Why is Sprint adding $10 to data?

 

Thanks to BGR who has obtained a memo being sent around to third-party Sprint retailers; we now know more about the $10 Premium Data fee. The fee  will be on all lines that upgrade to or activate a new smartphone after January 30th.   This seems to put them on par with the rest of the industry.  I for one do not like it but they had to find a way to keep unlimited data some how.

 

Premium Data Add-on Charge for All Smartphones

Effective 1/30/11, all current and future 3G and 3G/4G smartphone activations will require the $10/month Premium Data Add-on charge. This allows Sprint to continue to offer simple and affordable unlimited data plans for our smartphone customers, while maintaining a wireless network able to meet the growing appetite for mobile data.

Complete details are included in the Premium Data Add-on Charge Launch Guide found on ISC > Quick Links > Premium Data Add-on Charge.

Details:

The Premium Data Add-on charge applies to:

• All smartphones operating on the CDMA, iDEN and 4G networks.
  
  
  
  • A smartphone is defined as a device that supports a robust operating system including: Android, BlackBerry, Instinct, Palm and Windows Mobile.
  
  
  
  


• All customers activating a new line or upgrading/swapping existing lines (consumer, IL, and most CL customers).

The Premium Data Add-on charge does NOT apply to:

• S&R exchanges (warranty or insurance events)


• 30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee devices exchanges for handsets activated 1/1/11 to 1/29/11


• Existing smartphone customers will remain on their current rate plan, until they upgrade, perform an ESN swap or activate a new smartphone


• Existing Seasonal Standby customers prior to 1/30/11

Special priced CL customers tied to a Corp ID