Sprint Will Start Throttling Customers That Use More Than 23 GB a Month

[garylapointe]

As long as it's not for grandfathered accounts, I'm fine with this too. I do, however, think the word unlimited with an asterisk is ridiculous. In advertising, you shouldn't be able to call something unlimited unless it is.

I agree, but people there are always some outliers that really go cRaZy and use it not the way it was intended (they certainly should't be using the text in some of those old ads!). Skype has unlimited calling to the US, but they make it clear it's for non-business use, they need the asterisk.

But they should know this and make the plan called "the more than any normal family should normally use plan"...

I've got unlimited water in my condo, I'm sure I could run cold water copper pipes and figure out some kind of insanely built device that I could use to keep my place cooler in the summer (with just some fans), but that's clearly not what it was intended for. The other people in my complex are going to be the ones to pay for this excess water, not the corporation. (Yes, I'm sure there a

On the other hand, we've got a 700 minute plan on my iPhone (AT&T) but I call it unlimited, why? It's got unlimited cell to cell (any company) and I've A-List (10 landline numbers that don't count towards minutes), most months we only use 200-400 of those 700 minutes and we generally have 5000 (never below 4000) minutes in our rollover bundle. I know it's not unlimited but that's how I perceive it.

Gary

 

[nfortna]

My wife goes through about 60 to 80 gigs a month. Her work has her going around pulling plans, updating spreadsheets, putting together permit/inspection packets and she just streams Netflix/Hulu all day while getting her work done. I can go up to about 20 gigs on a super heavy month streaming redzone and watching my NFL games on Verizon.

You can buy a router

 

[Porco]

It's still unlimited, just at slower speed once you go over 23gb.

If they limit your speed, it's not unlimited, is it? It is with limits.

 

[macfacts]

At first I was wondering how come 23GB can only upload 600 photos or view 1500 web pages. But then I realized this:

23,000,000 / (3600 * 24 * 30) = 8.87 Kbps

That, makes sense.

Try using same units (bytes vs bits) and adding 3 more zeroes. 23 GB is 23,000,000,000 bytes. There are 8bits in 1 byte and (3600 * 24 * 30) seconds in a month.

The correct math is:
23,000,000,000 bytes * (8bits/1byte) / (3600*24*30 seconds) = about 70 kbps

Or keeping bytes as units, that is about 8.8kilobytes / second. Is that even fast enough to stream hd Netflix 24/7? Sounds way too slow. "Fast" enough to stream 64kbps mp3s 24/7 lol.

 

[M5RahuL]

Can a user even use 23GB on Sprint ? hah!

 

[whiteonline]

If they limit your speed, it's not unlimited, is it? It is with limits.

There have always been limits; no service provider can give unlimited data rate.
The use of "unlimited" always applied to the volume of data.

 

[imamacperson]

These companies should be fined or sued or both for continually lying about what customers are really getting. Just about every one of these guys has been caught lying with regard to "unlimited" plans. If it's not 100% unlimited, you shouldn't be allowed to call it that, period.

I agree!

So if you PAY for more than 23 GB a month you still get throttled?

 

[ardchoille50]

Data is still unlimited. Speed isn't.

This. The "unlimited" is in reference to data, not speed. When the carrier blocks us from obtaining data, then we can complain about them breaking the "unlimited data" promise.

 

[ghostface147]

You can buy a router

For her work? That's up to her IT department.

 

[furi0usbee]

It's in their FAQ and they also have an entire webpage devoted to explaining this very topic.

http://support.sprint.com/support/a..._Plan/e8bc59f3-1893-4482-895a-38b7ed69ab65#!/

http://www.sprint.com/legal/open_internet_information.html?ECID=vanity:networkmanagement#!/

Nobody reads FAQs or TOSs when purchasing cell plans. Stop trying to hide the truth and put the MOST important stuff in big bold print right on the top. That will solve all kinds of issues.

 

[barkomatic]

Way better than AT&T or Verizon. They start throttling at a much smaller amount.

AT&T's policy recently changed. Now they will throttle you only after using 22GB of data, only if you are on a congested tower and only during the time that tower is congested. It used to be a hard throttle after 5GB no matter what.

I don't believe Verizon throttles anyone at any time on their grandfathered unlimited plans, but they did jack up the price another $20 for the people on them.

 

[CrimsonKnight]

Can a user even use 23GB on Sprint ? hah!

Absolutely!

 

[B4U]

You get a cookie!

What am I going to get for using under 200MB?

This was the reason I left verizon because they throttled me at 2GB on their unlimited plan and eventually dropped unlimited.

I live in a remote location. No cable, no phone lines, no gas or water just electricity. I depend on unlimited to watch nfl mobile, netflixs and streaming TV and radio.

Just checked my usage so far this month and I'm at 17 GB until the 26th reset but I think they slow me already because lately I've been seeing a lot of 1x at the top of my screen in LTE areas.

Too bad the electric company didn't sell internet like my friends in Europe. The had 100 MBs speed years ago.

If you don't mind me asking...no water??

 

[2984839]

Nobody reads FAQs or TOSs when purchasing cell plans. Stop trying to hide the truth and put the MOST important stuff in big bold print right on the top. That will solve all kinds of issues.

It took me 2 seconds to find from DuckDuckGo. They're not hiding it. If you don't do research before spending money on a plan, it's your fault alone.

 

[wingsabr]

I'm surprised that people with Sprint can even get 22gbs to download #badcoverage #slow3g

 

[naptowngill2005]

If you can actually use more than 23GB on that network you deserve a trophy not to be throttled.

Can I get my name on it or...

 

[mrgeekguymd]

Most of the people here clearly without a law degree... or common sense.

If you've got an unlimited data plan, you are getting unlimited data. No one here specifies a specific speed available to you throughout the term of the unlimited data program.

 

[MysteriousStain]

Seems like a pretty extreme reaction. Do they come to your home and throttle you or just surprise you on the street?

 

[Glassed Silver]

Don't offer what you can't offer.

Or face music.

Glassed Silver:mac

 

[Supermallet]

I'd probably use a lot of Sprint data if the network coverage was good enough to be useful. I know it depends on where you are, but it shouldn't..

How could it not depend on where you are? You do realize that wireless spectrum has to follow the laws of physics, right? And that some locations are better suited for clear wireless signal than others?

That's not to even mention that putting up a cell tower is expensive and so a company with a smaller operating budget like Sprint or T-Mobile has to be strategic about where they put those cell towers. What placements are likely to bring back the most profit? The ones in cities, where you have the highest concentration of potential customers. Unfortunately, cities are also the hardest areas to generate a clear signal due to the multitude of buildings that block or weaken said signals.

If there were a solution that allowed a company to propagate a clear and even wireless signal across the entire country, don't you think they would do that? The strength and extensive coverage of Verizon is the only reason they're the number one cellular company in the US. It's certainly not because of their customer friendly policies or pricing.

Speaking of Verizon, people keep saying that they throttle unlimited plans. They do not. They also don't throttle capped plans, they just charge you insane overages for going over your cap. AT&T throttles unlimited plans at 22 GB and IIRC also charges overages on capped plans. T-Mobile throttles their unlimited plans at 21 GB and also throttles their capped plans once you go over your cap.

So Verizon is actually the only carrier where you still find an uncapped, unthrottled plan. Of course those of us on that plan can't use our upgrade subsidy without jumping through loopholes, and we're now going to have our prices raised.

As for Sprint, this move was long overdue on their part. They should never have offered unlimited plans to begin with, they've always been slower than the big two, and have now lagged behind T-Mobile in many places as well. Of course, they were stuck in a catch 22. If they didn't offer unlimited, people had no incentive to stay with them. But by offering it, they contributed to the downfall of their own network.

 

[vertsix]

I don't understand why all of you say that Sprint and T-Mobile are slow.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Act3]

Good, 23 gig a month on a cell connection is kind of crazy. Almost a gig a day on cellular ? Ever hear of wifi to get your "u porn " ?

 

[GoldenDust]

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crap




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Well, you won't be getting charged extra for going over 23GB .

 

[brentsg]

How could it not depend on where you are? You do realize that wireless spectrum has to follow the laws of physics, right? And that some locations are better suited for clear wireless signal than others?.

Right, so the last time I tried Sprint, I couldn't use it on in major suburban areas around me. I'm talking about areas with major schools, shopping centers, etc. These are flat areas with no trees or otherwise tricky geography. There just simply wasn't sufficient coverage to use Sprint data.

I'm not talking about not getting a signal in a basement, or in some other terrain. I'm talking about not getting a signal in areas where AT&T and Verizon have peak LTE performance. My experience with Verizon over the past 4 years is that there are very few places that I've been challenged. The last one was a very remote area of Oklahoma near a lake. Even then I drove like a mile and was fine.

 

[Supermallet]

Right, so the last time I tried Sprint, I couldn't use it on in major suburban areas around me. I'm talking about areas with major schools, shopping centers, etc. These are flat areas with no trees or otherwise tricky geography. There just simply wasn't sufficient coverage to use Sprint data.

I'm not talking about not getting a signal in a basement, or in some other terrain. I'm talking about not getting a signal in areas where AT&T and Verizon have peak LTE performance. My experience with Verizon over the past 4 years is that there are very few places that I've been challenged. The last one was a very remote area of Oklahoma near a lake. Even then I drove like a mile and was fine.

I don't see why this is surprising. Sprint is notorious for slow speeds and inadequate coverage.