Sprint Will Keep Unlimited Data Plan At $99 Per Month

Sprint confirmed rumors that it will keep its unlimited voice and data plan combo at just $99 per month. Rumors have been circulating about Sprint’s unlimited data plan, but Sprint’s chief technology officer, Stephen Bye, confirmed it when he addressed a crowd at the 2011 GigaOm Mobilize conference in San Francisco on Monday. Bye also assures us that Sprint will continue to provide unlimited data plans. This means that of the top 3 carriers, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, only Sprint will offer unlimited voice and data. According to an article by Andrew Couts, Digital Trends, “Both Verizon and AT&T, the two largest wireless carriers in the US, have done away with their unlimited plans altogether. AT&T currently offers unlimited voice for $69.99, and charges $15 for 200 MB per month of data, up to $45 for 4 GB per month. Verizon has a similar deal, offering 2 GB per month for $30 up to 10 GB per month for $80.”

“There’s clearly a cost to support unlimited,” said Bye. He added that there is “pressure” from the market to continue to offer unlimited data. In addition, “[t]here’s a challenge for all engineers to work on how we get the cost structure down,” he said.

In addition, Sprint will formally unveil its new 4G LTE network plans in October. According to Andrew Couts, “The company, which currently offers WiMax 4G, has already begun installing LTE equipment, and testing the new network in certain areas. Dan Hesse, Sprint Executive Chief, says Sprint will formally unveil its LTE plans on October 7.”

Sprint’s announcements may run into some problems if they get the iPhone 5. Rumors have been flying that Sprint will be getting the new iPhone 5. If that happens, offering unlimited data plans may cause a ton of people to switch over to Sprint, and thus may clog the new network. Guess we’ll have to wait and see…. Even though the iPhone 5 is coming out soon, data hungry Android users may switch to Sprint as well.

Smartphones, whether they are Android, BlackBerry or IOS, tend to use battery charge like a thirsty sailor. This is especially true when using a 4G network. If you aren’t into carrying around a spare battery, you may want to consider buying an extended battery (unless you have an iPhone). I have a Droid X extended battery and frankly don’t know how I got along without it. It gives me almost twice as much time between charges as the standard battery. I don’t mind the extra thickness and weight of the extended battery because the trade off is all that extra time.

So will you be switching to Sprint? Are you interested in the unlimited data plan? I live in a rural area where Sprint coverage is fairly spotty, so I will be sticking with Verizon, who unfortunately is one of the most expensive carriers available to me. Perhaps with Sprint offering the unlimited plan, Verizon and AT&T will have to go back to unlimited as well. We can only hope…

By: CellPlaza

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