“Sprint announced Thursday that it will ditch its unlimited 4G mobile broadband offering,” Chloe Albanesius reports for PC Magazine.
“Starting with the next billing cycle, customers’ ‘on-network monthly data allowance will no longer include unlimited 4G,’ Sprint said in a notice on its Web site,” Albanesius reports. “Sprint will also limit data usage via a phone’s mobile hotspot. ‘Currently, if you use your phone’s Mobile Hotspot add-on, the Mobile Hotspot data usage is combined with your phone data usage,’ Sprint said. ‘Effective on your next bill following notification, your monthly mobile hotspot on-network data usage will be limited to 5GB of 3G or combined 3G/4G usage dependent upon device capability.'”
Albanesius reports, “In an October guide to buying a wireless modem or hotspot, PC Mag found that ‘Sprint offers the only truly unlimited 4G plan, so it’s the only network you can use as a replacement for a home connection,’ but that is no longer the case.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Poof! There goes pretty much the only reason to shackle yourself to Sprint for 2 years.
I hear that when it comes to data, AT&T is still where it’s at.
I guess Sprint is confirming this assertion.
Sprint hasn’t done away with unlimited phone data…yet. You’ve got to read the whole article and the entire Sprint posting.
Read the whole article before thinking you’re getting ripped off, at least yet.
From the article: “if your phone plan contains unlimited data, you will continue to enjoy unlimited data usage on your phone while on the Sprint network.” The article is about add on hot spots and the like.
What is it about the iPhone that makes carriers want to drop their unlimited data plans once they start carrying it? First AT&T, then Verizon, now Sprint.
We actually use our data plans in the iPhones.
Every report we see, iOS users actually surf etc. android sufferers don’t..
Wonder why 😉
It’s definitely a testament to the quality of the iPhone, but it’s also a disappointing commentary that the phone companies would jump to this so quickly upon getting the iPhone. Yeah, AT&T got surprised, but wouldn’t Verizon and Sprint have been able to pick up on the fact that there would be increased demand for data?
In any case, I think whoever is going to bring back unlimited data is going to win a whole bunch of new customers. If it’s AT&T, they can hit the jackpot. Although if it’s Verizon or Sprint, they may still win, even though guys who got an unlimited plan before they dropped it will stick with AT&T for that reason. 😉
One of the two reasons I stick with AT&T.
Unlimited data plan grandfathered, and Verizon sucks around here.
Same
In my neck of the woods it’s just the opposite. Verizon (actually we’re still under Alltel plan) – unlimited data, great coverage (nationwide for us). ATT – not very good.
You’re grandfathered in with Verizon, also. I have AT&T on my ipad and it’s slow and it sucks.
“That point is Charlie’s point. It’s really hairy sir!”
Android don’t surf
Cue apocalypse now music…
I suppose that iPhone 4S sales can give Sprint wireless data network go overboard easily, so they can not already allow 4G phones go unlimited.
The competition for data channels raised significantly immediately once iPhone 4S entered Sprint network.
SURPRISE! Not…..
Can you say “bait and switch”?
Customers should be able to terminate their contract without early termination penalties (though maybe have to return the phone), right? There’s no way a company should be able to use this as a selling point, hook people up to a 2 year, contract, and then change this key item on them less than a month later.
I would think there should be a Department of Justice investigation into these kinds of practices, at least.
This type of change should open up a window of 30 days for people to jump ship like on any carrier.
I’d have thought they would’ve at least waited a few months to get some more iPhone users on board. Oh, well….
The Spring iPhone is still 3G, so it still has unlimited data usage. So there still is a reason to switch.
Good point.
This shouldn’t apply to the iPhone.
Yeah, and the fact that the iPhone (and all the other phones) are not a 4G mobile broadband product nor a WiFi Hotspot.
These limits are only for the wireless internet dongles that you use with your computer for internet and the hotspot products…not phones.
For now…
What’s really amazing is that Sprint was going all-out to market it’s unlimited data plans, and that was its one true advantage over AT&T and Verizon. Now it’s just another dumb pipe provider, only with limits.
This also probably shows the true status of 4G networks; that they’re not nearly built out enough to handle many users or much traffic, and that they’re being marketed way too heavily and too soon.
Presumably, this doesn’t affect iPhone customers as both the iPhone 4 and the 4S are not LTE or 3G. But they are getting ready for the future iPhone model.
(Which, should it be 4G capable, I think it should be called the iPhone 4GS (even with a new design) just to mess with the analysts.
Bait & Switch?????????
If that is not the purest working definition, I don’t know what is.
I actually considered moving from AT&T. At least they still honor my grandfathered unlimited. No new users offered… But honor existing is tolerable.
Sprint begged to stop the monopolizing of Att and tmobile, and their commercials are so convincing. I was sold.
Now all the 4g android users are shoved to the back of the bus because they have the iPhone now. 4g unlimited gone. It doesn’t effect the iPhone technically, but next year’s release and the direction is certainly in play. The 3G is awful. You can’t talk and surf. That’s is some outdated technology. (on 3G)
Govt gets involved with the amount of steroids and which pres got a humdinger. But not a billion dollar industry ripping off the public.
I’m assuming that you either can’t read, or there is a gas leak where you are.
Neither Android or iPhone users are being shoved to the back of the bus. The new limits are for “4G mobile broadband”, you know the little dongles you use with your laptop to get mobile internet and “WiFi Hotspots” only. Phones still have unlimited data, both 3G and 4G.
Of course we all know that phones will be next to lose unlimited data. Where the iPhone goes, so goes the fucking of the customer…
This is when we the people should open a can of whoopass on the mobile industry. One thing I expect from my government is a safe road system to drive my car on. It may be just an impala but that’s my choice. I can’t build roads, but I can pick my automobile. I expect the same thing with communications devices I use to help with daily life. These companies (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint) offer some of the lowest standards for high speed mobile devices in the developed world. They charge us among the highest.
We should make it a national goal to provide a super high speed telecommunication grid. A new Super Highway system. Kinda like a NASA moon project. Something like this would be good for our country. It would be good for our economy and would bring us back to the leadership, in world innovations position we once enjoyed. If every school had iPads for students and textbooks made for iPad, grades would go up without question. Do away with rate plans. Just let them sell phones and warranties and accessories. That would send a chill down a Wall Streeters spine. And same thing up Chris Mathews leg.
There’s a factor everybody seems to be ignoring. Sprint doesn’t actually have a 4G network. It just markets Clearwire’s WiMax as “Sprint 4G” Since the other three national carriers decided to go with LTE instead, Sprint recently announced that it was going to develop an LTE network of its own to get out of the WiMax evolutionary dead end. Among other things, there was no prospect that Apple would ever make an iPhone with a WiMax radio as well as GSM, CDMA, and LTE, all of which would be required for a 4G universal phone (add a 5-band chip for T-Mobile 3G, not to mention Nextel). When Sprint got on board with Apple, that was a clear sign that they are committed to an LTE future.
My guess would be that relations are pretty icy between Sprint and Clearwire right now. Clearwire has no inducement to take a financial hit on unlimited service, just so that Sprint can attract more customers who will be switched to LTE at the first opportunity. If Clearwire has any future at all, it is as an alternative broadband provider in areas where WiMax can effectively compete with DSL and Cable. They really don’t want a bunch of Sprint cellphone customers with unlimited plans dragging down the speed of their network. Now they won’t have that problem, and Sprint can continue to claim that it is a 4G provider pending the LTE transition.
Oh look!
Sprint pulling BAIT & SWITCH user abuse, again.
No surprise to me.
That’s why I continue to consider Sprint the bottom of the bucket.