Gimme Five…Sprint Nextel to Introduce the IPhone 5?

It is rumored that Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) will offer Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone next Tuesday with unlimited data service plans to distinguish itself from rivals AT&T Inc. (T) and Verizon Wireless.

If Sprint, the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier, begins selling the device in mid-October under a deal with Apple for the next model, the iPhone 5, it will become the country’s only operator to offer the device with unlimited data service for a flat fee that may help Sprint draw customers from AT&T and Verizon Wireless, which already carry the phone, or so I hear.

Sprint already offers unlimited data plans for smart phones such as Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM)’s BlackBerry and HTC Corp. (2498)’s Evo, which runs on Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android operating system. Sprint’s unlimited voice and data service costs $99.99 a month.

Unlimited data plans are a draw because they allow customers to surf the Web, share photos or watch videos as much as they want. They’re particularly valuable for people who use mobile devices for applications such as Netflix movie service or Pandora Media Inc.’s streaming music.

AT&T and Verizon

AT&T and Verizon charge for data service on top of voice- service plans. AT&T, which has unlimited voice service for $69.99 a month offers 200 megabytes of data for $15 a month, 2 gigabytes of data for $25 a month, or 4 gigabytes of data for $45 a month. Verizon’s data plans for the iPhone start at $30 a month for 2 gigabytes and rise to $80 for 10 gigabytes, in addition to unlimited voice service for $69.99 a month.