Sprint's 4g "fee" is turning into a smartphone fee.

[SunnyD]

Sprint will be changing their $10 "4g access fee" that they've levied on their 4g phone to apply to ALL smartphones, regardless of whether they're 4g capable or not.

Link

Edit: For posterity... this will NOT affect current subscribers... until they want to upgrade or renew their contract.

 

[her209]

This must be what the "Industry First" announcement is. BTW where do I sign up for the class action lawsuit?

 

[benzylic]

I think this is pretty lame. With my android phone I use about 100mb on sprints network, I probably use well over a gig through wifi though. Blackberry users are getting screwed, On my 8330 I used internet all the time and rarely broke 100mb

 

[Gooberlx2]

Their definitions never called it a "4g" fee, but a "premium" fee or something. I think it's lame if they apply that to all smartphones equally, considering some smartphones and data markets are clearly more "premium" than others. I had a feeling it was going to happen sooner or later though; specifically with their WP7 phone, which I don't think it supposed to be 4g.

I'm glad my wife and I recently used our upgrades. So we won't be activating anything new for quite a while.

OTOH, I guess I'll reserve judgement until we see what their super-duper announcement is. Maybe they'll finally roll out 4g to the rest of their markets or offer something worthy of the fee increase (not holding my breath, but they're still the cheapest offering for me anyway).

 

[AstroManLuca]

They've never been able to call it a 4G fee because a great deal of their subscribers don't have 4G access.

Sucks that they're just unilaterally adding $10 to all their plans though. Besides, who even gets data on a non-smartphone? It's a total waste. At least having it only apply to the Evo and Epic gives people some reason to buy their lower-end phones like the Transform and Optimus.

Now I really want them to add tiered data because I never use more than 200 or 300 MB of 3G per month. In fact, this may be enough to push me to Verizon once our contract is up. Sprint's price advantage is quickly disappearing.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Still the cheapest option for me.

 

[indamixx99]

I'm sure the other carriers will follow

 

[Bateluer]

Would be different if Sprint offered 'premium' data coverage to go with the premium fee.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Would be different if Sprint offered 'premium' data coverage to go with the premium fee.

Not even sure what you mean by that. I guess you want better coverage? Every provider has dead zones.

They already do have 4G in many cities as well as roaming on Verizon when the Sprint signal is unavailable and a 5 GB cap on data plans. Not sure what else they can do other than expanding 3G and 4G coverage, but that takes time.

So yeah, I'm definitely considering going back to Verizon eventually. It'll be a while before my Sprint contract expires so maybe things will have changed by then, but it looks like Sprint is on the road to being the most expensive carrier for my needs. If they don't offer a cheaper low-cap data plan, that is.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Would be different if Sprint offered 'premium' data coverage to go with the premium fee.

I guess they could just jack their rates to the same level as VZW and ATT. Just call it standard pricing and then all is well.

 

[Trader05]

Still the cheapest option for me.

Pretty much same deal with me. I was planning to go 4g route in a few months anyway

And as stated before the 69.99 plan (or soon to be 79.99 smart phone plan) includes Navigation, mobile to mobile any carrier, unlimited text any carrier and 7pm nights.

 

[Bateluer]

Not even sure what you mean by that. I guess you want better coverage? Every provider has dead zones.

They already do have 4G in many cities as well as roaming on Verizon when the Sprint signal is unavailable and a 5 GB cap on data plans. Not sure what else they can do other than expanding 3G and 4G coverage, but that takes time.

So yeah, I'm definitely considering going back to Verizon eventually. It'll be a while before my Sprint contract expires so maybe things will have changed by then, but it looks like Sprint is on the road to being the most expensive carrier for my needs. If they don't offer a cheaper low-cap data plan, that is.

Shrug, Sprint seems to have weaker signal and penetration then even T-Mobile where I'm at. Hear people complain about them all the time, both their coverage and their speeds.

And I'm still not sure why Phoenix, one of the largest cities in the US, has no WiMAX coverage. One would think that the large urban centers would get the 4G treatment first? More customers for the cost of the equipment?

 

[s44]

Y'know, it would be nice for the carriers to act like *competitors* once in a while, instead of like a cartel.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

pretty dumb. and this is why ill continue to pay $15/month for AT&T's data.

 

[SAWYER]

Wow what bullshit, that fee was the only reason i have not used my upgrade to an Evo or any new phone.

 

[JS80]

Still 40% cheaper than AT&T and VZ

 

[zerocool84]

I guess they could just jack their rates to the same level as VZW and ATT. Just call it standard pricing and then all is well.

Even with this $10 extra they're still cheaper than everyone else for what you get. I've always said that.

 

[boomhower]

Still 40% cheaper than AT&T and VZ

Depends on your needs. They are a whopping $10 cheaper than VZW for me, yeah I'm switching.

 

[sivart]

Still 40% cheaper than AT&T and VZ

40%??? How much is unlimited mobile-to-any-mobile worth?

I pay $70/month with Verizon for 450 minutes, unlimited data, unlimited texting, unlimited calling to Verizon mobile customers.

Seems about $10/month cheaper and I'm only missing the unlimited to any mobile part. I had Sprint from 1999-2002 and was considering them, but will probably stay put, now.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I guess unlimited mobile to mobile is only as valuable as how many minutes you would use a month without the feature. Obviously this will vary from person to person.

 

[zerocool84]

I guess unlimited mobile to mobile is only as valuable as how many minutes you would use a month without the feature. Obviously this will vary from person to person.

Yup it would, I guess a lot of people barely talk on their phones during the day. 450 minutes is nothing.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Yup it would, I guess a lot of people barely talk on their phones during the day. 450 minutes is nothing.

Yep. If I were to move to any other carrier I would not feel comfortable unless I bumped up to the 900 minute plan.

 

[JS80]

40%??? How much is unlimited mobile-to-any-mobile worth?

I pay $70/month with Verizon for 450 minutes, unlimited data, unlimited texting, unlimited calling to Verizon mobile customers.

Seems about $10/month cheaper and I'm only missing the unlimited to any mobile part. I had Sprint from 1999-2002 and was considering them, but will probably stay put, now.

I can't replicate that on the VZ website. I get $90 for the 450+unlimited data/txt, and $105 for 450+unlimited corporate data/txt.

 

[zerocool84]

I can't replicate that on the VZ website. I get $90 for the 450+unlimited data/txt, and $105 for 450+unlimited corporate data/txt.

Yea I don't get where he's getting $70 unless he's taking account with discounts but then you can get discounts with Sprint as well.

 

[sivart]

Yea I don't get where he's getting $70 unless he's taking account with discounts but then you can get discounts with Sprint as well.

Right now it is a "promo" program that is being tested, but probably nationwide soon. I didn't include my 12% discount through my work. My bill comes out to $63ish before taxes / fees.