Wow that Sprint rep was full of BS

[SAWYER]

I called last night asking about a phone swap I was going to do, and asked if it would cause me to get hit with the 4g tax. They said it had nothing to do with 4g and was a fee that gives you a better network experience...I literally lol'd and said that was total bs. So I asked that phones that have data but do not pay that fee have a lesser experience or does Sprint throttle those connections, no answer.

 

[zerocool84]

It's not a 4G tax, it's a smartphone tax. Any smartphone will have that $10 fee whether it's 4G or not.

 

[SAWYER]

That tax didnt show up until 4g, and not all smartphones pay it

 

[zerocool84]

That tax didnt show up until 4g, and not all smartphones pay it

In the beginning it was a 4G tax but they changed it to all smartphones whether it's 4G or not.

 

[Bateluer]

In the beginning it was a 4G tax but they changed it to all smartphones whether it's 4G or not.

And they're currently being sued over it now too.

 

[Ns1]

In the beginning it was a 4G tax but they changed it to all smartphones whether it's 4G or not.

text below

Starting January 30, Sprint is raising data rates by $10 a month for new phone activations. The rate increase will not apply to existing customer unless they upgrade or activate another smartphone.

Previously the fee only applied to Epic 4G, HTC EVO 4G, and EVO Shift 4G phones accessing the Sprint WiMax network. Now it will apply to all smartphones. Supposedly the fee will allow the network to keep offering unlimited data for WiMax subscribers.

 

[stlc8tr]

And they're currently being sued over it now too.

That itself doesn't say much. There are all sorts of fairly lame lawsuits weaving their way through the courts right now.

 

[kaerflog]

I used to be a Sprint customer for years.
I was going to jump back to Sprint when the EVO was coming out but the $10 pissed me off.
I just can't see Spring being that competitive that much longer.
Sprint is not cheaper than T-mobile.
Wimax is not that much faster.
And their phone selections sucks.

 

[boomhower]

I used to be a Sprint customer for years.
I was going to jump back to Sprint when the EVO was coming out but the $10 pissed me off.
I just can't see Spring being that competitive that much longer.
Sprint is not cheaper than T-mobile.
Wimax is not that much faster.
And their phone selections sucks.

Completely agree. I went with Sprint because they were cheaper. Now that they have added the $10 fee they are about the same as Verizon, just more minutes I don't need. Between that and screwing me out of my yearly upgrade have made me want to leave. I'm using the roaming loophole to convince them we would be better off parting ways.

 

[shortylickens]

Sprint has literally stolen money from me in the past. If I had the means I'd have sued them. A customer service rep who has no idea how the service works is a minor inconvenience.

 

[CVSiN]

no issues at all with Sprint or the 10 dollar fee. still alot cheaper for me than the others.
Unlimited everything for under 100 bucks. cant beat it.. unlimited to all other carriers cell phones and a truly unlimited data plan.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Yeah, the $10/mo fee is pretty stupid. They don't want to raise their advertised prices, but at the same time they can't tack on a 4G charge since a lot of people can't access 4G. They used to have a price advantage over Verizon. They still do, I think, but it's small enough that it's not really worth switching to them.

I'll stay with them for now because I have an Epic and my wife has an Evo and we're both under contract for a while, but I won't hesitate to jump ship once my contract is up.

One thing to consider, though, is that once T-Mobile gets bought by AT&T, Sprint may become the cheapest carrier.

 

[kaerflog]

no issues at all with Sprint or the 10 dollar fee. still alot cheaper for me than the others.
Unlimited everything for under 100 bucks. cant beat it.. unlimited to all other carriers cell phones and a truly unlimited data plan.

Still alot cheaper than others ?? Sure ??
T-Mobile unlimited is $80 right now.
Sure the data is not truly limited but research have shown that 95% of users do not go over 1gb/month.

 

[ghost recon88]

I had the exact same conversation on Sprint chat as you did OP.

In order just to be able to buy a 4G phone, I had to upgrade my regular $30 SERO to $40 SERO Premium, then on top of that once I activate a new smartphone (currently have my TP2 on there from over a year ago so no $10 a month tax yet) then I will have to pay an extra $10 a month raising it to $50. So I'm almost doubling what I paid a month ago, just to use a new Android phone, regardless of if its 4G or not... Verizon is looking real tempting, but their texting and data packages are super high :\ Unlimited data is another $30 add-on to the regular plan

 

[Pliablemoose]

I had the exact same description on Sprint chat as you did OP.

In order just to be able to buy a 4G phone, I had to upgrade my regular $30 SERO to $40 SERO Premium, then on top of that once I activate a new smartphone (currently have my TP2 on there from over a year ago so no $10 a month tax yet) then I will have to pay an extra $10 a month raising it to $50. So I'm almost doubling what I paid a month ago, just to use a new Android phone, regardless of if its 4G or not... Verizon is looking real tempting, but their texting and data packages are super high :\ Unlimited data is another $30 add-on to the regular plan

I recently went with Verizon and saved some $ by not having a texting plan and using Google Voice for texting...

 

[ghost recon88]

I recently went with Verizon and saved some $ by not having a texting plan and using Google Voice for texting...

Hmm, explain google voice for texting? Do you have to run an app all the time for them to send and receive? Or does it look like a normal text?

 

[Dulanic]

I still don't get why people complain about a $10 fee vs the higher pricing elsewhere. To get /w Verizon what I have with Sprint is like $200 vs $160. I can't believe they want over $20 for text messages... 2KB messages. Oh and it's not even unlimited it's like 5000.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Hmm, explain google voice for texting? Do you have to run an app all the time for them to send and receive? Or does it look like a normal text?

GV works perfectly, it doesn't send MMS as far as I know, but is just fine for texting, I changed my shortcut so GV fires up when I click on it, and it sends notification when I get a text.

The biggest downside is having people realize you have 2 phone #'s if you don't route all your calls through GV...

 

[stlc8tr]

In order just to be able to buy a 4G phone, I had to upgrade my regular $30 SERO to $40 SERO Premium, then on top of that once I activate a new smartphone (currently have my TP2 on there from over a year ago so no $10 a month tax yet) then I will have to pay an extra $10 a month raising it to $50. So I'm almost doubling what I paid a month ago, just to use a new Android phone, regardless of if its 4G or not... Verizon is looking real tempting, but their texting and data packages are super high :\ Unlimited data is another $30 add-on to the regular plan

Not true. It's $40/month for SERO Premium, which allows you to use any non 4G phone like the Arrive or the Optimus. It's only $50/month if you want to use any of the "iconic" 4G phones like the Evo, Epic, or Shift. Even at $50/month, SERO Premium with 4G is a damn good deal. I'd like to see what 500 AT minutes, unlimited data/text, and unlimited any mobile to any mobile costs at Verizon, TMobile, or AT&T.

 

[ghost recon88]

Not true. It's $40/month for SERO Premium, which allows you to use any non 4G phone like the Arrive or the Optimus. It's only $50/month if you want to use any of the "iconic" 4G phones like the Evo, Epic, or Shift. Even at $50/month, SERO Premium with 4G is a damn good deal. I'd like to see what 500 AT minutes, unlimited data/text, and unlimited any mobile to any mobile costs at Verizon, TMobile, or AT&T.

If I activate any new smartphone, it's gonna raise the bill $10 a month since I have not activated one since January 30th. And unless I wanted to keep using flip phones, I had to upgrade to SERO Premium. They wouldn't let me activate any android on the $30 plan. But yes I agree with you, still cheaper than the competitors.

 

[stlc8tr]

If I activate any new smartphone, it's gonna raise the bill $10 a month since I have not activated one since January 30th. And unless I wanted to keep using flip phones, I had to upgrade to SERO Premium. They wouldn't let me activate any android on the $30 plan. But yes I agree with you, still cheaper than the competitors.

I've heard that the Touch Pro2 may not require the $10 smartphone fee, depending on which CSR you get. But you have a wide range of phones available to you at the $40/month level including the Arrive, XPRT, and the Optimus. So you're not paying "almost double", it's only $10 more (plus fees, of course).