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Sprint Finally Makes Good On 3G Data Capping
Sprint's finally pulled the trigger on their data capping policy, limiting users to 5GB a month or 300MB while on off-network roaming. Our tipster says the note after the jump appeared on his most recent bill, and will start the cappage in 30 days. They now join the Verizon and AT&T networks at 5GB, but Sprint is still our favourite for field work on the go.
"Effective in 30 days, Sprint reserves the right to limit throughput speeds or amount of data transferred and to deny, terminate, modify, or suspend service if usage exceeds 5 GB/month in total or 300 MB/month while roaming off network."
[Thanks Brett!]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
KryptonZero
Posted 4:55 AM 6/8/08
@reamon: Yeah, the 5GB limit applies to everything on network and the 300 mb limit applies to everything off. I was talking to a friend of mine that works at the "sprint store" aka the place he gets to play WoW all day cause no one ever shows up, and this was definitely the deal for all plans and all equipment.
KryptonZero
DustyButt
Posted 4:48 AM 6/8/08
@reamon: That's 5GB of data on network or 300MB of data in roaming mode....
Which ever of the two happens first during any given month equals being hassled by The Man.
DustyButt
reamon
Posted 4:43 AM 6/8/08
I'm either misreading the article or the comments: the article says the cap applies to off-network roaming. If you're on-network, then its still unlimited. But the comments imply that it's all capped? Oh, shedder of light, please illuminate the way, whomever you are.
reamon
Nerys
Posted 4:42 AM 6/8/08
I would hope they would just make it so data stops working till your monthly time.
Nerys
cynep
Posted 4:34 AM 6/8/08
I had to get FCC involved (thanks consumerist.com tipster!) when T-Mo refused to let me out of a contract over material breach of contract and a gross mis-representation of services offered. It's funny how quickly you're let out of a contract when FCC is involved. Should you desire to drop Sprint like a bad case of STDs and get any lip from them, you can file an on-line complaint at
[esupport.fcc.gov]!input.action?form_page=2000B
I have a feelilng that I will have to file this form shortly... Thanks for good times, sprint. As mentioned earlier - nice knowing ya.
cynep
draiko
Posted 4:34 AM 6/8/08
And this only seems to be for data cards and phone tethering, not for phones themselves.
draiko
MrBlahBlah
Posted 4:33 AM 6/8/08
at least they aren't charging you for going over...
MrBlahBlah
draiko
Posted 4:33 AM 6/8/08
Sprint is doing this because everyone else is doing it. It's sad, but with WiMax Launching in September, I can see a "no data cap on WiMax" being a prime selling point.
Funny that this data cap is being enforced at the EXACT SAME TIME that Sprint is launching WiMax...
draiko
ezman
Posted 4:31 AM 6/8/08
@mullingitover: That's the thing, though... wifi isn't even near saturated everywhere! I am a student now at U of M in Ann Arbor and there is pretty much wifi everywhere here, but back home in the suburbs of Grand Rapids there is definitely not. As you get further and further away from the major urban centers, there's less and less coverage.
That being said, unlimited data should be unlimited data. Perhaps WiMAX will be different... but I'm not holding my breath.
ezman
1roll20s
Posted 4:29 AM 6/8/08
@cracksbacks: It will probably apply to all plans. Good news is you can break contract. Bad news is if you're on sero you dont really want to go anywhere else.
1roll20s
The_Gas_Man
Posted 4:27 AM 6/8/08
@Scott:
And then what? Every other carrier has a 5GB cap too. Doesn't really do you much good.
The_Gas_Man
cracksbacks
Posted 4:23 AM 6/8/08
does this apply to "unlimited data" on the SERO plans?
cracksbacks
davebg5
Posted 4:20 AM 6/8/08
@aec007: Yes, it is called a "material(ly) adverse" change to their contract. It means any Sprint customer who was on an impacted data plan can get out of their contract without paying the ETF.
In fact, I just availed myself of a similar situation with Verizon so I could get the iPhone (they raised the Federal Universal Service Charge...as they do every quarter.) The wireless provider won't make it easy for you, though. Verizon CSRs lied to me left and right in order to try to deny me my contractual rights. You just have to stand your ground, possibly contact executive level customer service and maybe fire off an Executive Email Carpet Bomb to the company's executives (copying a site like consumerist.com doesn't hurt either.)
davebg5
mullingitover
Posted 4:19 AM 6/8/08
I can't believe that with the absolute saturation of wifi, they're actually able to get away with this. They should be offering more to compete, not cutting back their services.
mullingitover
daftrok
Posted 4:18 AM 6/8/08
Everyday more internet is being done wireless. With Bluetooth tethering (something every 3G phone with the exception of stupid ass iPhone), people can use the 3G network as their primary internet source. If people were given unlimited, Sprint can have the potential of overloading their servers and slowing or even shutting down the network.
daftrok
Log1c
Posted 4:15 AM 6/8/08
Nice to know you Sprint! Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
Log1c
aec007
Posted 4:11 AM 6/8/08
My guess is that changing their contract to existing customers that signed up for an unlimited data plan is a breach of contract on their part. Meaning any user in such plan can just leave without penalty under the law.
Right?
aec007
Bweetza
Posted 4:11 AM 6/8/08
They must do this in order to make up for the loss of revenue on text messaging. /sarcasm
Bweetza
Scott
Posted 4:08 AM 6/8/08
I smell breach of contract!
Scott
tex1ntux
Posted 5:13 AM 6/8/08
So that SERO contract I only use 50-100mb on monthly will now be capped at 5000mb?
Those bastards. I'm cancelling my contract immediately.
tex1ntux
distortedloop
Posted 5:05 AM 6/8/08
@daftrok: Gawd, we're gonna rehash all this unlimited or not crap again? I signed a 2 year contract with Sprint for UNLIMITED data. Look up UNLIMITED in the dictionary, here's a link: [www.google.com] it means without limits, not 5GB limits. ;-)
@mullingitover: "absolute saturation of WiFi"? Not around here (Los Angeles).
Well, at least this will save me $68 per month. I'll just tether an old 3G Razr with its $19.99 unlimited medianet card...until AT&T suchs that down...
distortedloop
ice2032
Posted 5:02 AM 6/8/08
deny, terminate, and suspend all sound kind of redundant to me.
ice2032
reamon
Posted 5:01 AM 6/8/08
Ah, I knew I was misreading something. Thanks Butt and Zero for the clarification for my feeble little bean.
reamon
1roll20s
Posted 5:30 AM 6/8/08
@tex1ntux: Well not having a contract and being month to month is worth something...
1roll20s
praevalesco
Posted 5:52 AM 6/8/08
My podcasts alone come up to over 5 gig a month. I'll ride this until it ends I guess. SERO is too good to bounce on.
praevalesco
macegr
Posted 5:00 AM 6/8/08
I can see my usage for the current month on my Sprint account page, but my KB used doesn't even appear on my bill. As far as I know, the most I used in a month was 11 megabytes. The main use of data for me is Google Maps and traffic, email and Flickr uploads...obviously I'm not a heavy user, but then I'm just using the phone instead of tethering. If I tethered, I could probably get up to 5GB in a month easily, EVDO around here is faster than DSL.
macegr
Ron-Mexico
Posted 6:28 AM 6/8/08
ummmm Booooooo? That sucks. I don't come remotely close to that now, but it'll definitely make me think twice about long Orb streaming sessions, etc.
Ron-Mexico
Ron-Mexico
Posted 7:03 AM 6/8/08
Looks like I picked the wrong day to uninstall SPB GPRS Monitor.
Ron-Mexico
eben
Posted 7:41 AM 6/8/08
I just called and cancelled the Sprint yesterday on the phone. I told them the reason is the change to 5GB cap. They let me do it without having to pay the termination fee. I will believe it when I get my last bill.
eben
Ron-Mexico
Posted 8:50 AM 6/8/08
Right when I get Rev A too. I'm a heavy Orb video streamer (often stream video from home for hours at a time while I'm at the office) and this could definitely put a crimp in that. I just did a quick calculation and streaming at even a meager 160kbps = 70MB/hr.
Ron-Mexico
UniComp
Posted 9:23 AM 6/8/08
@Log1c: Nice to know you Sprint! Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out:
No kidding, these guys don't seem to be doing to well lately. Which reminds me... I need to switch providers...
UniComp
StopTheLHC
Posted 10:13 AM 6/8/08
Well I just hope that this isn't a sign of things to come with other carriers...
StopTheLHC
rhett121
Posted 12:49 PM 6/8/08
5GB a month is a TON for a mobile device. I use my iPhone quite a bit and I'm lucky to hit 100MB per month. I think I used 43MB last month. Maybe 250MB at most, some months.
rhett121
Barion
Posted 9:13 PM 6/8/08
@rhett121: 5 GB isn't a ton for people using laptop mobile broadband cards to surf the web normally. Stream some videos, download some updates, load some media heavy websites...5 GB goes by quickly.
Barion
distortedloop
Posted 11:22 PM 6/8/08
@Barion: 5GB is NOTHING for a laptop with an aircard for someone out and about all day but connected.
distortedloop
praevalesco
Posted 12:42 AM 7/8/08
5 GB is NOTHING.... I repeat NOTHING. Use the Last.fm client for winmo opr download video podcasts with BeyondPod and you'll see just how quick it goes. Those aren't even the tethering functions you can do. I even here there is a Bit Torrent client out for Winmo. This is just the beginning of mobile phone bandwidth demands... the future will bring much more. This is like Comcast telling users back in the day they could only have 5 gig, it wont stand the test of time.
praevalesco
Ron-Mexico
Posted 2:13 AM 7/8/08
After reading through several forums it sounds like this is just for aircards and PAM (phone as modem) usage - not regular data usage on your phone.
Ron-Mexico
distortedloop
Posted 3:34 AM 7/8/08
@Ron-Mexico: So in other words, it is just for the only people that might actually use it. We pay a premium for our aircards. Twice as much as a phone's data plan. My aircard plan is actually more expensive by about 33% than my landline broadband cable which is 10x as fast. Granted, it's air vs cable, and the convenience of connection everywhere you go, but you're already not getting a heck of a lot for your $70/mo aircard plan to begin with, and now they're going to shut you down after a week's worth of usage...
distortedloop
JEmlay
Posted 7:37 AM 7/8/08
Well, a judge just threw all their contracts out the window so don't they have to STICK IT to their customers some way or another?
JEmlay
khaid
Posted 2:17 PM 6/8/08
5GB is definately a lot for just web browsing. Even with photo heavy web pages. I normally only hit 40-50MB per month with web browsing as well.
Only a minority hit that 5GB cap. And it's mostly due to tethering.
I'm not sure if anyone actually really read this article though. You do realize that it does mention that AT&T and Verizon have already done this and Sprint is the last to enforce it.
khaid