The ride is officially over. This weekend Sprint put an end to their fantastic SERO mobile plans. SERO was intended for employees and their friends and family. Back in 2006 someone discovered a way for anyone to signup for these plans, and Sprint apparently loved the new signups enough that they kept the loophole open. Until yesterday.

The new employee referral plan starts at $59.95 and includes the same things as the current plan, but adds unlimited TV, GPS, Blackberry and music. But it is only open to people who actually have access to a Sprint employee account (and the last three digits of their account ID).

The good news is that current Sprint SERO subscribers will be able to stay on their plan, but any changes, including upgrading your phone will force you onto the new plan.

I’m undecided about the whole thing. On the one hand it was great of Sprint to keep this open for so long, but to change it and shut it down will only hurt them in the long run. They generated a lot of goodwill with this, and to remove it on the same weekend AT&T introduced the new iPhone seems pretty stupid.