Sprint Changes 'Unlimited' Broadband To 5 Gigs... While Still Advertising Unlimited Broadband
from the that's-not-unlimited dept
I've actually been one of the few satisfied Sprint customers for many years. Over the past few years, they were the only mobile broadband provider who didn't limit mobile broadband to ridiculously low plans like 5 gigs per month, like other carriers. In fact, this was a key selling point, and one of the reasons why I happily stuck it out with Sprint. I know Wall St. analysts have been insisting that Sprint would need to cap such broadband usage at some point, but it seemed like a really short-sighted idea, since the unlimited broadband is really about the only facet of a Sprint account that makes it more appealing than its competitors. And so... of course... it appears to be going away. Here's the email I recently received concerning my "phone as modem" option, which I use often enough:
Basically, with no warning, effective immediately, Sprint has unilaterally changed our deal from one where I was paying for unlimited data via the phone as a modem -- to one where it's capped at a stupidly low 5GB. And, the company even has the gall to then happily tell me (below the screenshot cut off) that this change won't impact how much I pay -- as if I should have expected them to increase the fees while taking away a feature I like.
Considering that unlimited mobile broadband was not only part of the marketing pitch, but also a big part of the reason for why I signed up for the plan I did, this certainly seems like a bait-and-switch deal... and I'd thought that bait-and-switch deals like this were violations of FTC rules, but what do I know?
Of course, on a whim, I wondered if Sprint's marketing had changed... and I did a quick search on "Sprint unlimited broadband" and turned up the following advertisement:
If you can't see it clearly -- it appears Sprint is still advertising unlimited mobile broadband -- highlighting that you can "avoid the data dilemma" and "get truly Unlimited data." Except, um, that's clearly not the case. Changing your plans unilaterally for those who specifically signed up for unlimited broadband is one thing. But continuing to advertise such plans while limiting them and -- even worse, effectively mocking such limited plans -- is simply adding rather obnoxious insult to injury. Sorry Sprint, but you may have finally convinced me it's time to explore other options.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: advertising, bait and switch, broadband, data caps, ftc, wireless
Companies: sprint
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: AG's
This is the result of coercive governance.
To expect the protection of our property rights by granting a government the monopoly privilege to ignore said property rights (theft/force) is absolute insanity.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: AG's
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: AG's
As an aside, the plural is attorneys general (like courts martial, passersby, and brothers-in-law). Don't feel bad though, I've heard an attorney general make the same mistake. :-)
More to the point, elections are not the only kind of pressure an official can be subject to.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: UPSET
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Response to: Anonymous Coward on Jun 5th, 2012 @ 10:47am
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Slightly inaccurate
Only because someone said "if we arbitrarily make these separate plans/features, we can charge more money!"
Data is data. They are not in fact separate features at all - just separate totally artificial plans. Why difference does it make if you download 5gb of data on your phone, or on your laptop connected through your phone?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
Personally, I'm happy sticking with the in-built Nexus S tethering. I use it rarely. I use more data just streaming music to my phone on a regular basis per day than I do using my phone to tether my laptop on the go (which I only do once a week, if that).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
Browser agent id's, probably the website content itself (if you are watching plain old hulu.com for example), could probably detect things through TCP sequence numbers, etc
Of course there are technical ways around this and it turns out the best technical method would probably be personal VPN which also happens to be one of the better ways to make sure you are securely browsing the internet through unprotected WiFi (see the connection there...your mobile data provider is now your 'attacker'). With a VPN tunnel your mobile provider is now out of the loop on what that data is (and also if its your phone or your tethered laptop)
It still perplexes me that executive management of telcos try to outwit their customers. If a mobile provider was honest and would say "hey we have good service, but because there are a lot of people and technical challenges, we need to only sell you limited plans right now while we continue to up or capability. Oh and also we know data is all the same so do what you want with it" how many customers do you think they would add? All customers tired of the bs....which is probably every one with a cell phone
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
Unlimited is unlimited as in "all you can do with your device". Hot spot usage does change things somewhat, and they are probably trying to address a real issue with large amounts of "data is data" by people who thought that unlimited was an infinite gift.
The question is how much you CAN download...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
The data costs them the same either way. What you're saying is, they never had any intention of offering "unlimited" data - they were just saying that, and trusting their customers not to be able to find a way to use too much. They were hoping that a natural limit would prevent them from having to create their own limit. That was dumb.
Smartphones are advancing rapidly - it's getting easier and easier to gobble up data with them. But they are still offering "unlimited" data plans. So what you're saying is that the moment people start using too much data, they will add new restrictions, because they are not actually offering unlimited data.
Basically, this is like paying for an all-you-can-eat buffet, then being kicked out for eating too much.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
No no no we are not kicking you out sir. It's just that you went over your 20 shrimp limit and will have to pay 5 dollars for every other shrimp you ate. You can have an unlimited amount of shrimp, you just have to pay for everyone.
I can't wait for one of these companies to claim something like this. "Well you do have unlimited data, no one is stopping you from downloading over 5gb, you just have to pay extra beyond that mark."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
Unlimited is unlimited. By setting a cap for tethering, they're basically charging you from the bits that go from the phone to the computer thru the USB cable or WiFi connection (which is none of their damn business). That's no different from selling you "unlimited electricity" which goes to some battery in your house, but then charging you extra money for each kilowatt that goes to actually power a device.
Also, by having those caps, they're telling me I can watch as many YouTube videos as I want, AS LONG as I use a small screen (even if I still watch them at super-mega-HD and discard the extra pixels). They're effectively charging extra from the amount of light that goes from the screen to my eyes.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
(Well, it works for aerials/remote DVR...)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
> infinite gift.
That's what the word 'unlimited' means! At least it does out here in the world that speaks English. Not sure what language Sprint is speaking where 'unlimited' means 5GB and no more.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
She can break 50MB browsing the same pages in under a day.
Face it, pages are optimized to to smaller for mobile users.
P.S. we disabled wifi on her cell-phone because a few apps were getting confused some times when switching 3G to wifi.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
/agree
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
You are much more likely to use a huge amount of bandwidth on a tethered device. From personal experience, I never go over my phone's 4GB limit (Verizon), but I always get in trouble when using the tethering mode.
I think this is a good balance. Keeping the phone unlimited, but ensuring reasonable usage if tethering.
I would have liked to see Sprint make it 10GB or 20GB as the default to maintain a marketing advantage for them, but all in all, this isn't as surprise to me as they move into true 4G and have to deal with the real world costs/limited spectrum issues involved.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
How is that a good balance? As soon as more people start using more data on their phones (happening every day) they will revoke the "unlimited" since it was a lie all along.
Data is data. If they can't afford to sustain heavy usage patterns, they can't call it "unlimited".
What if you want to tether, but you only want to use it to check your email and pull a few MB a month? Should you have to pay extra on top of your unlimited data plan?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
Now, the assertion that phone data is naturally less than tethered data only holds up so long as you don't use any services on the phone that use large amounts of data. As soon as you start using streaming video, audio, or other data intensive applications, that assumption goes right out of the window. It is possible and very likely that one can max out their data cap with just the phone, without tethering. The whole idea of capping tethering and not the phone itself is just stupid.
Besides, it's not the data usage that's the problem here, it's that carriers oversell their bandwidth under the assumption that people can use the bandwidth when others are not. The data cap is a tool to ensure this is the case. We are facing a crisis right now where we are running out of bandwidth (i.e. the number of frequencies we can use). The problem isn't data usage, it's a problem of a spectrum crunch. There are just only so many connections a tower can maintain before it runs out of "slots". Wireless providers are going to have to face facts that either they can accept that they can only serve a finite number of users or find a new source of spectrum that they can use. Capping data isn't an effective solution because their goal as a business is to increase subscribers. As more people subscribe, their spectrum is divided more and more. This means that data caps will progressively get smaller. This makes the device less useful. But, as we know, wireless providers, or any ISP for that matter, don't like to update the infrastructure when they can just expand their customer base by degrading the service for everyone.
TL;DR:
Data caps aren't the solution, finding more spectrum is.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
Bandwidth is generally measured in bits per second, not hertz. It's a measure of data transfer speed, not transmission frequency (though the two are related).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
There is a correlation of those terms which can be translated to a equation/formula, but saying 5GB bandwith = 5GB of data IMHO is not accurate.
Is this one of those terms which meaning becoming muddied by advancing science/tech, like entropy which have different meaning in thermodynamics and cryptography (and apparently hopelessly distorted in quantum physics)? Why can't someone come up with a different term? Even the term "Gluon" (from Glue-On) is more ingenious.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
Data Best if Used By x/31/12.
Data is not a perishable good.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
"Why difference does it make if you download 5gb of data on your phone, or on your laptop connected through your phone?"
Let's not be disingenuous. The difference is that is far harder to use over 5GB of data on a phone as it would be on a notebook PC connected via WiFi to that phone.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
Actually, it's disingenuous to say it's far harder to use over 5 GB of data on a phone as it would be to use on a laptop connected to said phone.
Unless of course you neverstream music or Netflix videos, you do almost no web browsing, do not download any apps or data for said apps, or anything even remotely related to any of that.
In which case, you're right. It's far harder to use 5 GB of data on a phone than a laptop connected to a phone. But if that's the case (per the previous NEVER use examples), this kind of thing won't be a problem. However, your average smartphone user is more than likely coming quite close to those data caps on a much more regular basis.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
I kind of wonder what the logic is in teathering now because of how easy it is to browse now on a phone compated to what it was 3 or 4 years ago.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
You seem to have missed the point, spectacularly.
All those things you are talking about are the same. Mobile browsing, tethering, mobile hotspot - all exactly the same thing in terms of the product you are paying the telcos for, which is data. "Unlimited data" has the same definition no matter what device you are talking about.
If you think that those things are all actually different services, then you've swallowed their money-gouging lie hook line and sinker.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Slightly inaccurate
The separation is pretty meaningless in reality, as data is data.
But the larger point is that they're advertising claims mocking the idea that you might have to keep track of your data -- and that it's a "dilemma" you shouldn't have. But their own plans have that same dilemma.
Pretty ridiculous.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
The dilemma isn't in the data usage, but in the ISP's unwillingness/inability to find new spectrum or use what they have more efficiently.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
Then we started letting airlines get away with it. And now it looks like cellphone carriers are jumping on the bandwagon too.
Anyone else want the simple, common-sense definition of fraud back?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
But, it's not the US nor Canada... there is some respect for competition here.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
Your phone can still fly, but your notebook is going to have to stay on earth. You'll need to get your DSL or cable plan back now, so sorry!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Slightly inaccurate
i.e. - more ways to stick it to you for using the bytes in the way you want to, and that you already paid for in your original contract.
p.s. and as for this only applying to "data caps are for the mobile hot spot/use your phone as a modem option" now, just wait. It will apply to all your other data in the future too. Businesses don't screw all of their customers at once, that's bad for their profit margin. They only screw them a little at a time and hope they don't notice as much.
On a sidenote, and as usual, AT&T will again be at the head of the pack on the screwing:
No more cell phone minutes? AT&T expects data-only plans in two years
Jun 1, 2012
AT&T's chief executive expects the industry to offer data-only cell phone plans within two years, potentially replacing cell phone minutes and text message counts with a single counter logging megabytes and gigabytes.
"In such a scenario, phone calls would be considered just another form of data," the Associated Press notes in a recap of AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson's remarks Friday morning in a New York conference hosted by investment firm Bernstein Global Wealth Management.
Already, services like Skype are replacing some traditional voice calls, and services like iMessage are replacing some text messaging. The AP notes that "phone companies still make most of their money from calling plans and texting, which use very little data." The trend of carriers moving from unlimited plans to data caps isn't a good one for customers, but whether moving to a data-only model would help or hurt consumers is hard to say until actual pricing and plans are revealed.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Slightly inaccurate
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
oh, and no amount of crying to the BBB is going to help. they are too big to care about the BBB. and the AG's are usually in their pockets (or lobbyist got to them already)
The theory is, "don't like it? start your own cell company" which they know you can't do.
Go USA! /sarcasm
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
There are ways to work this out without resorting to the violence of the State.
The answer is voluntary exchange and respect for inherent property rights (via self ownership).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
Having a criminal justice system is theft too, now? Please excuse me, I rolled my eyes so hard I think I did them a mischief...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
I'm Kidding.. Geeze!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hotspot only?
Of course if your phone is rooted you can add a tether that doesnt go through their plan and still get unlimited. Or so those bad pirate oriented people tell me.
If Sprint does actually limit my unlimited plan, that counts as a material change to my contract and I will use that to leave them and not pay an early term fee.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Hotspot only?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Hotspot only?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Hotspot only?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
the cell modems got changed to a tiered plan already.
the 'unlimited' is for use on the phone. probably not the clearest of ads, but that is what they are promoting.
it still sucks, surprise or no.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
But you gotta do business with someone if you want a phone.
I use clear's wimax hotspot for my main internet connection and its works perfect for my needs. Desktop,Laptop, or smart phone it's all the same with no caps and speeds sometimes up to 11mbs,but usually around 3 all the time, and wherever I'm at.
So it does work well for some people.
But I definitely don't recommend Sprint or AT&T, if you can keep from it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
if only the moron in a hurry rule also applied to advertising
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Like It or Lump It
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Like It or Lump It
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I still have unlimited data bandwidth through T-Mobile
BTW - I don't think that T-Mobile offers this type of account anymore, so I guess that I am one of the lucky ones with this kind of grandfathered setup.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: I still have unlimited data bandwidth through T-Mobile
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: I still have unlimited data bandwidth through T-Mobile
So... kinda, but not really. And unless I simply missed it before, it looks like they've added it in the past month or so.
At this time I'm paying $20/mo for unlimited data for my G1 (required with the G1). I've switched to a Crackberry and hope to kill the data plan. I hardly use it at all. But the point is that it's probably $20/mo per line to add unlimited data.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: I still have unlimited data bandwidth through T-Mobile
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Who has the Gall?
$0.05/MB after that.
1000MB = 1GB means
5GB = (0.05*5*1000) = $250.00 per month.
And here you are acting ungrateful for not raising your rates!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Who has the Gall?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Granted this plan of my parents is good for only ONE phone (which belongs to my father), it's still not a bad deal in the end. Having to pay $50 for a limit on how much data we can use (especially when I'm a heavy consumer)... that seems too much for anyone, even me. I can only wish that someone gets their act together and listen to the PUBLIC, the CONSUMERS!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
TV's originally had a round screen, so the size was the diameter. As you know, the diameter of a circle can be measured at ANY angle. As TV's lost the "round" shape and became square, the diameter measurement turned into a corner to corner diagonal measurement - which is today's standard of measuring displays.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Verizon switched from advertising locking in your price for your whole life to for just a few years while still calling it life, and got away with it.
Jetta did even worse, claiming you could get over 50 MPG driving their car, while going 'voom voom' (in their own words) as much as you want, despite the fact that the government only gave them a 35 MPG rating, and it's ILLEGAL for companies to advertise different numbers. (The 50 MPG rating was from some guy who drove to all 48 of the mainland states in a Jetta car getting that kind of mileage by going real slow and rarely pushing the gas pedal, not by going 80+ miles an hour on the highway like Jetta ads implied).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Spectrum Crunch
For those of you unaware of spectrum crunch, it basically means the airwaves will eventually run out of room for data transfer, from the exponential increase in data usage. estimated to happen around 2014 unless we free up more space.
This is at least partly the reason for the lack of "unlimited plans" these days.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Spectrum Crunch
Even I, a hard-core downloader with 4 seperate 2TB hard drives, didn't download constantly. There will be times of the day when the wireless spectrum will be relatively uncrowded.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Spectrum Crunch
If you have a couple minutes, these guys explain it much better than I.
http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/spectrum-crunch
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Spectrum Crunch
Think of it like this. Say there was a water pipe running down your street. This pipe pumps one gallon of water per hour. If five people are connected to the pipe, each person is getting 1/5 of a gallon of water every hour. To increase that speed, you need to either increase the size of the pipe or remove a user from the pipe. Telling a person that they can only have 20 gallons of water a month does very little to help that speed when all the people are using the water at the same time. There are some instances when it would help, but for the most part, people are just going to start using water only when they need it the most. They will still tend to use the water at the same time and the water will still pump at the same speed. The only thing that will happen is that the pipe will be unused at all during random hours as people try to conserve and not go over the limit.
The fact that people but into the "data caps to combat the spectrum crunch" lie, really irritates me, because it it blatant misdirection in an attempt to increase profits.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Spectrum Crunch
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Spectrum Crunch
Data caps are not a solution. It's an attempt to wring as much money as possible out before the impending implosion. But Spectrum Crunch does exist. There's a slight analog when you look at data speeds over normal lines; there's only so fast that the data can go before it loses coherency.
(The frequencies suitable for broadband transmission are finite in number.
Every connection to a tower must have a unique way of identifying itself, to make sure it gets the data it requests.
To serve multiple people at once, the most common solution is to intersperse packets at the same frequency, and then to use another frequency or a wider frequency range once you have more requests than room in that one frequency.
You cannot use frequencies that are too close to each other, or you get the wireless version of crosstalk, corruption of the datastream in both frequency.
Once you run out of available frequencies, the only solution currently available is to have more packet interspersing within the frequencies we use, which slows down the connection for everyone. People get less packets/second, thus less speed.
RIGHT NOW, we're ok and nothing needs to be done, but projections show within five years we are going to run out of bandwidth to keep up with usage, and speeds will hit a rather firm ceiling unless something is done.)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Spectrum Crunch
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Spectrum Crunch
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Spectrum Crunch
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Spectrum Crunch
If you felt I was trying to justify Sprint changing it's contract when it shouldn't have, I am not.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Spectrum Crunch
Spectrum crunch is a made up term by people trying to trick you into believing you need to pay more for bandwidth. Yes, there are bandwidth limitations, but there are also technical ways around them for the most part, which do not require broadband caps.
Don't believe the hype.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Spectrum Crunch
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It is my understanding the data transfer from the PC to the phone (data) doesn't use the same signal as transferring the data from the phone to the tower.
PCs don't come with cell technology, but WiFi, and it's this WiFi signal that's translated to the 3G/4G signal used by cell communication.
Is this not correct? I was just told this recently by a sales rep at T-Mobile when I questioned why our phones should even come with 4G if WiFi is the "preferred" method to use the phone.
I also got the same type of answer from the cable company, to stated the charges for three separate options were due to the transmissions of those signals to be carried on lines which are dedicated to the broadcast signals (aka: phone calls don't travel to a cable network carrier line, but to a digital switch box, and the separate fees is how they maintain balancing payments to each other).
I've also wondered why we're being charged for so many little things when everything goes through the same signal eventually, but this seems more a back-end accounting issue than a customer service relation issue.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
I'm guessing that users that use their phones as tethering devices tend to use more data, and this is some executives bad idea at monetizing those users (who will probably end up leaving, myself potentially included).
My advice to Mike and others, root your phone and download a tethering app (maybe a proxy service). The inconvenience definitely has a price though.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
When tethering, your PC is connected to the phone (local Wifi signal) and the phone is connected to your ISP (4G signal). You on your PC fire up your browser, type in a web site, and your PC tells your phone to get the data for that page. The phone then requests that data from the ISP and receives it, then fires it back at the PC.
The situation is ENTIRELY the same if you weren't tethering. There is no difference whatsoever on the ISP end if you're tethering or not: its still a phone asking them for data. So when they charge you extra for tethering, they're not recouping any costs at all. Its pure profit.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Also, to the author - Jailbreak or root your phone and install an app that tells the phone the data is coming from the browser rather than the hotspot and then cancel that extra feature. you'll still have unlimited mobile hotspot and unlimited data but w/o the monthly fee. Most apps available in the unlocked markets work this way.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
And I do not mean to Pay a $100 just for that.
I just do all my stuff with my Slime Warner Broadband.My phone is for.............well I use it like you use a landline.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Vote with Your dollars
As long as Service providers can depend on customers just complaining and continuing to pay them, they have no reason to stop gouging. They know that even if they lose a handful of customers, there are plenty more who will buy their misrepresentations.
If you don't like contract changes, ditch your phone, and tell the provider WHY. Leave your money in your pocket, and don't give it to corporate liars.
A suggestion; if you MUST make phone calls and can disconnect yourself from mobile internet, get a "pay as you go" phone from the local Walmart, and make do. Your wallet will thank you!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Unlimited Limited Limited Unlimited
Re-inventing the language is just designed to obfuscate the truth. It is very widely practiced.
Why not? The "news" does it. The government does it. Hell, even the Prez does it! (Just ask President Obummer, who followed in the fine presidential tradition of his lying predecessor, what an "Enemy Combatant" is.)
Although heavily practiced in the US, lying is not limited to the US - one need look no farther afield than Canada's telecom fiasco for proof of rampant lying, er marketing.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
There is an alternative
... What? In gigabytes? Heck if I know, is that like 100 megabytes? Let's just stick to hours, easier for everyone.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: There is an alternative
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
1 GB of mobile data costs $ 1 to providers, apparently.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
not surprised
Capping the bandwidth at 5gigs effectively kills most forms of file sharing, a key initiative for 'fighting piracy'. And no, they don't care about civilian causalities.
I'm guessing we only have about a year or two until we will see 'special' zones that allow data transfers without counting towards your cap. These will be setup via sweat heart deals between the provider and their new service or partner. Want to compete w/ YouTube? Or Netflix? Pay an additional fee and now you are the preferred avenue for all of a networks cell users.
Another likely scenario is we end up seeing all the major, entrenched apps (like youtube, netflix, facebook, Xbox, Playstation) get 'free bandwidth' to the user (ie - doesn't count against your cap)... which they of course pay the providers for the privilege. This raises the cost of entry for new startups in that space, and helps keep the user on their service.
Mike has talked alot about 'transaction costs' .. users will unconsciously feel a higher transaction cost when using a service that counts against their cap, and thus gravitate away from or limit their usages. Pretty good way of keeping the status-quo.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
You just don't have unlimited data for phone as modem/hot spot.
Free WiFi is everywhere and you can still use your phone.
Now if you were truly limited to 5GB I would be pissed for you. You still have unlimited data, you just can't share it anymore. BooHoo.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
FTC
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
If so, it seems wrong to tell you it no longer qualifies for unlimited bandwidth as well. Double dipping, IMO.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
If however you are using a smartphone, then the answer is YES. In order to tether, you're supposed to pay a separate fee and Sprint will activate the feature for you. You'll get a "Sprint Mobile Hotspot" app that you then turn on and there you go. Of course, it's a feature built into most smartphones which they block or disable in order to keep you from tethering. But there are a ton of ways to get around that, from simple app installs to rooting to flashing new ROMs, etc.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Old news
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/21/sprint-cancels-unlimited-_n_1025880.html
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
UNLIMITED
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
tethering vs. untethered
I just wanted to point out that the Everything Data Plan assumes just using the phone as the only device making use of the cellular data connection.
The 5 GB limit is for any type of tethering option (including having your phone act as a WiFi hotspot). I personally do not like those restrictions, but at least I can still use my Android phone straight-up without worrying about data overages on Sprint.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
EasyTether. You don't need to root. Can use the free version (no https), or pay once for the full version.
Party on Wayne. Party on Garth.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I guess
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This is starting to piss me off!!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Sprint advertises and has Unlimited Data. In the advertisements, Sprint is specifically advertising the use of a cell phone. And while all other companies, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile all have limits on their data that can be used on the cell phone, SPRINT has remained UNLIMITED.
Sprint is no longer unlimited for phone as modem, and their data card plans. But again, they are unlimited for their cellular phone data plans!
What people don't understand is as more people use more data. The cellular companies have to impose rates, since the cellular companies have to pay for the data that is used. So each GB of data that is used, the companies are having to pay a charge for that. It is not unlimited data for them... So as Sprint currently has unlimited data for their cell phone plans, and as much as Sprint will try and keep those plans unlimited for as long as possible. Sprint will NOT be able to keep unlimited data forever. Because eventually it will start to lose money on that and will need to impose a rate change...
So no, the FCC or anyone else will be able to do anything for you here. And yes Sprint can change their plans at anytime. Your contract doesn't say that they have to keep the same plan... As seen lately with Verizon and AT&T changing the limits on their data plans.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This is why I don't mess with data plans
I don't own a smartphone and by the looks of how the providers treat their consumers, I probably never will.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Your story is wrong
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Your story is wrong
I'm fine with QoS.... but restrictions like these, when they are artificial restrictions, I am damned well not and I think that these companies should be rapped on the hand with a 2 ton stone hammer.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
OMG ur idiots
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Yeah they got me too...sad, mad, frustrated customer
I was a mi fi user for years with sprint..always been with them. talk about being loyal ..ugggghh
i decided to upgrade to the sierrra wireless to get 4 G speeds. The sprint rep i talked to said he can get me on there with no change in my plan and infact it would be cheaper by 5 usd compared to the 49.99 i was paying for unlimited data.
Lo and behold, i got my bill and it was 300 plus usd. I called and complained a lot and got an adjustment to cut the bill to 148, while at the same time, i upgraded to go with their 12 GB plan (the only highest one they have) and would incur a 79.99 usd , month plan rate. I also went with it when they tole me that my usage the previous month was about 12 GB...okay i thought.
and just today, i learned i have an overage (18 GB ) and was charged 225 usd for my overages...so another 325 usd bill....ugggg..when i talked to them last month and when they switched me over to the 12 GB plan, they promised me that their system would alert me when i get close to the cap on the plan///I Got no such notice.
sooooo frustrating...now i am thinking of canceling and wondering what they will charge me for cancelling ? any ideas...suggestions on other services that provide truly unlimited data plan..
thanks
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Sprint Hotspot Changes
Sprint has lost my respect and I will go with another carrier soon.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
What will use 5GB, fast, is watching HD video at ~1GB/hour.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Depending on the game, you could use a good chunk of a 5GB cap. I think one major problem though is people know you need a "fast" internet connection for good gaming. What's important though is low latency, not big bandwidth. However I suspect most people have no idea what that means, even many gamers.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hi
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
idiots
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: idiots
You're about four months late...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Uh, no...they cap everything now.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
unlimited data
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
blog comment
waxing ny and waxing nyc,body waxing nyc
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
True sprint fraud
Tress Chapin
I walk in to your San Diego on Oct 30th to cancel my service. In order to keep me has a costumer the store employee offered me a overdrive hotspot with unlimited data for $29.99. It shows up in my account but it has never worked. I have taken it into stores all across the country and everyone has just blown me off. I call customer support and was told the network is having problems and will be fixed on the 16th still not working. Finally at the sprint store in Rochester NY Vince took the afternoon to dig into the problem and found out the my account was not right he put in his notes that the account would have to be deleted and set back up again.
I called customer support giving them this information and they keep telling me there was nothing wrong with the account. At the end of the first hour I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told to hold. A women came on the line and just started to go over the same garbage has the first guy. I get her to read the notes or so i think and she tells me that she has deleted the account and set up a new of course is still does not work. At the end of the hour I find out she is not the supervisor. And I demand to talk to a supervisor she puts me though to Johnathan Moore he tells me his employee number is jo697522. He informs me that no one could have deleted my account and restarted it. That account services can not even do that without me giving up my plan with the unlimited data. He will however have account services call me. I ask for his information so I can call him back to make sure he was not lying to me also. He tells me I can call 866-556-7310 and give them his employee number and they will put me though to him. So I call right back and it's another lie.
The women I talk to this time tells me that I can't keep the plan I was contracted for that I now have to switch it to $59.99 for 6 gig. She put me though to Alvan Gray her supervisor he admits I have a unlimited contract for 29.99 on my contract but refuses to honor it and would be happy to set me up with the 59.99 plan. I told him to leave it just the way it is and I will be sending all this information to every tech blogger I can find and every newspaper because it is out and out fraud a classic bait and switch. I will also be forwarding this to the Atorney General for California. And he terminated the conversation. Every time I call you say the call will be recorded please review the tapes to see that I am telling the truth about everything. All I want is what I am contracted for.
Tress Chapin
Sent from my iPad
The latest is that they would gladly cancel my hot spot that has never worked and because they are a kind company they will not even charge me a early termination fee. However they will not cancel my phone contract that I went in to close which prompted them to offer me the deal.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
data usage
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
tethering loophole
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
tethering loophole
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Aprint's misleading 4G ads and sales pitches
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Aprint's misleading 4G ads and sales pitches
[ link to this | view in chronology ]