By Not that we’re surprised, but Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has gone on record – speaking with Fox Business – saying that they have not completely ruled out tiered data pricing. Here in the United States, it’s a trend that started with AT&T, may be continuing with Verizon once their LTE network gets off the ground, and might force Sprint’s and T-Mobile’s hands in following along. Here’s Hesse’s exact quote:
“We’re not ruling out metered pricing,” he said. “Tiered pricing is something we look at.”
“We are watching very closely,” Hesse said during an investor conference on Wednesday. “But customers really do value simplicity.”
A huge selling point for Sprint when they launched 4G data services was that their customers were getting “true unlimited” usage. No bandwidth caps, no hidden charges, no throttling, none of that. Even with the extra $10 per month for their 4G phones, it turns out to be a much better value than any of their competitors which makes me think it’s unlikely we’ll see Sprint go this route if Verizon and AT&T follow suit.
Tiered pricing doesn’t always spell immediate doom for unlimited data plans, however, but your phone bill might get a wee bit more expensive if they do look to offer the two models side-by-side. At least for the time being, I’m confident that Sprint customers have nothing to worry about.
Good! Allah knows how much data I use. Geez :)
Unless their version of tiered pricing is significantly cheaper or includes a lot more data at each tier, I don’t see things working out well for Sprint if they go in that direction. For now they should just worry about all the customers they’ve been losing.
@ Mike D: Which customers would that be? They have gained plenty of customers in recent times. People need to stop living in the past.
time to grandfather.
I am sure they will leave the current contracts as is and than if you dont like what they offer you dont have to renew your contract. I wouldn’t renew either if it was something like ATT’s plan. It’s a rip off for sure. I am sure if someone is so hooked on the data plans and still want to use it than its something you pay for. Think about gas? We paid over $5 a gallon here is San Francisco bay area.
I will cross that bridge when we get there. Until than use as much as you can and stick to the man because that’s what they and me signed up for. Oh by the way 4G is sweet where you are able to pick up the signal. It is still a hit and miss depending on where you are in the bay area.
sprint do not do it please you be loosing an other customer in me.
I like the fact that I don’t have to worry about going over a limit every month and getting charged an arm and a leg on overage fees. If this happens, I’ll probably go to unlimited pre-paid (if that’s still around). Metro, get some real Android phones and you may see some of my money.
Depending on the tiers and prices this could be a very good thing. As long as they don’t raise the prices for unlimited, some cheaper limited plans may make it more appealing to customers who want data but don’t need gigs a month and don’t want to pay for unlimited.
I would actually prefer tiers sometimes if they were done in a non-customer-raping way. For example, I love having unlimited data but I could probably do fine with 5GB most months and then automatically bump up to another $5 if I do 8GB one month. If the 5GB tier was cheaper then it would save me money most of the time. So far this month we have used about 2.5GB between two people. Some months I am on the road and tether so it would be closer to 5GB or more.
Likewise, I use a share plan with my girlfriend and the cheapest one has 1500 weekday landline minutes. We use like 10-20 minutes a month simply because the vast majority of our calls are after 7 or on weekends and to cell phones…none of which use up your minutes. I would love a plan that gave us a few hundred minutes and unlimited text and data if it cost less than the $129 plan we split now.
looks like im going to have to start looking at boostmobile againg
This is all part of the oligopoly that is communication companies in the US. They’d rather restrict customers then upgrade their shit data networks. The Internet should be a utility not a privilege.
Wah wah wah. All this talk about Sprint losing more customers with this decision is LOL. You will not get better value anywhere else, so, bye bye.
Nice work Sprint. I’m about ready to leave Sprint because of their craptastic network, and the inability for my phone to do what it is supposed to do- receive calls.
As said above, Sprint should be worried about GROWING thier customer base, not following AT&T and Verizon. AT&T and Verizon have 2 things that Sprint doesn’t have- Better networks and a LOT more customers- thats what Sprint should be shooting for- not tiered data plans…
Whoever thought Sprint wasnt thinking about following AT&T and Verizon need to wake up.
Sprint need to watch how Verizon does. AT&T messed up by doing it first at some stingy plans. Verizon has a chance to one up AT&T, and Sprint has a chance to one up them both or be comparable to whatever Verizon does assuming Verizon will offer better plans than AT&T.
Rob Schoenfeld has it right. They should be upgrading and increasing capacity.
HAHAHAHA, Really? You’ll leave Sprint to go to another company that has higher pricing? Hilarious. AT&T works great on 2G. Just ask alot of your iPhone users. If you turn off the 3G, the phone works alot smoother. Sad isn’t it?