How Sprint really justifies the $10 add on

[Bek]

However, my issue with it is that nowhere in Sprint's documents are they advertising USB tethering as a feature. It would really behoove Sprint to just come out and say USB tethering is part of the premium data fee.

They're being hush-hush about it to try and sell the Mobile Hotspot instead.

and they should then offer it to Hero and Moment users as well or any other phone that's Android 2.1+.

And the Hero with 2.1 DOES have it, via the latest HTC Sync upgrade that works with the Android 2.1 release. I believe the Moment is out of luck, since that's a Samsung product.

 

[evotitans]

$10 MRC....Unlimited Data, no cap


How hard is that to understand? Since I work in telecommunications I have an idea of how great a premium that is.

Sprint is doing the same as most 2nd party companies are doing now. Those of us that provide VOIP dont care about the minutes you use....its all about how much Data you consume.

IMO, Sprint is beating Verizon and AT&T to the punch and setting the market right now.

What happens when Verizon goes to tiered Data and charges $30 for Unlimited 3G/4G?? If Sprint is still at $10, they will kill them in that market especially if 4G for Sprint is more stable and has wider coverage.

 

[swarles]

And the Hero with 2.1 DOES have it, via the latest HTC Sync upgrade that works with the Android 2.1 release. I believe the Moment is out of luck, since that's a Samsung product.

Oh? I thought you had to do some jerry-rigging to get it to work even in 2.1. If what you say is true, what we're paying $10/mo remains as nebulous as on Day 1.

 

[Rigmaster]

$10 MRC....Unlimited Data, no cap


How hard is that to understand? Since I work in telecommunications I have an idea of how great a premium that is.

Sprint is doing the same as most 2nd party companies are doing now. Those of us that provide VOIP dont care about the minutes you use....its all about how much Data you consume.

IMO, Sprint is beating Verizon and AT&T to the punch and setting the market right now.

What happens when Verizon goes to tiered Data and charges $30 for Unlimited 3G/4G?? If Sprint is still at $10, they will kill them in that market especially if 4G for Sprint is more stable and has wider coverage.

Agreed, but the fuzziness gives Sprint room to move up a little if they have to or want to. I think starting out this low though really crimps the other carriers just prior to their major summer phone releases.

Have a friend who's super-itchy to move from BB to iPhone on ATT. Cannot wait for the next time we're in the same place in NYC. He'll have his new iPhone, and I'll have my Evo. And he'll be thinking "crap - gotta wait 2 years or dump $325 to fix this mistake."

 

[swarles]

$10 MRC....Unlimited Data, no cap


How hard is that to understand? Since I work in telecommunications I have an idea of how great a premium that is.

Sprint is doing the same as most 2nd party companies are doing now. Those of us that provide VOIP dont care about the minutes you use....its all about how much Data you consume.

IMO, Sprint is beating Verizon and AT&T to the punch and setting the market right now.

What happens when Verizon goes to tiered Data and charges $30 for Unlimited 3G/4G?? If Sprint is still at $10, they will kill them in that market especially if 4G for Sprint is more stable and has wider coverage.

What's the percentage of mobile phone users that use over 5GB/mo from their mobile phones via their cellular connections? While we're at it, what's the percentage of users that use over 5G/mo from their air cards? My point: is a forced uncapping really useful?

Your point about uncapped access is not hard to understand. However, the overarching theme of this thread is an exploration of what Sprint is actually assessing a fee for and then whether it makes any sense to us as consumers.

Your point about setting the price is somewhat fair, but I don't completely agree with it because it doesn't address the main concern, which is that this fee is mandatory but seems to add few extra services while being touted as adding something. If it's really about the 5GB cap, then again, make it a choice or assess it once the user actually breaks the limit. That's an apples-to-apples tiered pricing structure that you could market against Verizon's future plans. (Moment of nostalgia: Fair and Flexible Plans, anyone remember those?)

 

[SprintFun]

What's the percentage of mobile phone users that use over 5GB/mo from their mobile phones via their cellular connections? While we're at it, what's the percentage of users that use over 5G/mo from their air cards? My point: is a forced uncapping really useful?

How many of GB of data did people consume on average in 2009 vs 2008? 2008 v 2007?

I saw something where an analyst expects mobile data usage to increase eight fold over the next 5 years.

We are consuming more and more and more data every year, at an exponential rate. Yea, I've never used 5GB of data in a month, but I also have a shitty Instinct. I'm going to be a data consuming fool with my Evo.

 

[evotitans]

Agreed, but the fuzziness gives Sprint room to move up a little if they have to or want to. I think starting out this low though really crimps the other carriers just prior to their major summer phone releases.

Thats my whole point, I think Sprint is just beating everyone to the punch.

We all know Sprint has the bad rep. but look at what it has done in the past year.

1. Unlimited Mobile to Mobile calling.....thats a feature that can keep most people at minimum minutes on the cheapest plan. Hell the only landline I call frequently is my parents or the delivery guy.

2. 30 Day guarantee.......yea good luck trying to get AT&T or Verizon to have you in a contract for 2 years and you get out of it scott free.

3. $10(As it should be called) No Cap/Unlimited Data Charge which as of right now has no competition to compare to....but lets wait and see what Verizon and AT&T will do.

4. EVO release, which going by what I have seen, is going to be huge for Sprint as a whole, and AT&T and Verizon are rushing to get even something remotely comparable to it.



All in all, Sprint is carefully making moves that can help get them out of the red....maybe by the end of the year. Sure some of it doesnt seem right($10 charge) but lets see how it is a couple months from now.

 

[swarles]

How many of GB of data did people consume on average in 2009 vs 2008? 2008 v 2007?

I saw something where an analyst expects mobile data usage to increase eight fold over the next 5 years.

We are consuming more and more and more data every year, at an exponential rate. Yea, I've never used 5GB of data in a month, but I also have a shitty Instinct. I'm going to be a data consuming fool with my Evo.

Charge me in 5 years when I'll consistently hit the cap then, but not now.

Cheeky statements aside, I think you can still be a data consuming fool and easily come in under 5GB/mo when actually on Sprints network, especially since everyone has WiFi in their homes today and hotspots are becoming evermore ubiquitous. Take a look at what 5GB can get you:

What does 5GB (Gigabytes) Get Me? : EVDOinfo.com

And to preempt a possible argument point, even with 4G, real-world speeds won't allow you to stream a full-quality DVD stream (vid+sound is roughly 10Mbits/sec). I can see some of the other video streams as legitimate uses, but don't make the rest of us pay for everyone else if we don't want it.

 

[Rigmaster]

Thats my whole point, I think Sprint is just beating everyone to the punch.

We all know Sprint has the bad rep. but look at what it has done in the past year.

1. Unlimited Mobile to Mobile calling.....thats a feature that can keep most people at minimum minutes on the cheapest plan. Hell the only landline I call frequently is my parents or the delivery guy. Agreed.

2. 30 Day guarantee.......yea good luck trying to get AT&T or Verizon to have you in a contract for 2 years and you get out of it scott free. Soon, others will match this.

3. $10(As it should be called) No Cap/Unlimited Data Charge which as of right now has no competition to compare to....but lets wait and see what Verizon and AT&T will do. Sprint has killed them here. The bar is so low that tiered data on already higher-priced plans isn't going to be well received at all. BIGGEST smart thing Sprint has done in the last 2-3 years.

4. EVO release, which going by what I have seen, is going to be huge for Sprint as a whole, and AT&T and Verizon are rushing to get even something remotely comparable to it. Still not handled as well as it could have been. Sprint's been too cautious - trying to avoid problems rather than shooting for wild success. No excuse for limited marketing. Should have included most features as "at no charge" through summer and then added Evo charge through remaining length of contract. Should also make sure full Froyo 2.2 just as iPhone and others get released. Combined moves = biggest/best deal on premium phone ever.



All in all, Sprint is carefully making moves that can help get them out of the red....maybe by the end of the year. Sure some of it doesnt seem right($10 charge) but lets see how it is a couple months from now. Yes. I don't care about the $10, but it's going to stand out more as other features and services get added on if they, too, come with additional co$t.

The only other thing I think Sprint should do is align themselves with Google/Android formally and become truly known as the value network. That kind of relationship would make Android development and deployment move even faster, and Sprint could gain from it by being the network where OEMs go to first release their products. You'd also see more app developer support and a bigger jump behind Wimax now with a smoother, easier inclusion - not transition - of LTE later.

That pretty much would leave AAPL with having to do something with both ATT & VZW, but I don't care if that happens.

Colors just there to note my responses and additions to what you pointed out. We totally agree - just putting my speculative thoughts on why/how things could shake out.

 

[RiverOfIce]

(vid+sound is roughly 10Mbits/sec).

Huh? Link, I can click on please? Because I do this on a regular basis, it is about half that, about 5Mbps.

 

[swarles]

Huh? Link, I can click on please? Because I do this on a regular basis, it is about half that, about 5Mbps.

MPEG-2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peak is 10Mbps, average bitrate is about 5Mbps. The peak becomes an issue when watching films with fast moving scenes.

 

[SprintFun]

Charge me in 5 years when I'll consistently hit the cap then, but not now.

Hey man, I get charged out the ass for tons of cable channels I've never even watched and even in languages I don't even understand. Doesn't stop the cable companies from doing it. Even if you don't use more than 5GB of data, still gotta pay to play.

 

[swarles]

Hey man, I get charged out the ass for tons of cable channels I've never even watched and even in languages I don't even understand. Doesn't stop the cable companies from doing it. Even if you don't use more than 5GB of data, still gotta pay to play.

Do you want to be charged for those unused cable channels?

When all is said and done, I like the rest of you, will pay. It would just be nice to at least have Sprint acknowledge they're ripping us off.

 

[Rigmaster]

Seems that a lot of people don't like the concept of bundled services when they don't meet the exact needs of the individual. Bundles are never meant to meet all individual preferences - just what the provider's consumers most commonly accept.

Cable charges us channels we don't watch, but it's cheaper than having to pay individually for each channel.

We're all innately frugal and that can change according to circumstance. Markets do correct. Remember $4+ gas? People stopped driving, cut back on travel, and SUV sales almost came to complete halt. None of the oil/gas providers took the lead because they couldn't resist the profits or stop the flow.

We're all going to see that Sprint will still be the value provider in the long run, and it's fees are going to bring other carrier customers by the buckets. I used to think Sprint would have to continue to announce newer and better phones, but now I think they just keep providing value, stick with Android and not disable it's features, and let the OEMs handle what phones they can produce with the OS provider.

We're seeing this industry change so fast it's turning itself inside out. The days of charge me for what I use is exactly what VZW and ATT want because it lines up with tiering.

I don't want to be tiered. I want it all!

 

[New Jersey]

swarles, ripping us off by charging less than vzw/att charge for similar capped 3g plans?

 

[steveholtam]

I wonder what Sprint would do if enough of us hot spot our Evos via root and share out our unlimited data everywhere we go? Could they complain we are using to much unlimited data for our $10 a month extra charge?

 

[Rigmaster]

I wonder what Sprint would do if enough of us hot spot our Evos via root and share out our unlimited data everywhere we go? Could they complain we are using to much unlimited data for our $10 a month extra charge?

Why root while it's free? If Sprint says "within 30 days" then the hammer of losing some of it's customers is still there. It's not a sledgehammer, but a hammer nonetheless. I think it's in Sprint's best interest to have people gouging data while VZW and ATT customers sit by in envy.

In fact, I think Sprint should have said through end of summer just to get people past the 30-day guarantee. That or Sprint's just saying 30 days because Froyo will be out in that same timeframe making the charge moot.

 

[C_Dub]

Even with the dreaded "EVO Tax" it's still cheaper than my iPhone bill.

But it still does feel that they're charging the $10 because they can. One can hope that after 6 months they drop the "fee".

 

[swarles]

swarles, ripping us off by charging less than vzw/att charge for similar capped 3g plans?

Trust me, I'm thankful that Sprint is cheap. I'm with them because they're the value proposition. I recognize that even with an additional $10/mo they're still the value provider.

However, it's not a matter of that they are charging the fee, it's why they're charging it. If Sprint explains that it's for removing a cap but the vast majority of users don't hit the cap, it's practically unreasonable. As is stands, they're spinning it as being somewhat about data, somewhat about services rendered that are (you have to admit) a bit hazy, and mostly about phone hardware. But if it's really about hardware, then it would make a bit more sense to actually price that into the hardware and charge, say $300 for the phone post-subsidy. It's not exactly charging $10/mo to own something you supposedly already own, but practically it is. Kind of weird, no?

 

[swarles]

Even with the dreaded "EVO Tax" it's still cheaper than my iPhone bill.

But it still does feel that they're charging the $10 because they can. One can hope that after 6 months they drop the "fee".

Exactly. And I guess I would prefer is Sprint was no non-sense about it. You could argue the materials in their playbook are delivering this message, but not really in a straightforward way.

 

[neodorian]

The way I look at it: fees suck, many things suck more. I don't absolutely need this phone and I think they are putting too much emphasis on 4G but I would like it and I can afford it so I choose to get it anyway. I know people who think I'm nuts to even buy a new smart phone every year.

 

[asaberan]

I was sort of over the "$10 fee" because I still want the phone and I guess unlimited data is some perk (that I normally don't even come close to), but with their explanation of "OH, it has a huge screen and a front facing camera!!!!" Well, that's bullshit and it simply comes out to a luxury tax now.

That said, now that I have "unlimited data", be damn sure that I will consume every MB of data that I can. Hell, I'm paying for it, right? I hope they don't change this in the future, but I don't see "Truly uncapped data" sticking around for long. ISPs have mostly all backed off on it, I'm sure mobile providers will do the same eventually.

And to the person who said that buying an HDTV is not any cheaper if you don't have HD available in your area, this makes no sense. A better comparison would be Comcast FORCING me to purchase HD service simply because I have an HDTV. In reality, if I don't want to pay for HD with Comcast, I am not forced to do so. The same can be said of Comcast internet; suppose I buy a newer, faster computer and Comcast tells me that because I can surf the internet faster, I have to pay more. This is just a bad business move in my opinion.

 

[evotitans]

Hotspot Users on the EVO Can Use the Feature Free in June, Sprint Unable to Block 3rd-Party Solutions | Android Phone Fans

I am curious about how much that report is true about Sprint not being able to block tethering added to the $10 charge.

If Sprint knew that they couldnt block it, and knew that Android Froyo makes it even easier to tether was the deciding factor?

Basically how they are trying to sell the Hotspot as being more of a secure, stable, and multiple device option for tethering.....with only saying in a whisper that hey yea you can tether thru other lesser options.

 

[Clock]

I like that they list how much their competitors are pricing as a reason to introduce the cost. Heh.

Doesn't bother me, though. 25% discount + ten dollars off for the next two years + family plan = win.

 

[BrianFX]

I had a problem with the $10 fee then I realized that included unlimited WIRED tethering.http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-4g/85263-anyone-evo-try-tethering-vita-pdanet.html

You're forgetting that pretty much every smartphone that Sprint sells is capable of unlimited wired tethering. This isn't inclusive of the EVO. I've been tethering for years on my $30 SERO + WinMo phone.