A rumor is going around, supposedly confirmed by multiple sources within Sprint, that the Sprint's infamous SERO employee referral plan is going to start accepting Android and WebOS phones come October 1st. It is currently not possible to use these devices if you belong to SERO; this has been a long-standing woe of many SERO users wanting a piece of the Android action.

For those who have never heard of SERO, in short, it's a discounted plan, available via an employee referral but widely available to anyone able to google, read, and browse through a few pages of a an online forum.

You can find some, albeit a bit outdated, info on SERO at HowardForums wiki here and actually sign up at the official Sprint SERO website.

Note: that some previous SERO deals were quite a bit better than what we have now, so it's understandable people want to stick to their plans and are very excited by this rumor.

The rumor originates from SprintUsers forum posts, such as this one:

Just got off the phone with Sprint. I asked them when my contract ends, and he told me that I was already out of contract. He then asked me why I am asking, and I told him that I am going to switch carriers because I cannot get a new phone on sero. He asked which phone I was looking for, and I told him that I was going to switch to an Android handset.

He stated that supposedly:

1) October 1st, the restrictions on legacy plans will be lifted
2) Android will cost $10 extra per month for my plan
3) Evo4G would cost an additional $10 per month, for $50 total ($30+10+10)
4) Information will be printed in upcoming bills
5) Customer care received this information recently, but wasn't supposed to say anything until 2 days ago.

Hope this is true. Sounds reasonable @ $40 a month.

this one:

Yes everyone it is true. My good friend at Sprint ( high management) told me that Android/WebOS will be available to the SERO customers starting Oct 1. It will be only $10 more and will include Sprint TV, Sprint Navigation, and Any Mobile Any time! That going to be 1 killer of a deal! If you have a SERO...By all means.....dont give it up. Any 4G phone will be $10 more.

and this one:

Just confirmed rumor with account services. With the $10 add on you will also get GPS navigation, any mobile to mobile as well as some other options. There will be an email or notification sent to us legacy/sero plan holders on Sept. 1st.

The list goes on.

Now, before everyone gets excited, there are also some claims that this rumor is not valid, such as this one:

I work for Sprint and I have confirmed with our NYC Lexington Ave corporate office that this does NOT reflect the SERO plans but the employee advantage lines which actually used to be $20 a month for employees but will now be bumped up to $30 a month ($40 for WebOS or android devices).

Legacy SERO plans will remain the way it is now and the newer SERO plans which starts at 59.99 for 500 minutes will remain the same as well.

Sprint plans to slowly rid of the legacy SERO plans so dont expect what we call "Iconic devices" (HTC EVO, Samsung EPIC, Instinct M800, Instinct S30, Instinct HD, HTC Hero, Samsung Moment, Samsung Intercept, Palm Pre, Palm Pixi) to be upgradeable.

Thee plans will override any employee plan on the accounts active (because they dont have any kind of commitment).

No one should get there hopes up im sorry to say I had a lot of friends on the Sero plan but because of the slow phase out they have all switched to my employee line (do not ask me for referral please)

So, as always, take the rumor with a grain of salt and remember that it may all be due to a huge misunderstanding. However, if it pans out, come October 1st, you will be able to pick up a shiny new Android toy.

Source: SprintUsers via Slickdeals, Fatwallet