US operator Sprint will end its unlimited data plans for mobile hotspots from November 2011. Its unlimited data smartphone plan has been a marketing differentiator for Sprint, as it struggled to win over subscribers from its larger rivals, AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
US operator Sprint will end its unlimited data plans for mobile hotspots from November 2011. Its unlimited data smartphone plan has been a marketing differentiator for Sprint, as it struggled to win over subscribers from its larger rivals, AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
Industry speculation has been rife for months that Sprint would find it uneconomical to sustain this strategy for much longer. This does not apply to not smartphone users, but data sent and received over tethering – sharing a mobile phone's internet connection with other devices – will now be capped at 5Gb. The carrier says that, starting from the next billing cycle, it will no longer bundle unlimited 4G wireless access into existing plans.
Mobile broadband subscribers will also lose 'unlimited' WiMAX, instead their usage will be counted towards 3Gb, 5Gb or 10Gb buckets.
"If you have a mobile broadband device such as a tablet, netbook, notebook, USB card, connection card or Mobile Hotspot device, effective beginning with your next bill following notification, your on-network monthly data allowance will no longer include unlimited 4G," Sprint said in a statement on its website.
"Currently, if you use your phone's Mobile Hotspot add-on, the Mobile Hotspot data usage is combined with your phone data usage. Effective on your next bill following notification, your monthly mobile hotspot on-network data usage will be limited to 5GB of 3G or combined 3G/4G usage dependent upon device capability. Additional data use above 5GB is $.05/MB. Your monthly off-network data limit will continue to be 300MB, which is a combination of phone and Mobile Hotspot data usage," Sprint added.
This makes Sprint the last US carrier to come into line with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. All of them now throttle data speeds beyond certain usage, or offer tiered data plans for mobile users.
Yankee Group analyst, Carl Howe, said: "Sprint's dropping of unlimited 4G data makes its 4G mobile broadband offering the same as its 3G one. That change means it just gave up one of its biggest points of differentiation with consumers, and that lack of differentiation means consumers are less likely to switch to Sprint for 4G service."
