability for U.S. customers north and south of the border by augmenting CDMA voice roaming agreements with a data roaming capability.
Under the reciprocal agreements, customers will be able to seamlessly access email, Internet and corporate applications in Canada and Mexico using select PCS phones, smart devices and mobile broadband cards.
In Canada, data service roaming is available in the Greater Toronto Area, Greater Montreal Area, Quebec City, Mt. Tremblant, Ottawa, Hamilton, Oakville, Burlington, Muskoka, Halifax, St. John’s, Charlottetown, Moncton and Fredericton through Bell Canada’s wireless networks. In Mexico, data roaming is available in Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas*, Cancun*, Comalcalco*, Cozumel*, Cuidad del Carmen*, Guadalajara*, León, Macuspana*, Matamoros, Mérida*, Mexicali, Mexico City*, Monterrey*, Nuevo Laredo, Playa del Carmen*, Puebla, Puerto Aventuras, Puerto Morelos, Queretaro, Reynosa, San Jose del Cabo*, San Luis de Rio Colorado, Tecate, Tuxtla*, Vera Cruz and Villahermosa* among other cities through the Iusacell network. All listed Canada locations and marked (*) Mexico locations support EV-DO roaming.
A data services subscription is necessary. Customers do not need to add any special services or permissions to their account in order to use data services over CDMA networks in other countries. Service is available only on Sprint CDMA devices capable of data roaming. Devices should have the most current preferred roaming list (PRL) and updated Connection Card manager software. Data usage will be billed at a casual rate of $0.002/kb. Frequent travelers with high data demands have the option of an Unlimited North America Plan for mobile broadband priced at $129.99 monthly (with a one-year subscriber agreement) or a promotional plan of $99.99 monthly (requires a voice plan and two year agreement).
Additional international deals are planned throughout 2006 and beyond as the company adds to its services portfolio. Sprint has the largest mobile broadband network in the U.S. and recently extended a domestic roaming deal with Alltel. The new 10-year agreement is effective July 1, 2006, and encompasses CDMA voice, data and EV-DO high-speed mobile data services.
Information on data service roaming and relevant devices can be found at http://www1.sprintpcs.com/explore/ueContent.jsp?scTopic=wirelessData or by calling (888) 226-7212.
