Sprint 5GB internet cap - Page 31

neodorian · #**301** (**permalink**) 10-21-2008, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxnews

you pay $15 for your data and download movies? or $40 for PAM and download movies?

Get real, man. Even Comcast have a new policy to cap those who use bittorrent. long gone unlimited. people like you screw up good things.

imagine if everyone does the same thing as you, sprint data network just got overloaded and everyone will scream and call in to complain.

I stream internet radio as well as watch TV and movies via Orb. This is a legit service and it is the reason I purchased an unlimited data package. Sprint's cheap, fast unlimited data is the main reason I stay with them. Take that away and I am not as likely to stay with them.

parkjam · #**302** (**permalink**) 10-21-2008, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neodorian

I stream internet radio as well as watch TV and movies via Orb. This is a legit service and it is the reason I purchased an unlimited data package. Sprint's cheap, fast unlimited data is the main reason I stay with them. Take that away and I am not as likely to stay with them.

So YOU should be especially irked when people take advantage of the service, threatening the ability of the rest of us to use it legitimately.

**dannzeman** · #**303** (**permalink**) 10-21-2008, 06:50 PM

Please forgive me if this has been answered as I don't have time to read 31 pages of posts, but who here has hard evidence they've used 5GB in a month or has even come close? I use mine to tether all day while at work to get around the firewall and stream music when I'm away from my desk and the most I've ever used in a month is around 3GB. I use SPB GPRSMonitor, and excellent app for measuring that stuff.

Negrito · #**304** (**permalink**) 10-21-2008, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannzeman

Please forgive me if this has been answered as I don't have time to read 31 pages of posts, but who here has hard evidence they've used 5GB in a month or has even come close? I use mine to tether all day while at work to get around the firewall and stream music when I'm away from my desk and the most I've ever used in a month is around 3GB. I use SPB GPRSMonitor, and excellent app for measuring that stuff.

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showpost.p...&postcount=255

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Now playing on iTunes: Talib Kweli - In The Mood (feat. Kanye West & Roy Ayers) via FoxyTunes

**dannzeman** · #**305** (**permalink**) 10-21-2008, 08:47 PM

holy smokes, negrito! thats kinda awesome for some weird reason, hehe.

neodorian · #**306** (**permalink**) 10-22-2008, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parkjam

So YOU should be especially irked when people take advantage of the service, threatening the ability of the rest of us to use it legitimately.

The point is that 5GB is easy to hit with "legitimate" use. If a network cannot handle the "unlimited" data transfer advertised then it ought not to be advertised as unlimited. I say this as a regular supporter of Sprint and a long time customer. They have consistently kept their unlimited data rates much lower than their competitors and I applaud them for that. I just would like them to make good on their advertised promise as I have always made good on my monthly payment.

Whether the carriers like it or not, one of the biggest selling services over the past few years has been data service. Before the iPhone craze brought it to the masses, there have been plenty of us who have sought to do with our mobile devices the same things that we had been doing with our desktops and laptops. I've been a frequent user and sometimes broadcaster over internet radio. In addition, I can't imagine I am the only geek out there who has seen the promise of mobile computing. In this day and age, a huge part of this mobile computing involves an unlimited pipe to the internet at large. I can understand speed limitations as networks evolve but I do not agree with the advertising of a service as unlimited when the term comes with an asterisk that none of us saw during the sign-up process.

Sprint still serves me with the cheapest and fastest data plan in the area and I hope that as something of an underdog in need of a chance to prove themselves they can find a fair way to monetize the kind of service that many of us are looking for -- namely a mobile connection to the internet without restrictions and bandwidth caps. If they have to keep a speed cap to do this then that is fine. I just don't want to choose a carrier based on speed only to find hidden bandwidth caps. If there is a cap on the unlimited service then I have to reevaluate the competition and take into consideration any more expensive or slower service that is truly unlimited.

parkjam · #**307** (**permalink**) 10-22-2008, 12:48 AM

I understand completely where you are coming from and what you are saying. I agree that it is not impossible to exceed 5gb a month from the mobile, but I would not say that is something that is easy to do. I browse and stream alot from my phone, and have never exceeded 4gb. I don't have a problem with people doing that. My problem is with people who cancel the cable service and replace their home internet with tethered service from the mogul, especially when they are not even paying for tethering. It is practices like these that force carriers to re-evaluate their "unlimited" data policies and change them to 5gb caps.

If I remember correctly, Verizon was the first to put a cap on unlimited data service, and I sincerely doubt that they just decided, "Why don't we make our unlimited service, limited to 5gb, just for grins!" It was most likely becoming more and more of an issue of just a few users racking up huge data transfer amounts, and killing the bandwidth for everyone else....

EtherealRemnant · #**308** (**permalink**) 10-22-2008, 06:43 PM

The thing that pisses me off about this cap is that its backwards.

They should be capping people who have PHONES at 5GB and NOT capping those of us who pay for the tethering service or data cards. We pay a premium to have unlimited data and its total crap that jackasses that are too cheap to pay for the service don't get capped and we do.

That and the fact that bandwidth costs are the same whether its used heavily or not - bandwidth is a constant. Its there to use. There is a specific amount of bandwidth available per tower. If it isn't used, its wasted money.

**schettj** · #**309** (**permalink**) 10-22-2008, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EtherealRemnant

That and the fact that bandwidth costs are the same whether its used heavily or not - bandwidth is a constant. Its there to use. There is a specific amount of bandwidth available per tower. If it isn't used, its wasted money.

Actually, there are upstream costs for bandwidth use (we had this discussion in off topic about the 250GB comcrap caps) that Sprint pays, those bits are not free to ship. As in most broadband systems, the price reflects a much lower then 100% usage model. Perhaps as low as a couple % per sub. So 5-10% of subs using a lot more then that can indeed be a problem.

EtherealRemnant · #**310** (**permalink**) 10-22-2008, 08:25 PM

I am well aware that there are upstream costs for bandwidth usage... But on that same note, your average person that uses a broadband card will have about 1/10th or less of their data be in uploads. The people that do excessive uploading still probably only hit about 1/5th. You can't tell me that someone who uploads a few gigs a month costs Sprint more than the 39.99 or 59 dollars that people pay for their data cards.