Sprint has changed the price of unlimited data for all new plans starting January 30, with an increase of $10 per month for its 3G Everything Data Plan. The new Premium Data plan will only be for new smartphone customers and current customer upgrades to new smartphone models. It was instituted to deal with smartphone users who can consume up to ten times more data than feature phone users.
Sprint spokeswoman Cristi Allen confirmed that current Sprint subscribers with the $69.99 plan will only keep that price as long as they use the same smartphone. When a customer upgrades to a new smartphone after January 30, the customer will see the plan increased by $10 a month for the line with the new smartphone.
The Sprint Everything Data plan, with free calls to any mobile phone and
unlimited data, is currently $69.99 a month, while the same options are $99.99 a
month at T-Mobile and $119.98 at Verizon Wireless. AT&T no longer offers unlimited data plans for new subscribers. Long time subscribers may still have unlimited data plans.
According to the Sprint press release, Sprint will increase its postpaid rates by applying a $10 per month
Premium Data add-on charge to activations of smartphones beginning
Jan. 30. The charge will assist Sprint in offering simple and
affordable unlimited plans for its customers while maintaining a
wireless network able to meet the growing appetite for a richer
mobile experience. Subscribers with smartphones will still
receive the best value in wireless, including the Any Mobile,
Anytime feature offered nationwide only by Sprint.
Sprint defines smartphones as devices with robust operating systems that
deliver a rich wireless experience by bringing the full function
of mobile applications and programs to life, including
Blackberry, Android, Windows Mobile, Palm, and the Instinct
family of devices. The Premium Data add-on charge previously
applied to HTC EVO 4G, HTC EVO Shift 4G and Samsung Epic 4G
devices. Those smartphones were charged the extra $10 for WiMAX service.