Sprint

Sprint's insanely low offer for wireless service is back, if a little bit more sane.

The nation's smallest national wireless provider will bring back its Unlimited Kickstart plan for a limited time. The original sale, which launched in early June, offered a basic unlimited data plan for $15 a month. It's back this time, but $10 more expensive at $25 a month. Consumers can sign up for it online starting Friday and lasts through the following Thursday.

Like the last sale, which was available for only a week, this isn't expected stay around too long. Sprint is calling it a "flash sale."

The $15 plan was significantly cheaper than any plan offered by the major carriers, and even undercut the low-cost prepaid players. Sprint, which has a deal to merge with T-Mobile, saw it as more of a marketing tool to persuade users to switch and experience the improvements made to its network. Sprint has spent more than the last decade fighting the perception that its service lags far behind those of its rivals.

The $25 plan is designed to likewise stimulate interest and turn heads. These sales come at a time when the other carriers are actually raising their prices. Over the last few months, Verizon debuted a new, pricier unlimited data plan, as well as the ability to match different tiers within the same family plan. Sprint itself introduced two new plans, including one with a starting cost of $60.

The deal is eligible to people willing to switch from another carrier and bring their smartphone over. As an alternative, customers can buy a new smartphone to use on Sprint.

The unlimited data plan restricts video quality to 480p, or DVD quality, gaming streams to 2 megabits per second, and music streaming to 500 kilobits per second. The deal also requires that consumers sign up for autopay.

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