14 DAY TRIAL // Mobile phone carrier Sprint has just announced the launch of an upcoming introduction of a $10 per month Premium Data add-on charge to all smartphone activations, starting with January 30th. The new data add-on is supposedly meant to offer users the possibility to enjoy “simple and affordable unlimited plans,” while connecting to a wireless network that can support increased data usage.
“Subscribers with smartphones will still receive the best value in wireless, including the Any Mobile, Anytime feature offered nationwide only by Sprint,” the wireless carrier announced.
“Sprint wants its customers to experience the range of entertainment and productivity possibilities available with today’s wireless technology,” said Bob H. Johnson, president of Sprint’s consumer business.
“While some of our competitors impose overage charges and complex plans, Sprint continues to provide a worry-free, unlimited data experience while on the Sprint network. This is responsible, sustainable and reflects our commitment to simplicity and value.”
Roger Entner, analyst and founder of Recon Analytics, notes that Sprint's decision to apply the Premium Data add-on charge shows the increasing data usage that smartphone customers drive on the carrier's network.
Indeed, the fact that today's mobile devices offer users the possibility to do much more on their handsets than before, including video streaming, sharing photos, or staying connected at all times with social networking accounts, the mobile data traffic is seeing impressive increases on carriers' networks.
Sprint notes that, since the maintenance of its network is not free, it decided to increase the said prices for the segment of customers who use most data.
“In effect, Sprint has chosen to increase the price of its unlimited Everything Data plans, which is still below that of its major competitors, for the segment of customers – smartphone users – who are using wireless data the most and are driving up costs,” Entner continues.
The wireless carrier notes that smartphone users consume on average 10 times more data than traditional phone owners, as they enjoy access to more applications, more data functionalities, and other features.
“Sprint continues to be the carrier for people who want to do more than just talk with their wireless devices,” said Johnson. “Customer growth on our 3G and 4G networks, exponential increases in the use of mobile data applications, and the growing use of smartphones is proof that consumers are getting the message.
The carrier says that the change would affect Blackberry, Android, Windows Mobile, Palm, and the Instinct family of devices, and that the Premium Data add-on charge previously applied to HTC EVO 4G, HTC EVO Shift 4G and Samsung Epic 4G devices.