Sprint Tacks on $10 Smartphone Plan

Sprint Tacks on $10 to "Everything Data" Smartphone Plan

Mobile data continues to get more expensive

It looks like there is more bad news coming in for smartphone customers this morning. We first reported that Verizon is ending its customer-friendly "New Every Two" and Early Upgrade programs. The new policy will be in effect for new customers and will expire for current customers at the end of their current contract.

Now we've gotten word that Sprint will be tacking on an extra $10 fee for new subscribers of its Everything Data plan reports Business Insider. This changes applies to all smartphones including ones based on Android, BlackBerry OS, Windows Mobile, and webOS.

Users of WiMAX-enabled devices like the Epic 4G, EVO 4G, and EVO Shift 4G won't have to worry about paying the extra $10 fee -- they are already being charged an additional $10 to have access to 4G/WiMAX data.

For current customers that think they have dodged a bullet with the new fees, don't celebrate so quickly -- Sprint will get its hooks into you eventually. According to the report, current customers who attempt to purchase a new smartphone at the subsidized rate will be hit with the $10 price hike.

As more customers flock to smartphones, wireless carriers are looking for more ways to cover the costs of providing bandwidth. In Sprint’s own words:

The charge will assist Sprint in offering simple and affordable unlimited plans for its customers while maintaining a wireless network able to meet the growing appetite for a richer mobile experience. Subscribers with smartphones will still receive the best value in wireless, including the Any Mobile, Anytime feature offered nationwide only by Sprint.

AT&T made the move over the summer to kill its unlimited data plans for smartphones and instead introduced a 200MB/2GB, two-tier arrangement. Likewise, Verizon is also contemplating tiered pricing for its smartphone data plans.



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