Sprint may cap mobile hotspot data on smartphones at 5GB beginning October 2nd

By on Sep 21, 2011 at 6:05 PM
mobile September 21, 2011

Sprint will reportedly introduce a 5GB cap on mobile hotspot data for smartphone users beginning October 2nd. A purported leaked document obtained by SprintFeed states that Sprint’s $29.99 Wi-Fi tethering add-on for smartphones will no longer be unlimited beginning early next month. Additional data above the 5GB cap will be billed at $0.05 per megabyte according to the document. The new policy would not impact standard smartphone data, nor would it affect the mobile hotspot function on tablets. This is a slippery slope, however, and it could indicate that Sprint’s unlimited data plans are eating too much the carrier’s margins to be sustainable. Sprint has told BGR on numerous occasions that it will continue to offer unlimited data plans for as long as it can, and the carrier is expected to launch Apple’s iPhone 5 next month with unlimited data. Sprint did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Matthew-Williams/713122739 Matthew Williams

    oh noes!

  • http://profiles.google.com/the1aboveall James Padilla

    “Truly unlimited”…methinks not.

    • Anonymous

      Once again, proof that Apple is good for the consumer…only if you are a sheep.

      Baaaahhhhhhh….

  • http://www.droiddoes.com/ Norm

    So it’s official, iphone 5 is coming to Sprint.  the first week of October will be a giant wake for DROID OS

  • Anonymous

    I fully get limiting tethering but not removing unlimited data from the phone. The phone uses a lot less data then connecting them to tablets and laptops.

  • Droid H

    sensing tiered data soon

    • http://twitter.com/NatesVlogs Nate Fisher

      I blame the iPhone. DAMN YOU APPLE! 

      • Droid H

        just in Verizon, u get some months of unlimited data with iphone 4, then turn into tiered data

  • Nole4life80

    Saw this coming…. Thank goodness for ROOT!

    • http://twitter.com/AliMazooji Ali M

      We’re next!

      • http://harajyuks.tumblr.com Stephen Rhoden

        They take my SU from me and I will RIOT like Londoner’s looking for trackpants!

    • Anonymous

      root won’t save you from tiered data plans!!!

  • George Williams

    I love Sprint & all but if this is what we’ve gotta go through to get the iPhone & keep unlimited on the phones, screw that BS phone.

    We better get EVDO Rev. B for all of this crap we’re going through.

  • Cer

    This is hilarious. Has Sprint announced anything positive recently? And why do they keep on doing this in trickles, so that each time they do something that further makes them indistinguishable from Verizon and AT&T there’s a separate news article about it? Why not just rip off the band-aid that hides the Verizon logo all at once?

    • Anonymous

      both tmo and sprint have been aligning their policies (ie return period, restocking fees, cancelation fees etc) with verizon and att. already choice is being limited and one way or the other, tmo is going away within a couple years, what distinction is there between the carriers? they already get slighty different versions of the best phones. we shouldnt tolerate data caps/overages but there is no way to stop it. things keep changing, and not to the customers benefit. greedy att and verizon are the root and that iphone is the catalyst that brought tiered data. it wont end with hotspot data caps

  • Cobra

    does anyone even pay for wifi tethering?? I can understanding using it if a group a friends on ave one phone to leach on in the middle of nowhere but seriously…you can tether for free with a Evo and usb cable or crack the phone.

  • Anonymous

    Sigh, A sign of things to come from the Now network……….A lot of negative news lately which Im sure has alot to do with the crapple phone coming to sprint but christ throw us a bone sprint!!

  • Sprintnonymous

    It’s just a page out of the Playbook that was released this morning. They act like this is some secret leaked document. This could’ve been reported yesterday had the leaky Sprint informant not been so lazy.

  • http://harajyuks.tumblr.com Stephen Rhoden

    ****RING THE DEATH TOLL****
    dum- dum–du dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum

    IMO Sprints truley unlimited plan was the only thing keeping them a float– wait Im having a premonition—

    “Sprint looking for Buyers as Exsisting Customer Base Flees for Other Carriers and New Sales Plummets”

    in the words of the effing funny and immortal Fred Sanford

    “I’m Coming to join you –T-Mobile–; this is the big one!”

  • Chrisstone100

    this is normal. the phone is still unlimited. if you want unlimited data get clearwire. to me, this only points out the hotspot feature of a phone.

    • Anonymous

      Not quite. Clear will throttle the crap out of you. When they throttle it’s capped at 480kbs or 60Kb/sec. The internet is useless at that speed. Trust me, I’m a Clear @home user.

      • Anonymous

        That should align pretty well with Sprint’s “real life” 3G in the majority of areas.

  • Edge

    This is wifi tethering not a big deal lames crying over this need to read the details who uses the hot spot? & who needs more then 5gb from this hotspot?

    • Trey357

      just spoke to a sprint rep and they don’t know nothing about this :(

      • numetheus

        Since when has people at the carrier known things about what’s going on? People in the store are last to know anything.

  • Anonymous

    All there saying is when you get to 5GB you have to call or there going to send you a text on it if you want to go over they would let you been there done that BGR keep up with the dam times

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/TechDexs?feature=mhee E. Nelson

    Their doing this to prepare for an iPhone launch

  • Anonymous

     Is this more the “competition” Sprint is trying to promote in the marketplace?

    Sprint is hypocritical.

    • The Teacher

      ummm its not hypocritical… other networks limit your data for phone usage not just when your phone is being used as a hot spot. So the ads sprint currently run is still true. sprint data via phone roaming or not is STILL unlimited.

  • Anonymous

    They’re going to have to change A LOT of the lingo on their website.

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