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Will I be charged the new $10 premium fee if...

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Jul 30, 2010
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So I've got a few 3G Sprint smartphones that I like to switch back and forth from. One day I'll have one phone activated and the next day I might have a different phone activated. So my question is, Will I be charged the new $10 premium fee if I continue doing this after January 30?
 
#5
Plans: What's there to know about the $10 Smartphone Premium Data Add-on?

Basic Information


What is changing?



  • Sprint will begin applying its $10 per-month Premium Data add-on to customers who activate any smartphone beginning January 30, 2011.
  • Premium Data add-on previously was applied only to HTC EVO 4G, HTC EVO Shift 4G and Samsung Epic 4G devices.
  • It is now being extended to new activations and upgrades to all smartphones.




What is the $10 Premium Data Add-on?



  • The Premium Data add-on is a way for Sprint to continue to provide smartphone users the value of unlimited pricing on the Sprint network while still giving them the data experience customers have come to expect.



I thought this charge was just for 4G phones?



  • The $10 Premium Data add-on previously only applied to 3G/4G devices, but it was never simply a charge for 4G.
  • The charge has always been to address the increased costs associated with operating smartphones on the Sprint network.



How is the $10 Premium Data add-on applied?


The $10 Premium Data add-on applies to:


  • New activations of both CDMA (Sprint) and iDEN (Nextel) smartphones
  • Upgrades/same-phone-replacements and ESN swaps (reactivations) NOT covered by Service & Repair, Advanced Exchange or TEP replacement

  • The $10 Premium Data add-on will apply at the subscription level, not at the account level. If one line on the account upgrades to a smartphone, it will be the only line with the $10 applied.



Is the $10 Premium Data add-on applicable to all customer types?


The $10 Premium Data add-on is applicable to:


  • Consumer
  • Individual Liable (IL) accounts, including Everything Plus customers and those receiving a corporate discount through their employer
  • Corporate Liable (CL) accounts (see exceptions below)
  • Excludes accounts that have contractual terms and conditions exempting the charge



Who does not have to pay the $10 Premium Data add-on?



  • Existing customers with a smartphone will not have to pay the $10 Premium Data add-on; their existing rate plan (without the charge) will remain the same until they upgrade, perform an ESN swap or activate a new smartphone.
  • A TEP, Service & Repair or Advanced Exchange scenario where a smartphone is provided as a warranty or insurance replacement does not qualify as a swap, i.e., $10 Premium Data add-on is not required.
  • Corporate-liable accounts tied to a Corporate ID (under contract) are not impacted until contracts are renewed.
  • Sprint Wireless Advantage Club and SERO accounts are not eligible for the charge.



Is the $10 Premium Data add-on applicable for CDMA and iDEN smartphones?

  • Yes. The $10 Premium Data add-on is applicable for CDMA and iDEN smartphones.
  • The chared does not apply to connection/data/mobile broadband cards.




Is this $10 Premium Data Add-on per subscription or per account?



  • The $10 Premium Data add-on is per smartphone subscription.




How does this apply to re-activated or refurbished phones?



  • A customer who is re-activating a previously purchased smartphone or a refurbished smartphone that qualifies as a swap is required to pay the $10 Premium Data Add-on.



If a BlackBerry customer already pays for the BES add-on, is the Premium Data add-on required, too?



  • Yes, BlackBerry subscribers also pay the Premium Data add-on whether buying BIS or BES level price plans.




If I have an HTC EVO and upgrade to the Samsung Epic, or vise versa, will I then need to pay $20?



  • No, the $10 Premium Data add-on charge previously introduced for the HTC EVO and Samsung Epic will simply be extended to all smartphones. You will continue to pay $10/mo.


What about customers whose smartphone orders are placed before 1/30 but not processed? Will they be charged the Premium Data Add-on?



  • Smartphone orders placed before 1/30/11 will be provisioned without the $10 Premium Data Add-on.
  • This applies to orders purchased through sprint.com, TeleSales or Sprint Retail Stores as well as Online Authorized Representatives such as:
    • Simplexity (Wirefly.com, Radioshack.com, Newegg.com, Target.com, kmart.com, sears.com and many others)
    • Lets Talk (Letstalk.com, walmart.com and many others)
    • Amazon.com



Is the $10 Premium Data add-on discountable?



  • No, the $10 Premium Data add-on does not qualify for any discounts, including corporate employer discounts.



Existing Customers


Will existing customers with smartphones have to pay the increased price?



Current customers won't be impacted until they:


  • Swap to another smartphone
  • Upgrade from a feature phone to a smartphone
  • Add a new line with a smartphone
  • Reactivate a smartphone



Is the $10 Premium Data add-on retroactive to current smartphone users?



  • No, if a smartphone was activated prior to 1/30/11, there is no change.
  • The monthly recurring charge only applies after 1/30/11 if a customer activates or upgrades to a smartphone.



If an existing customer does a rate plan swap only, will they need to pay the $10 Premium Data add-on?



  • Rate plan swaps do not require the customer to pay the $10 Premium Data add-on if it is not currently on their account. When already on the account, the customer will continue to pay it once on the new rate plan.



Does this affect the Sprint Wireless Advantage Club?



  • There is no impact to the Sprint Wireless Advantage Club.




Does this affect SERO subscriptions?



  • No, SERO accounts are not impacted by this charge. Customers wanting to upgrade from a feature phone to a smartphone may need to leave their current SERO plan and change to the SERO Premium plan (this rule is already in effect), but do not need to pay the $10 Premium Data add-on charge.
  • The $10 Premium Data add-on charge for the HTC EVO™ 4G, HTC EVO Shift™ 4G, Samsung Epic™ 4G a Galaxy S™ phone remain in place.




Does this affect Everything Plus subscriptions?



  • Yes, Everything Plus subscriptions are impacted the same way as regular consumer customers.


What about Seasonal Standby Plan customers?



  • The charge applies when moving a subscription off a Seasonal Standby plan unless on SSBY before 1/30/11. This means e.g.,
    • I have a smartphone sub on SSBY right now (any day prior to 1/30/11). I will move off SSBY in March. I will not be required to pay the fee unless my phone is a 3G/4G smartphone that has always required the $10 charge.
    • I have a smartphone sub on SSBY and will move it off SSBY on 1/29 or sooner. I will be not be required to pay the fee unless my phone is a 3G/4G smartphone that has always required the $10 charge.
    • I have a smartphone sub that I will move on SSBY on 1/30 or later. I will be required to pay the fee once I move off SSBY. If the device had the $10 charge on it prior to moving to SSBY, I will continue to pay the fee after moving off SSBY.
    • I have a feature phone on SSBY right now. I will move off SSBY in March and upgrade to smartphone. I will be required to pay the fee.




If a customer with a multi-line account adds a new smartphone, will the $10 Premium Data add-on be applied to all lines?



  • No, the fee would be added only to the line(s) with the smartphone.




Will customers on legacy plans be able to keep their historical plans when they upgrade to a smartphone and pay the $10 Premium Data add-on charge?






Total Equipment Protection


What about Service & Repair or Advanced Exchange?




  • If you activated a smartphone prior to 1/30/11 and received a smartphone as a warranty or insurance replacement, you do not have to pay the $10 Premium Data add-on.



What about TEP?



  • If you activated a smartphone prior to 1/30/11 and received a smartphone as an insurance replacement, you do not have to pay the $10 Premium Data add-on fee.



30-Day Return and Exchange Policy


How does this all work with the 30-day Exchange policy?



  • If you activate a smartphone prior to 1/30/11 and you exchange it for another smartphone (with the exception of the HTC EVO™ 4G, HTC EVO Shift™ 4G, Samsung Epic™ 4G) on or after 1/30/11, you will not be required to pay the $10 Premium Data add-on fee. Please see these scenarios:
    • New customer buys feature phone A (e.g., Sanyo Innuendo) on 1/25/11. They exchange feature Phone A for smartphone A (e.g., Optimus S) on 2/1/11: Fee not required.
    • New customer buys smartphone A (e.g., HTC Hero) on 1/25/11. They exchange smartphone A for smartphone B (e.g., Optimus S) on 2/1/11: Fee not required.
    • Existing customer adds a new line of service (feature phone A, e.g., Sanyo Innuendo) to their existing shared plan on 1/25/11. They exchange feature phone A for smartphone A on 2/1/11: Fee not required.
    • Existing customer upgrades to smartphone A (e.g., HTC Hero) on 1/25/11. They exchange smartphone A for smartphone B (e.g., Samsung Transform) on 2/1/11: Fee not required.
    • Existing customer upgrades from smartphone A (e.g., HTC Hero that may be broken) to 4G smartphone B (e.g., HTC EVO Swift 4G) on 1/25/11. They exchange 4G smartphone B for NEW smartphone A (same model as old phone but new device, i.e., a new HTC Hero) on 2/1/11: Fee not required.
    • Existing customer upgrades from smartphone A (e.g., HTC Hero) to 4G smartphone B (e.g., HTC EVO Swift 4G) on 1/25/11. They return 4G smartphone B and reactivate smartphone A (i.e., the old HTC Hero) on 2/1/11: Fee not required.
    • Existing customer upgrades from 4G smartphone A (e.g., HTC EVO Swift 4G) to smartphone B (e.g., HTC Hero) on 1/25/11. They return smartphone B and reactivate 4G smartphone A (i.e., the old HTC EVO Swift 4G) on 2/1/11: Fee required again.
    • Existing customer upgrades from smartphone A (e.g., HTC Hero) to 4G smartphone B (e.g., HTC EVO Swift 4G) on 2/5/11. They return 4G smartphone B and reactivate smartphone A (i.e., the old HTC Hero) on 2/25/11: Fee required as upgrade was initiated post 1/29.


Smartphones


What is a smartphone?



  • A smartphone is a device with an operating system that provides advanced computing capabilities.
  • Smartphones are:
    • Palm Devices
    • Blackberry Devices
    • Android Devices
    • Windows Mobile Devices
    • Instinct Devices
  • All devices within the above categories will be assessed the required $10 Premium Data add-on charge.
  • For a list of phones that will require the $10 Premium Data add-on charge, please see the Appendix at the bottom of this blog.




Other Questions



What if I don't want to pay the $10 Premium Data add-on?



  • If you do not want to pay the $10 Premium Data add-on, you may select from Sprint's feature phone device line-up.
  • Service plans for feature phones do not include the $10 Premium Data add-on.


I thought this charge was just for 4G users?


  • The $10 Premium Data add-on previously only applied to 3G/4G devices, but it was never simply a charge for 4G.
  • The charge has always been to address the increased costs associated with operating smartphones on Sprint’s network.



I am an existing customer with a smartphone, do I have to pay the increased price?


  • No, your existing rate plan remains the same.
  • In the future, if you activate, reactivate or upgrade to another smartphone, you will have to pay the Premium Data add-on.



If I block data on my handset, will I still have to pay the $10 Premium Data add-on?



  • The Premium Data add-on is applied to all smartphone service plans.
  • Smartphones require data functionality to fully operate.
  • If you do not intend to use data, there are several other device options with lower rates that do not include the Premium Data add-on.



I am an existing customer with a newer Smartphone. Why do I have to pay the Premium Data add-on charge when I lose my smartphone and reactivate one of my old, lesser smartphones?



  • Any smartphone activated or reactivated after 1/30/11 will have the Premium Data Add-on applied.
  • It’s not about the age of the smartphone. It’s about the date activated.



I have been a long time, loyal customer of Sprint. Why should I pay this charge?



  • Our existing customers are not impacted until they upgrade or swap to a smartphone or add another line of service with a smartphone.
  • Even with the $10 per month Premium Data Add-on, Sprint provides the best value in wireless.
  • For a flat price, customers can get unlimited data and never have to worry about overages.
  • Our competitors have tiered plan options which don’t protect customers from costly overage.




Existing Customer Scenarios


Sample scenarios requiring or not requiring the $10 Premium Data add-on charge:



  • Existing customer upgrades from the BlackBerry Curve 8530 to the BlackBerry Style 9670: Required
  • Existing customer upgrades from the EVO to the Epic and remains on the Everything Data 450 plan: Required
  • Existing customer with a Samsung Moment changes their rate plan from the Everything Data 450 plan to the Everything Data 900 plan: Not required; the $10 Premium Data add-on is not applicable to plan swaps
  • Existing customer on the Everything Data Share 1500 plan adds the Sanyo Zio as a third line on the account: Required




New Customer Scenarios


Sample scenarios requiring or not requiring the $10 Premium Data add-on charge:



  • New customer bought the BlackBerry Style 9670 on 1/15/11, brings it into a store on 2/1/11 because the keyboard stopped working and receives a new BlackBerry Style as part of a 30-day Policy Exchange: Not required
  • New customer brings in their friends’ old Palm Centro to activate on the Everything Data 450 plan: Required



Total Equipment Protection Scenarios


Sample scenarios requiring or not requiring the $10 Premium Data add-on charge:



  • Existing customer drops their HTC Hero into the toilet and they do NOT have TEP. But, they do have an old Palm Pre they would like to reactivate: Required because they are activating a device which now requires the Premium Data add-on
  • Customer brings in their broken BlackBerry Curve 8530 and has TEP. Due to inventory constraints, all that is available for replacement is the BlackBerry 9330. Not required

 
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