How Sprint really justifies the $10 add on

[dbpaddler]

So this is what I have listed which doesn't jive with the links in this thread:

INDIVIDUAL RATE PLAN OPTIONS FOR EVO (for Consumer, IL, and CL customers)
Plan Type Anytime Minutes Total MRC MRC Breakdown
Everything Data
450 $69.99 $59.99 plan + $10 Premium Data
900 $79.99 $69.99 plan + $10 Premium Data
SE Plan $99.99 $89.99 plan + $10 Premium Data

Sorry. It won't let me format, and I don't want to post the actual document.

Also: MRC discounts are not applicable on the $10 Premium Data

That sucks. I was expecting my monthly discount to apply, but thanks for catching that.

P.S. MRC = monthly recurring charge

 

[antianalog]

If they promote the $10 fee in part by having the front facing camera, then I hope that pressures them to get the mirrored image fixed quickly.

 

[jam4775]

And those of you who thought Qik was going to be included in the Richer Data Experience.... you might want to think again. Looks like Qik might be charging an extra $5 a month for this feature.... and the extra charges just keep commin'!!

Qik charging $5 monthly for EVO 4G video chat? -- Engadget

 

[digo21]

And those of you who thought Qik was going to be included in the Richer Data Experience.... you might want to think again. Looks like Qik might be charging an extra $5 a month for this feature.... and the extra charges just keep commin'!!

Qik charging $5 monthly for EVO 4G video chat? -- Engadget

Who cares just use skype

 

[Zardos]

I still can't seem to find a straight answer. Is this fee mandatory even in areas with no 4G in sight for this year?

Best Buy said it wasn't required when I pre-ordered, but I don't hold their thoughts very high.

 

[SprintFun]

$10 fee is required with every evo - regardless of where you live or your coverage.

 

[dbpaddler]

as I posted in another thread:

$10 Premium Data Eligibility Rules:
− Required for all HTC EVO devices
− $10.00 Premium Data is a per line charge
− MRC discounts are not applicable on the $10 Premium Data
− Data usage is unlimited while on the 3G or 4G Sprint network
o Off-network data roaming is subject to a 300MB data usage limitation
o MiFi and Overdrive, while Hotspots, are considered Mobile Broadband devices and subject to
3G data limitations
− Existing lines of service switching to an EVO device require EVO specific price plans with $10.00
Premium Data
− $40 Worldwide Data Plan Add-on not available on EVO device
− $10.00 premium buy-up will show as an individual charge on the customer’s invoice

 

[whoknew]

This is getting ridiculous. First the $10 was for 4G. Then it was because the EVO has features unavailable on any other phone. Now, those features cost extra (i.e. $5 for the QIK video chat). So WTF is this $10 for. They need to figure it out their pricing scheme and state it clearly once and for all.

 

[Zardos]

Ugh, they shouldn't charge it in non-4g markets. Plus, I don't even care about 4g, I just want the Android it has and its sexy form factor.

 

[SprintFun]

Uh, I think it's pretty clearly stated.

The $5 Qik thing is NOT a Sprint charge...it's Qik deciding to make a monthly service, which IMO will kill it. Notice how its payable through paypal and not through Sprint.

 

[Bigprimo]

This is nothing different than what cable companies have been doing for years. If you look on your bill you get charged for the cable remote, box, dish if you have one, etc.

Sprint can do it because in the end all you will say is "its still cheaper than the other companies".

Its just a equipment rental fee. I just find it funny that now after all these years sprint finally has a phone that is a front runner and they want to charge extra for it.

And Sprints has backed d themselves in a corner with this because now any other 4g phones that come out that are comparable or better will have to have this charge.

Pretty soon, pretty soon Sprint's prices are gonna be on par with the other companies, then no more Sprint cause we all know sprint has the worst coverage and phones.

 

[Bigprimo]

This is getting ridiculous. First the $10 was for 4G. Then it was because the EVO has features unavailable on any other phone. Now, those features cost extra (i.e. $5 for the QIK video chat). So WTF is this $10 for. They need to figure it out their pricing scheme and state it clearly once and for all.

it was never for 4g, people just wanted it to be so it was justifiable. Its an equipment rental fee and Sprint know we are going to pay it because finally we have a front running phone!!! They could have even charge 20 if they wanted. O yeah the hot spot will cost and extra 30 a month too!!!

 

[dbpaddler]

Do you know how to read? There are a ton of these stupid $10 threads and many have posted Sprint's marketing and internal info that spells everything out. Get a clue already.

$5 is most likely for the premium app. Probably a one time app charge in the store. Just like Office editing isn't free. Viewing is, but editing is not. Why shouldn't QIK charge for its premium program? Google gives away their OS for free. Don't think they're subsidizing the developers, and guess what? They want to get paid for the time and energy they put into developing the program. If video chatting is that important to you, I'm sure spending $5 in the app store won't kill you.

This is getting ridiculous. First the $10 was for 4G. Then it was because the EVO has features unavailable on any other phone. Now, those features cost extra (i.e. $5 for the QIK video chat). So WTF is this $10 for. They need to figure it out their pricing scheme and state it clearly once and for all.

 

[SniperDroid]

it was never for 4g, people just wanted it to be so it was justifiable. Its an equipment rental fee and Sprint know we are going to pay it because finally we have a front running phone!!! They could have even charge 20 if they wanted. O yeah the hot spot will cost and extra 30 a month too!!!

Not when you are buying the phone. An equipment rental fee is just that, a fee for equipment you will surrender when you cancel service. If you are paying for the phone, and thus, keeping the phone should you choose to stop service (after the 30 days) it cannot be a rental fee.

 

[hopalee]

.............
Why not just say 4G phone plans starting at $79.99. I don't think one person would have complained if they saw that, and Dan Hesse didn't make his stupid comments with 4G being cheaper to run!
............

Bingo! When the Pre came out last year, it was required that you move to a data plan. But tacking this $10 on, Sprint just shot themselves in the foot. They should have done the same thing and just made people move to a different plan that was $10 more. Of course people are still going to complain about it no matter what, but it would have given them a LOT less to bitch about!

 

[edlex]

Bingo! When the Pre came out last year, it was required that you move to a data plan. But tacking this $10 on, Sprint just shot themselves in the foot. They should have done the same thing and just made people move to a different plan that was $10 more. Of course people are still going to complain about it no matter what, but it would have given them a LOT less to bitch about!

Exactly right. For me it's never been about $10. $10 truly means nothing to me. It's the fact that sprint thinks we are stupid. They needed to charge more for the phone but needed to hit that under $200 price point. So they make up a bunch of crap to justify another toll on your account. So I agree with hopalee, just like I had to get the everything data plan for the pre, make the evo require a premium everything data plan and say it's because the phone will get a special wide band data stream. Even if it's not true I can buy that over it's for the big screen and front facing camera bs.

 

[eric3316]

I still can't seem to find a straight answer. Is this fee mandatory even in areas with no 4G in sight for this year?

Best Buy said it wasn't required when I pre-ordered, but I don't hold their thoughts very high.

If you couldn't find the answer to this question, then this phone might not be for you.....Might want to look into getting a startac or something similiar off craigs list....lol

 

[whoknew]

Do you know how to read? There are a ton of these stupid $10 threads and many have posted Sprint's marketing and internal info that spells everything out. Get a clue already.

$5 is most likely for the premium app. Probably a one time app charge in the store. Just like Office editing isn't free. Viewing is, but editing is not. Why shouldn't QIK charge for its premium program? Google gives away their OS for free. Don't think they're subsidizing the developers, and guess what? They want to get paid for the time and energy they put into developing the program. If video chatting is that important to you, I'm sure spending $5 in the app store won't kill you.

I may not know how to read, but it looks like I have company.

If QIK is going to charge a monthly recurring fee, I think that will tank the app. Thanks for pointing that out SprintFun.

 

[MarqBland]

I had a problem with the $10 fee then I realized that included unlimited WIRED tethering. I'm not talking about the mobile hotspot with connectivity for up to 8 devices, I can simply plug my phone to my computer and use the internet that way. I know there are free ways to do so, but for me, I can justify the $10 a month this way:

I currently have a job in which I go to many different elementary on a weekly basis. I have the option of doing some computing work once I am back at my office or getting all my work done at the site. So instead of buying a data card from Sprint or another post-paid company and locking that device into a 2 year contract, I bought a mobile data card from Cricket. Yeah, it sucked, but it at least got the job done. I paid $40 dollars a month in order to have that. With this, I will be paying the $10 anyway and now I can use my cell phone for the same thing that the Cricket card did. I don't need to provide internet for my friends so I'm not going to do the mobile hotspot. For anyone else wanting more information on the tethering (NOT MOBILE HOTSPOT), go to this forum:
http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-4g/85263-anyone-evo-try-tethering-vita-pdanet.html

 

[edlex]

I had a problem with the $10 fee then I realized that included unlimited WIRED tethering. I'm not talking about the mobile hotspot with connectivity for up to 8 devices, I can simply plug my phone to my computer and use the internet that way. I know there are free ways to do so, but for me, I can justify the $10 a month this way:

I currently have a job in which I go to many different elementary on a weekly basis. I have the option of doing some computing work once I am back at my office or getting all my work done at the site. So instead of buying a data card from Sprint or another post-paid company and locking that device into a 2 year contract, I bought a mobile data card from Cricket. Yeah, it sucked, but it at least got the job done. I paid $40 dollars a month in order to have that. With this, I will be paying the $10 anyway and now I can use my cell phone for the same thing that the Cricket card did. I don't need to provide internet for my friends so I'm not going to do the mobile hotspot. For anyone else wanting more information on the tethering (NOT MOBILE HOTSPOT), go to this forum:
http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-4g/85263-anyone-evo-try-tethering-vita-pdanet.html

Now see, if this is truly a feature/benefit of the $10 fee, then it is totally worth it. As long as no rooting or hacking of any sort has to be done this is really a total justification for it.

 

[ImmaSlave4U]

No Limit to the unlimited data!!!!
Thats good enough for me!!!!!

Thanks for posting the official info that data will be infact unlimited. Removing that 5gb cap while allowing free USB tether (via HTC's native Internet Sharing option) is good news and definitely makes the $10 fee an easier pill to swollow.

 

[marctronixx]

sprints 4g is just now able to be used on a handset. first in the world. 4g is their next generation mobile service.

customers demand more bandwidth, richer multimedia experience, faster data service, fewer (ZERO) dropped calls. sprint is answering by giving you 4g.

yes its not in all areas out of the gate. sprint is building. it costs money. the economy is in the toilet. the end user has to foot some of the bill to justify the continued build-out. sprint has to remain in business in order to service ALL of its customers. it has to make a profit.

HD was not available OTA in all areas on launch day (that was pushed back several times!) nor were all the TV stations (1200+) ready to pull the plug on analog ntsc on launch day. we, the people, help to pay for the HD rollout thru our taxes we pay to the government who in turn, used some of that money to help LPTV stations (low power TV) and to also help pay for those vouchers to people who could not YET afford to purchase an HD monitor. you helped pay for that.. did you complain? well now you are paying for 4g service to be built in areas the do not yet have 4g.....

bottom line.. some of us will be able to waive the fee.. others will have to pay and some dont even care.. let's move on...

While I like the comparison, the difference is, HD is available pretty much everywhere. Whethere you choose to have it and thusly pay
for it is another thing. It is not mandatory to have the HD service on and HD set, and in a lot of areas, HD is available over the air for basic channels. So those of us not in a 4G area are being charged for something we likely will never use. My .02

 

[evotitans]

Thanks for posting the official info that data will be infact unlimited. Removing that 5gb cap while allowing free USB tether (via HTC's native Internet Sharing option) is good news and definitely makes the $10 fee an easier pill to swollow.

Seriously, that is your best answer as to why there is the $10 charge. NO CAP, unlimited data....AND if Sprint allows tethering that will becoming with 2.2 to 1 device it is win/win. That $10 is more than worth it.

And no that would not affect the Hotspot...as I am sure there will be users that will want to use it.

Sure everyone is still angry about the $10 MRC, but did you every think(Not you the poster I quoted lol) that maybe Sprint is jumping ahead of Verizon and AT&T to set the market for Data usage?

We all saw the report yesterday about Verizon going to tiered data with 4G....and you better believe you will be paying more than $10 extra for that.

Sprint could essentially be setting the market low right now....to get a good jump start for when the competition changes their policies.

$10 MRC to never have to worry about Data usage sounds perfect to me.

 

[katmandoo122]

This is nothing different than what cable companies have been doing for years. If you look on your bill you get charged for the cable remote, box, dish if you have one, etc.

Sprint can do it because in the end all you will say is "its still cheaper than the other companies".

Its just a equipment rental fee. I just find it funny that now after all these years sprint finally has a phone that is a front runner and they want to charge extra for it.

And Sprints has backed d themselves in a corner with this because now any other 4g phones that come out that are comparable or better will have to have this charge.

Pretty soon, pretty soon Sprint's prices are gonna be on par with the other companies, then no more Sprint cause we all know T-Mobile has the worst coverage and phones.

While I agree with everything else you said, I corrected the typo you had in your response (see red above).

 

[swarles]

Thanks for posting the official info that data will be infact unlimited. Removing that 5gb cap while allowing free USB tether (via HTC's native Internet Sharing option) is good news and definitely makes the $10 fee an easier pill to swollow.

Now see, if this is truly a feature/benefit of the $10 fee, then it is totally worth it. As long as no rooting or hacking of any sort has to be done this is really a total justification for it.

This would help justify the additional fee somewhat.

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. But even if this were so, it should still be an option and they should then offer it to Hero and Moment users as well or any other phone that's Android 2.1+.

As a customer, I would really appreciate if I could get a clear answer on what $10/mo is actually getting me. Heck, if it's really an EVO tax (I think it is), it would be better if Sprint just said so and then at least let monthly discounts apply to it.