Imagine going to an all-you-can-eat buffet, and being told you can eat as much as you want. The only caveat is that the plates are the size of cupholders. But go ahead, eat as much as you want.
UPDATE: Well it didn’t take long for Sprint to see the error of their ways. In a blog posted to their site late last night, Sprint announced that due to customer feedback they were removing the streaming video limit.
Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure:
At Sprint, we strive to provide customers a great experience when using our network. We heard you loud and clear, and we are removing the 600 kbps limitation on streaming video. During certain times, like other wireless carriers, we might have to manage the network in order to reduce congestion and provide a better customer experience for the majority of our customers.
Good on Sprint for making the right decision. Hopefully next time they don’t try to sneak one in under the radar.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Yesterday Sprint announced their new “All In” pricing plan. The idea is to counter the wireless industry’s current way of advertising by providing one clear monthly price for a smartphone and unlimited talk, text and high-speed data. With All-In Wireless, consumers pay $20 per month to lease a smartphone, and $60 per month for unlimited talk, text and high-speed data. Customers have a choice currently between the HTC M9, Samsung Galaxy S6, and iPhone 6. Of course, you can pay a similar amount or less if you don’t need that much data, and there’s a $36 activation fee before you can get going.
Says Marcelo Claure, Sprint CEO:
We understand how frustrating and confusing shopping for wireless can be. At Sprint, we are doing things differently. We are telling customers, ‘This is your All-In price.’ So when they walk into our store or visit our website, they will see that $80 includes a smartphone and an unlimited plan to do the most important things they are going to do with the phone for an entire month: make calls, watch videos, listen to music, text a friend – you name it.
Here’s the catch though – watching videos will be a bit like enjoying a buffet with a tiny plate. Load it up, consume it, repeat. Sprint says streaming video will be limited to 600Kbps, which they are calling 3G. As it stands, that is actually on the short end of what Sprint claims is their 3G spectrum (600Kbps to 1.4Mbps).
This limitation might be the first big test of the recent net neutrality ruling. From PhoneArena:
Under the new net neutrality rules which were put in place on June 12, no carrier is allowed to throttle internet speeds for an entire class of services. More to the point, the new net neutrality rules should prevent Sprint from throttling video speeds in general. Furthermore, the new rules also specify that throttling is only acceptable as a network management tool when the network is congested, and that the practice should not be used as a default. In its defence, Sprint claims that it is downgrading video quality in an attempt to improve the overall quality of its network.
In all fairness, it’s not a bad plan to go with if you have good Sprint coverage in your area, and you just want a clear monthly amount. As long as you know up front that the high speed internet may not be so high-speed.
Is this plan something you’d be interested in? Let us know in the comments!
[button link=”http://newsroom.sprint.com/news-releases/sprint-seeks-to-end-consumer-confusion-frustration-with-wireless-industrys-first-ever-all-in-pricing-plan.htm” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Sprint[/button][button link=”http://www.phonearena.com/news/WSJ-Sprints-throttling-of-video-speeds-violate-FCCs-net-neutrality-rules_id71022″ icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: PhoneArena[/button]Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
