Sprint 5GB internet cap

[wjrandon]

Originally Posted by Goddbody

The reasons behind the internet cap is because Sprint is desperate for money. They are about to sell the farm to Clearwire on a New Tech Venture called WiMax ( A National Wireless Network) which will change the way we browse the internet anyway. They are trying to rake in as much capital as they can because it's gonna be an entirely different ball game in a few months. Read it here WiMax.

Actually Sprint owns 51% of Clearwire. Why would they sale their company to an operation they practially own?

Originally Posted by Success100

ok....can we all stop crying now??

I mean come on everyone who is whining about this probably doesnt even come close to 5 gigs!

I did the math and based on my average daily use my monthly consumption is approximately 4.2GB per month and that's without tethering to any other equipment; so it is a bit of a concern.

Most of my usage comes from streaming music and/or television while at work and traveling to and from. While it's true this new rule is likely to only affect power users (such as us) it'll ultimately hurt Sprint because we also happen to be the most vocal users as well.

[rstoyguy]

I consider myself a pretty heavy user, downloading roms, surfing till all hours on ppcgeeks.com. I checked, my bill cycle is on the 26th, and for the month so far my data usage is 4,106,450 with 5 days to go.

5GB is not that big of a deal...Now I know how much I use on average. Tethering is my internet connection, when I have time. So I'm good with it. And it will probably affect us on the employee plan...

[Nunim]

I'll believe it when I see it for real. I don't use 5 GB's a month now, nor do most people, but it's always better to be unlimited then have a cap. It's the people who are using this as a primary internet connection at home/work (especially those doing it under the radar) that are really hurting the system, expecting to download 30GB/s a month for a $15 plan? I don't think so...

Reguardless, I'm not entirely sure how accurate the information on Sprint's website is. I've recently taken a road trip and tethered my phone to my laptop (under the radar using ICS :P) and on that trip I watched several full episodes of TV shows while in the car. Then a few days ago I downloaded approixmately 50 megs worth of data to my laptop while again tethered to my phone. Now I still use it daily for surfing, push email, occasional YouTube, and yet Sprint only reports my datausage as approximately 50 Megabytes. I know this figure can't possibly be right, I downloaded that much in data alone, forget about the Streaming video I did from Hulu.

[michaelj1981]

wow idk what to say but this blows...i use the data card as my internet source and i watch alot of tv shows, and music and surf alot, but i also have internet on my phone and pay 10.00 for that and pay 60.00 for my broadband card so i pay about 70.00 a month for internet I barely use the internet on my phone. I like the mobility of having internet were ever i go. Putting a cap on roaming i think is fair, i dont roam with it either my phone or my data card. Even if i were to not surf the web as much i still would exceed cuz i like watching movies on netflix and such. I also do web design sometimes and i need and use alot of data, so if sprint does this idk if i will stay with them or go somewhere else and find internet threw someone else. I dont like being capped. Even if it means for me to find a local provider and not have the flexiblity as i did but i went with sprint to have one bill and cuz i liked sprint. But some things they are doing is going all crazy maybe just cap the roaming lol hopefully this is rumor isn't true. or they dont cap it.

[Baffles]

Come on, how does high data usage by a minority group of people cause "disproportionally high operating costs?" Bandwidth isn't _that_ expensive... the most expensive part is usually the pipe, the bandwidth used past that is beans.

[InvincibleLiving]

ok quick question how does this come into play for users with more than one line? is there a cap per line or a cumulative cap per device?

[Scrufdog]

According to my laptop's data tracker, I've used 193 megs in the past 3 days. Working out of town in a hotel that doesnt have free internet. I doubt I would hit the cap, although sometimes I'll orb it up for awhile, listen to Sirius at work all day. The highest I've had that I can remember is like 3GB in a month.

[inferno14u]

Originally Posted by nautica2450

ok quick question how does this come into play for users with more than one line? is there a cap per line or a cumulative cap per device?

Now that is the question I want to know the answer to. I usually use 3-4 per month, with the highest I think being 4.2, but my girlfriend has been considering upgrading her phone which is on my account which would most definitely put me over the limit.

[MightyM0use]

I know this is a sprint topic but for comparison I asked my ATT rep today(I am a Radio Shack store manager) about their 5 gig cap and he told me that they won't charge you if you go over. If you are abusing the cap then they will cancel your contract. No extra charges. I wonder what sprint would do? I am guessing they would charge you and further complicate their already messed up billing situation. I can say that nobody from sprint, who we carry as well, has told us anything about a new cap. I don't question the truth of this topic but I find it odd that, considering the fact that they have already sent out letters to existing users, they have not said anything to those of us who sell their product.

[InvincibleLiving]

ok so has anybody received a letter yet from them regarding this change? I'm sure someone's billing cycle has ended recently... they said the would mail them out with the next bill correct?

May 20, 2008, 8:14 PM

A number of Sprint mobile broadband users have shown their over an internal memo that indicated the company has placed a cap on its mobile broadband service.
In an e-mail and phone correspondence with BetaNews, Sprint officials discussed the reasoning behind its decision to implement a 5 GB per month overall use cap, and 300 MB per month for off-network roaming.


"Sprint is continually working to ensure a great customer experience that is available to all of its customers. Efficiently managing our wireless network is a big part of our commitment," a Sprint spokesperson told us. "The use of voice and data roaming by a small minority of customers is generating a disproportionately large level of operating expense for the company. We are enforcing the existing terms and conditions for phone plans. We are placing a limit of 300 MB per month on the amount of data use allowed while roaming off network as well as a 5 GB per month limitation on total wireless data usage for Sprint's connection and phone as modem plans."

"This limit is well within the range of what a typical customer would normally use each month." Sprint declined to disclose the amount of data a "typical customer" uses per month.
Unconfirmed reports earlier in the day inaccurately stated Sprint put the cap in place to help make a transition towards the future, in which it plans to launch its WiMAX 4G network before the end of the year. Assuming its Xohm WiMAX network can launch in Baltimore and Washington, DC as scheduled, Sprint will beat out both Verizon Wireless and AT&T, which plan to launch their 4G networks in 2009.
The company is now making an "extensive effort" to inform its customers about the pending changes, and to allow them to "change their usage habits before exploring any available options under the terms and conditions."
Existing customers are being notified about the change through messages attached to their bills that Sprint began mailing three days ago. The changes take effect 30 days upon receipt of the note. Starting in June, company officials will call customers to ensure they understand the changes made and to help better identify when they are roaming.