Sprint Not Ruling Out Tiered Data Pricing, Says Hesse
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.