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Tiered Data Plans In Sprint’s Future?

By: , 9/23/2010 9:19 am | 8 comments

A huge benefit of being a Sprint customer is having a cheap data plan. Most of the webOS community are Sprint customers and we take full advantage of our unlimited data plans. Most of us can not even fathom what it is like for AT&T users that are stuck with a tiered data plan. Heck even Verizon has talked about moving to a tiered plan for some time.

The reason for these plans on AT&T is partially due to the boatload of iPhone-toting users sucking down every bit of data they can get their paws on. Verizon has had an ever growing lineup of Android-based phones that are also starting to tax the heck out of their bandwidth. Sprint has not had a device that made people flock to them until now. The HTC Evo 4G and the Samsung Epic 4G, the newest additions to Sprint’s lineup, include a $10 monthly premium for data. Why? Well according to Sprint CEO Dan Hesse these type of phones draw users that are more likely to draw heavy data users.

During the Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT today, Dan Hesse hinted at the possibility of tiered data plans for Sprint users. The following are some of what he said during the conference in regards to this matter:

“We know that users will use a lot more data [on Epic and Evo], so we charge $10 more. If we have to, if the average usage gets too high, we might have to increase the price.”

“We can offer unlimited [usage] as long as the usage is reasonable. If you run an all-you-can-eat buffet, but you have the New England Patriots come in and the whole team spends a whole day there, I can’t afford to do that anymore.”

Now that doesn’t sound good for Sprint webOS users. If new webOS hardware comes to Sprint then there is a really good chance that it will be a 4G device. This will add yet another reason for people to start using Sprint. More users mean more data consumed. Unfortunately, it is almost inevitable that Sprint will either raise their rates across the board or move to tiered data plans like AT&T. So, be prepared for a more expensive future folks because it is starting to look like these types of plans are going to be commonplace within a couple of years.

[Sources: Engadget and ComputerWorld]

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About Ryan St. Andrie

Ryan is a WOR News Hound and super geek who is always working to melt his phone with the latest experimental kernels. He is husband to lovely wife Keira and father to adorable baby girl Kyla, ASE certified mechanic and self proclaimed gearhead turned to railroad mechanic. Last but not least lover of all things tech.
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  • http://twitter.com/abalistar @abalistar

    As an AT&T user, I can say it's a piece of cake. I mean… It's AT&T, there's not even 3G anywhere. Have YOU ever tried to top 2GB a month on EDGE? It's difficult! It's even about to make me downgrade from my unlimited, because with their coverage I don't think I'll ever get anywhere near the cap.

    And also, I REALLY dislike this current trend that companies are taking. The more you start to use their service, the more they simply try to limit you, instead of working harder to make it a non-issue. Both ISPs and cellular providers are doing this now, and since they're ALL doing it, we don't even really have that option of "don't give them your money, go someplace else." And unfortunately, as our society relies more and more on these services, we are completely screwed. :/

  • http://twitter.com/abalistar @abalistar

    As an AT&T user, I can say it's a piece of cake. I mean… It's AT&T, there's not even 3G anywhere. Have YOU ever tried to top 2GB a month on EDGE? It's difficult! It's even about to make me downgrade from my unlimited, because with their coverage I don't think I'll ever get anywhere near the cap.

    And also, I REALLY dislike this current trend that companies are taking. The more you start to use their service, the more they simply try to limit you, instead of working harder to make it a non-issue. Both ISPs and cellular providers are doing this now, and since they're ALL doing it, we don't even really have that option of "don't give them your money, go someplace else." And unfortunately, as our society relies more and more on these services, we are completely screwed. :/

  • http://twitter.com/tsaunders @tsaunders

    Why not offer rollover data? It would work like rollover minutes. This way if you go over a month it take the data you didn't use last month and apply it to the current month. One reason I don't want to go back to AT&T is because I can't get limited.

  • http://twitter.com/tsaunders @tsaunders

    Why not offer rollover data? It would work like rollover minutes. This way if you go over a month it take the data you didn't use last month and apply it to the current month. One reason I don't want to go back to AT&T is because I can't get limited.

  • http://twitter.com/tsaunders @tsaunders

    Why not offer rollover data? It would work like rollover minutes. This way if you go over a month it take the data you didn't use last month and apply it to the current month. One reason I don't want to go back to AT&T is because I can't get limited.

  • http://twitter.com/zerosaves @zerosaves

    I hope not, I have a Pixi on Sprint and no Wifi means I chew up 2GB on average a month. Between me and my wife on our shared plan we use about 3-3.5GB a month. She has Wifi though ;(

    I hope they they do cap it, please something reasonable, like 5GB. Sure 5GB is a lot, but right now unlimited is a lot, and you have people usin their EVO to torrent on all day like its Comcast. 5GB is a high cap for most of us to not have to worry about it, but yet stop the tethering jerks who use their phone as their main internet for their PC

  • http://twitter.com/zerosaves @zerosaves

    I hope not, I have a Pixi on Sprint and no Wifi means I chew up 2GB on average a month. Between me and my wife on our shared plan we use about 3-3.5GB a month. She has Wifi though ;(

    I hope they they do cap it, please something reasonable, like 5GB. Sure 5GB is a lot, but right now unlimited is a lot, and you have people usin their EVO to torrent on all day like its Comcast. 5GB is a high cap for most of us to not have to worry about it, but yet stop the tethering jerks who use their phone as their main internet for their PC

  • http://twitter.com/zerosaves @zerosaves

    I hope not, I have a Pixi on Sprint and no Wifi means I chew up 2GB on average a month. Between me and my wife on our shared plan we use about 3-3.5GB a month. She has Wifi though ;(

    I hope they they do cap it, please something reasonable, like 5GB. Sure 5GB is a lot, but right now unlimited is a lot, and you have people usin their EVO to torrent on all day like its Comcast. 5GB is a high cap for most of us to not have to worry about it, but yet stop the tethering jerks who use their phone as their main internet for their PC