Sprint to begin throttling data this summer?

[misterzeno]

Sadly I think all data may be going into some sort of capped direction, yay for busted infrastructure.

 

[ccrun1800]

Hopefully its to try and normalize any spikes during peak usage hours (e.g. people just getting off of work) and returns to being lax after that. Right now it's anybody's guess since it's all speculation.

If thats the case my cable company does the same thing( COX ). This seems to be the future of data on mobile devices capping or throttling pick your poison.

 

[edlex]

Wow I guess this $10 thing is never going away huh? Look, bottom line, they are charging it because they can. Period! They have the only 4G phone anywhere. Once competition starts either the fee will go away or their plans will go up on price. As far as caps are concerned they are there for the few chronic abusers sitting there downloading torrents all day. The average person won't even know any of this exists.

 

[henryturk]

You know the fine print of your EVO 4G contract that gives Sprint the right to limit throughput speeds without notice? Skipped past that part? Well, consider this your unofficial notice. If what we're reading above is accurate, then Sprint appears ready to introduce data throttling this summer. Where and how are the big questions. The image above received from a tipster appears to have been grabbed from Sprint's own "The Playbook," though we have no way of confirming that at this time. It certainly make sense though given T-Mobile USA's recent move away from overage charges in favor of throttling.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/11/s...a-this-summer/

I just left AT&T because of their bullshit...

 

[J03]

I considered the other 2 threads on this topic my unofficial notice.

 

[IPvFletch]

It doesn't really define throttle, but that does NOT look good.

Like Throttling could be a cap or day-based cap, or it could be prioritization of subscribers (depending on usage or overage), or it could be giving everyone a fixed bandwidth vs. allowing high peaks..

I doubt seriously they will make it slower than it is now at least. They are still improving their network and bandwidth, so it may just not get a lot FASTER anytime soon.

 

[Rob_A]

why go take 2 steps forward only to go 2 steps back.

Doesn't make sense.

How do we even know this is for Evo data??

 

[dhinez]

If sprint puts a cap on data usages I will be very disappointed in them. This was one of the reasons me and my wife chose them. If they do this, they will be no better than att. A lot of att customers will be disappointed for switching carriers. $10 extra a month for this phone better be unlimited data for evo users.

 

[htc.EVOlution]

Bad! ! !

 

[binaryblitz]

Bandwidth cap is not the same thing as throttling....

A cap means you can't go over that amount of data.

Throttling means slower speeds. Think of it like an hourglass. All of the sand ("data") has to pass through the tiny hole.

Make sense? good.

 

[acuracing]

Hope this isn't true as that would be going against the "rich data experience" we're paying the $10 for.

 

[IPvFletch]

It could also mean for certain feeds/sockets that you have established (e.g. to youtube.com) it gives you a fixed bandwidth (guaranteed lower than normal but enough for your needs). I don't know if they have the ability to do this, or want to, but it is a possible approach.

 

[henryturk]

Take note that this might not affect EVO users. One multiple occasions from separate sources and representatives of Sprint I have heard that the $10 fee gives EVO users priority data usage during peak hours.

So this might mean that they are starting to throttle non 'premium' users.

 

[edlex]

I don't uderstand why this is so shocking to everyone. Buried in the fine print of every data/internet provider they have provisions to either throttle or refuse service for what is considered abusive use. This is not new people. And those that are abusing, you know who you are.

 

[ap3604]

I'll wait until the official statement release before I jump to any conclusions

Besides, I would MUCH rather have data slowdown vs Att's rip-off overage charges...

 

[ap3604]

Buried in the fine print of every data/internet provider they have provisions to either throttle or refuse service for what is considered abusive use.

I applaud carriers that protect their non-abusive customers from the abusive ones that download torrent's/youtube/pandora 24-7.

I couldn't imagine how bad the network might get if Sprint did not do this and everyone could then replace their home WiFi internet with the mobile hotspot feature. 5gb is more than enough for any customer out there. The one's that cry "but...but...but... we signed up for unlimited! Waaahhh!!!" are the ones abusing the system.

 

[Twosted]

Take note that this might not affect EVO users. One multiple occasions from separate sources and representatives of Sprint I have heard that the $10 fee gives EVO users priority data usage during peak hours.

So this might mean that they are starting to throttle non 'premium' users.

+1

 

[Dession]

Wow I guess this $10 thing is never going away huh? Look, bottom line, they are charging it because they can. Period! They have the only 4G phone anywhere. Once competition starts either the fee will go away or their plans will go up on price. As far as caps are concerned they are there for the few chronic abusers sitting there downloading torrents all day. The average person won't even know any of this exists.

Honestly, the $10 fee doesn't really bother me. But damn, this throttling thing might be a huge bummer...

 

[whoodiestyle]

I'm already getting this throttle ready to take this back yesterday awesome speeds today can't evev use Pandora.......

 

[ap3604]

I'm already getting this throttle ready to take this back yesterday awesome speeds today can't evev use Pandora.......

Whu?

 

[horadin]

I applaud carriers that protect their non-abusive customers from the abusive ones that download torrent's/youtube/pandora 24-7.

I couldn't imagine how bad the network might get if Sprint did not do this and everyone could then replace their home WiFi internet with the mobile hotspot feature. 5gb is more than enough for any customer out there. The one's that cry "but...but...but... we signed up for unlimited! Waaahhh!!!" are the ones abusing the system.

 

[whoodiestyle]

Whu?

I'm getting about 5-50 kbps Sprint customer service is no help

 

[phalcon]

I would imagine that this wouldn't apply to us. We pay a $10 Premium Data fee on top of our regular data/voice/msg fee. How do they determine how to throttle when we're supposed to have truly unlimited data? If, for instance, they decide to throttle EVO users who go over 5GB then that is effectively a limit. Also, how would this affect users who pay for the Hot Spot. The whole point of that service is to allow access to computing devices, among other things, which will use a lot of data. Not only that, but they've touted the ability to stream HD content on the EVO which requires high speed. If Sprint does decide to throttle I doubt it will be EVO users who are targeted, and if we are they will find themselves up shit creek. The bad PR from that fallout would be almost unrecoverable.

 

[Dession]

I would imagine that this wouldn't apply to us. We pay a $10 Premium Data fee on top of our regular data/voice/msg fee. How do they determine how to throttle when we're supposed to have truly unlimited data? If, for instance, they decide to throttle EVO users who go over 5GB then that is effectively a limit. Also, how would this affect users who pay for the Hot Spot. The whole point of that service is to allow access to computing devices, among other things, which will use a lot of data. Not only that, but they've touted the ability to stream HD content on the EVO which requires high speed. If Sprint does decide to throttle I doubt it will be EVO users who are targeted, and if we are they will find themselves up shit creek. The bad PR from that fallout would be almost unrecoverable.

That makes perfect sense and I hope you're right! Then people can stop complaining about the $10/mo fee, lol.

 

[geomens]

I think this is a dan@sprint.com email material. We need answers rather than speculation.



Update: We're hearing from a couple sources that the shot here from The Playbook is a little out of context, and actually refers to a new feature for businesses looking to restrict disproportionately high usage by employees with company data cards. That sounds a little less painful, does it not? Thanks, everyone!