Sprint Confirms 'One Up' Upgrade Program, Share Additional Details

The cat was out of the bag at the beginning of the week, but lest there be any doubt, Sprint today officially unveiled its "Sprint One Up" early upgrade program. Rather than play out a two-year service agreement for a subsidized smartphone, the Sprint One Up program allows you to break up the full price of a smartphone over 24 monthly installments with the option to upgrade to a new device every 12 months.

To kick off the program, participating smartphone customers are eligible to get unlimited talk, text, and data for an introductory rate of $65 per month. That's a savings of $15 per month (or $180 per year) off the normal $85/month fee for the Unlimited, My Way plan. Sprint One Up is also available for smartphones on the My All-in plan, as well as tablets in combination with tablet plans starting at $5 per month, Sprint says.

Sprint One Up

"Sprint One Up is the best value in wireless," said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. "The new program gives Sprint customers the ability to upgrade every 12 months and unlimited talk, text and high speed data for just $65. And, unlike other carriers, Sprint guarantees the unlimited talk, text and data for life. No other plan can compare."

For a limited time, no down payment is required. In addition, existing customers meeting upgrade eligibility requirements also can participate in the program provided they sign up through the holidays. Sprint customers who are not yet upgrade eligible but have had their current phone for 12 months can give back their current device and sign up, too.