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Is it really $10 extra a month for 4g?

What about for 29.99? That's what they want to charge for tethering. the 10.00 is a 4g phone tax that Sprint is trying to spin as something else. I call it a phone tax becasue must don't have access to the 4g yet so it can't be a 4g tax.

No the 29.99 is for the Wifi Hotspot to connect up to 8 devices to your phone. Internet tethering via USB is built into the Android OS and free (unless they have disabled it but even then you can download one a few tethering programs from the market) The 10.00 fee is for Sprint to make a profit for once. They need it. You want the phone, you pay it. Simple
 
I'm coming from AT&T, and here's my take on the $10 extra per month:
With AT&T I've got a shared family plan that I split between two iPhones (one 2G and one 3G). The plan costs be about $110 a month, but that only covers phone calls. After adding on $20 for unlimited texting, $20 for the iPhone 2G data, and $30 for the iPhone 3G data, my cell phone bill comes out to almost $200 a month after tax. The same plan with Sprint is $120 a month for 1500 minutes shared between two lines and it also includes unlimited messaging and data for all phones on the plan. Of course there's the $10 per Evo charge, so I'm going to come in around $160-ish after taxes which will save the about $40 a month on my cell coverage, and I'm down with that. I can see how some of you are upset since you're paying more, but I'll be paying quite a bit less and that OK by me!

But you could and should be paying even less IMO.
 
If you can't pay an extra $2.50/week for this phone, then maybe you should solve your financial situation first...

Why don't you send me 120.00 a year if it's nothing to you. You'll get the same thing I would get if I payed that fee...nothing. :rolleyes: PS my financial situation is fine and they're like that becasue I don't spend money on air.
 
Dont like it:mad:

Guess it depends on which plan you have right now.

We have 5 people on our plan so any extra cost does add up.
My wife and I are on the main plan and then 3 more family.
The one good thing is that Sprint told me is that the 2 people on the main plan would only have to pay $10.00 total if we bought the 4g phone.
The other 3 family would be $10.00 each which sucks for them.

So I guess the bigger question is maybe it would be better to get this plan now and be grandfathered in case they come out with some tiered plan like ATT did.
 
Absolutely untrue.

As a sprint user of 9 years:

You are capped at 5GB DATA PER MONTH

If you exceed this with yoru 3g or 4g or whatever phone sprint MAY flag your account and contact you.

Again - I have had sprint for 9 years, I know how this works.

IF YOU DONT EXEED 5GB you are okay. if you do, be prepared to have services halted immediately.

SO YOU'RE SAYING UNLIMITED DATA IS LIMITED?
Does Sprint have a different dictionary than the rest of us?
 
Absolutely untrue.

As a sprint user of 9 years:

You are capped at 5GB DATA PER MONTH

If you exceed this with yoru 3g or 4g or whatever phone sprint MAY flag your account and contact you.

Again - I have had sprint for 9 years, I know how this works.

IF YOU DONT EXEED 5GB you are okay. if you do, be prepared to have services halted immediately.

Instead of shouting, go read your terms of service. You are absolutely, completely, 100% wrong. What you say used to be true, but it's not any more. Using big type doesn't make something true. Like I said, read your terms of service, then come back and apologize.
 
OK, can anyone answer a question about the $10 fee without it turning into a rant or argument? If you have a mutli-line family plan, is the fee per plan, per Evo, or per line regardless of what phone is on that line?

Thanks,
 
Instead of shouting, go read your terms of service. You are absolutely, completely, 100% wrong. What you say used to be true, but it's not any more. Using big type doesn't make something true. Like I said, read your terms of service, then come back and apologize.

If this changed, it changed 2 days ago. Which I highly doubt. According to my TOS, I am still capped at 5GB. It is Sprint's "DISCRETION" bear in mind. Also you cannot use more than 300MB of roaming data.

The bottom line is - use as much data as you want. IF sprint contacts you or suspends your service, don't be surprised.
 
If this changed, it changed 2 days ago. Which I highly doubt. According to my TOS, I am still capped at 5GB. It is Sprint's "DISCRETION" bear in mind. Also you cannot use more than 300MB of roaming data.

The bottom line is - use as much data as you want. IF sprint contacts you or suspends your service, don't be surprised.


Actually I'd be real surprised:cool:

It may be in the fine print but something that SPrint doesnt enforce. Not something that I would worry about too much and believe me I use lots of data. If they ever contact me I would just tell them I use Pandora all day:D
 
If this changed, it changed 2 days ago. Which I highly doubt. According to my TOS, I am still capped at 5GB. It is Sprint's "DISCRETION" bear in mind. Also you cannot use more than 300MB of roaming data.

The bottom line is - use as much data as you want. IF sprint contacts you or suspends your service, don't be surprised.

Can you quote the TOS that says this? I've looked through mine, and I sure don't see a limit. (My broadband modem TOS, OTOH, does specify a limit.)

Practically, it doesn't matter. Unless your tethering and downloading movies, you're unlikely to exceed 5 GB on a handheld device anyway.
 
^^^ No response from LxMxFxD, I see. For any who wonder, here's what Sprint's TOS for data says:

Data Usage Limitation (Mobile Broadband Cards, USB Modems, Embedded Modems and Phone-As-Modem):The amount of data transmitted over our network is measured in kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB). Sprint reserves the right to limit throughput speeds or amount of data transferred; and to deny, terminate, modify, disconnect or suspend service if usage either exceeds (a.) 5GB/month in total, unless specified otherwise or (b.) 300MB/month while off-network roaming. 1024KB equal 1MB. 1024MB equal 1GB.
The emphasis is mine. This cap does NOT apply to cell phones, except for PAM plans, which are no longer offered.

If you want to read the entire TOS, including what it says about data use on cell phones, look here:

Terms & Conditions
 
It is true and my city is not even on the list to get 4G and they say I still have to pay it. I asked what am I recieving for the mandatory $10? They said the use of the 4G network.

Well, this might just bend me to not buy the phone or sue them for me paying for a service and not getting what they said i should get. This could be a class action if they don't change their tune on this.

Anyway, turns out the $30 a month tethering fee is only if you choose more than one link. I just need one for my lap top.
 
It's not that we can't afford it it's that many get nothing for it. Now take your own advice :D

Right - go to a restaurant and just leave $10 on the counter and leave. Do this once a month, any random restaurant.

I live in a city where it is not expected to come, because Verizon is the leader there and T-Mobile

I just don't see how any company can charge for a service and you are not going to use it.
 
I knew and accepted that I was going to pay for it before I bought the EVO but how Sprint Reps tell it is akin to a used car sales pitch. According to the Sprint Rep when I activated my EVO:

There's no fee for 4G. 4G is free and any device capable of 4G can use it - free. It is the HTC EVO and its capabilities in utilizing 4G which sets forth a "Premium Data" fee. :eek:
 


Why don't you send me 120.00 a year if it's nothing to you. You'll get the same thing I would get if I payed that fee...nothing. PS my financial situation is fine and they're like that becasue I don't spend money on air.

Right this is NOT about $2.50 per week being affordable - consumer laws say that any company that charges for a said service must provide that service, you can't charge one set of consumers for something they are not able to consume through no fault of their own. Those cities where 4G is NOT available will have a valid class action law suit and will WIN.

Just LIKE the one about the early cancellation/termination fee and Sprint LOST in federal court. This will be an easy loss again for the company.

By the way, you sprint workers shouldn't be on here. This is a freedom of speech forum and not one for the company to spread false propaganda to try to protect them (if you are employee). We all can tell which ones you are by the remarks my Sprint friends out in ABQ or Oklahoma.
 
I just wish this premium data fee was discountable. It makes Data plans on the evo $30, same price as it is on Verizon, except I'm eligible for a corporate discount on the entire data plan through my employer. On Sprint, I only get a discount on the Everything data plan (69.99), but not on the extra $10. =(
 
Right this is NOT about $2.50 per week being affordable - consumer laws say that any company that charges for a said service must provide that service, you can't charge one set of consumers for something they are not able to consume through no fault of their own. Those cities where 4G is NOT available will have a valid class action law suit and will WIN.

Show me someplace on the Sprint web site that says the $10 is for 4G. Everywhere I've looked, it says for "Premium Data," which they leave conveniently undefined. Good luck with your class action suit. Even if the unlikely even the class is victorious, they'll get a coupon for a free skin case or something like that, while the lawyers make off with millions.
 
Sprint handled this situation perfectly. Their data prices are too low and they need the revenue to justify the tower upgrades to prove there is ROI (return on investment).

The reason they did it this way is it forced more people to pay the fee, since ALL people that bought an EVO have to pay it- including current customers. Usually current customers are insulated from rate changes. Sprint aint' stupid, you know.
 
Sprint handled this situation perfectly. Their data prices are too low and they need the revenue to justify the tower upgrades to prove there is ROI (return on investment).

The reason they did it this way is it forced more people to pay the fee, since ALL people that bought an EVO have to pay it- including current customers. Usually current customers are insulated from rate changes. Sprint aint' stupid, you know.

Exactly. That $10 is going out to pay back Clearwire. Just think about it. The cost of a 4G data card is significantly less than an EVO, yet the monthly revenue generated by its use more than makes up for any subsidy. Unlike T-Mo, where an "off contract price" actually results in lower service costs, Sprint's montly plans already bake in subsidies, regardless of contract status.

If there stock prices were higher, they have been able to release another offering and the fee may have been unecessary.
 
Your statements contradict themselves.


True- there is NO such thing as free ;)

I tip my hat to Sprint and their strategy here. They could have simply created an "unlimited" plan, but current customers would not have to pay it, or they could tack it on to new devices like the EVO, that have 4G, so ALL customers that buy it, have to pay. This mean at least 300% more revenue, in regard to the change, compared to just new contracts.

At&t doing the new customer data caps also helps, since people are less likely to bail from carriers that offer unlimited. At&t has painted themselves into a corner now, since the trend for data use is GROWING- not declining.

Sprint should thank At&t for the assist :)
 
Another $10 thread = EPIC FAIL...

Here is an easy solution to stop the complaining... Return EVO and get a different phone... See how easy that was....

Sent from my HTC EVO
 
OK, can anyone answer a question about the $10 fee without it turning into a rant or argument? If you have a mutli-line family plan, is the fee per plan, per Evo, or per line regardless of what phone is on that line?

Thanks,

Per-line *that has the EVO*, unfortunately. Even the hotspot capability at $29.99, is *per line that has the hotspot capability*. The "unlimited" feature of the family plan kinda breaks down with all these additional per-line fees.
 
True- there is NO such thing as free ;)

I tip my hat to Sprint and their strategy here. They could have simply created an "unlimited" plan, but current customers would not have to pay it, or they could tack it on to new devices like the EVO, that have 4G, so ALL customers that buy it, have to pay. This mean at least 300% more revenue, in regard to the change, compared to just new contracts.

At&t doing the new customer data caps also helps, since people are less likely to bail from carriers that offer unlimited. At&t has painted themselves into a corner now, since the trend for data use is GROWING- not declining.

Sprint should thank At&t for the assist :)

Well, I see the poster's statement that, "there is no fee for 4G, but the $10 is for the the EVO using 4G"...they just contradicted themselves.

FWIW, I just re-upped my second line on my AT&T family plan last week(left early back in Dec.) to lock in an "unlimited plan". When signing up, the rep offered my "AT&T branded smartphone" to use the $15/mo unlimited data plan. I opted for the more expensive $30 plan, which I used to have, since I was not sure how the changes would play out. Checking my account online, I still have the option of switching, and my previous "Data unlimited" is now listed as "Data/Text unlimited".

My girl's e71x does not have these options, as she's still under contract, and her $30 data does not include text. T still has me in their system as using the Moto Q, even though I re-registered with an n900 (no contract), but I'm hesitant to make the switch to the cheaper plan given that they may remove the option once changed.
 
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