Well folks, today is just a couple of weeks before the unexpected announcement Sprint is supposed to make in New York and we’ve just gotten an unexpected announcement today that may blow some of you away, some of you won’t mind. Either way, nobody knew this was coming, or did you?

The announcement starts out by saying, “Today’s ability to do more things on the go — such as watching videos, sharing pictures or checking directions — is not only changing the way we live; it is driving exponential growth of mobile data traffic. Sprint is committed to providing its customers with a great wireless experience now and in the future.” They then proceed to explain that for postpaids the $10 per month Premium Data add on charge will now be required on all smart phones beginning January 30, 2011.

You may have questions as to why this is happening? Here is a hint at what looks like their explanation for beginning to charge the fee from here on out:

Background: Mobile Data Explosion

• The world is in the midst of a mobile data explosion.
• Mobile data volumes are growing about 2.4 times faster than fixed broadband.
• Smartphone penetration is expected to double over the next four years.
• About 60 percent of Sprint’s postpaid CDMA handset sales (upgrades and gross adds) in third quarter 2010 came from smartphone sales (4Q09: 49%, 1Q10: 57%, 2Q10: 58%)
• More than half of mobile web users go online from their phones on a daily basis (Mobile Access 2010, PEW INTERNET & AMERICAN LIFE PROJECT)

Don’t be confused current Sprint customers, existing 3G Everything plan holders won’t see their rates go up until they “upgrade or activate another smartphone.” What do you all think about this Geeks? Were you considering getting that 4G phone and now thinking twice about it or does the $10 fee not really bother you? We want to know what you think so leave your comments below or hop into our forums, in this thread, and join the discussion.

Source: Sprint

Most of our visitors are CDMA users, mainly Sprint and Verizon, but what one carrier does, more might follow. At&t has just announced new smartphone data plans that are going into effect June 7th. With At&t launching the new iPhone and more Android devices, they know their network will take an even bigger hit when it comes to data. We’ve already seen with with every version of the iPhone, and there’s been plenty of people complaining about their network, all due to data usage. Now you have the option of a 200Mb plan or a 2Gb plan, and that’s it.

According to At&t, 65% of their users use less than 200Mb of data per month and 98% of their users use less than 2Gb, so their theory is that these new plans could save you some money. If their stats are right though, it will probably anger those that use more than 2Gb.

You have two options now, for $15, you can get 200Mb of data per month. If you go over this 200Mb, you can get another 200Mb for another $15. The other option is 2Gb for $25. If you go over this, you will get 1Gb extra for $10. For you iPhone users out there, if you subscribe to the DataPro plan, you can now tether for an additional $20/month.

• DataPlus. Provides 200 megabytes (MB) of data – for example, enough to send/receive 1,000 emails (no attachments), plus send/receive 150 emails with attachments, plus view 400 Web pages, plus post 50 photos on social media sites, plus watch 20 minutes of streaming video – for just $15 per month.** This plan, which can save customers up to 50 percent off their wireless data charges, is designed for people who primarily like to surf the web, send email and use social networking apps. If customers exceed 200 MB in a monthly billing cycle, they will receive an additional 200 MB of data usage for $15 for use in the cycle. Currently, 65 percent of AT&T smartphone customers use less than 200 MB of data per month on average.
• DataPro. Provides 2 gigabytes (GB) of data – for example, enough to send/receive 10,000 emails (no attachments), plus send/receive 1,500 emails with attachments, plus view 4,000 Web pages, plus post 500 photos to social media sites, plus watch 200 minutes of streaming video – for $25 per month.** Should a customer exceed 2 GB during a billing cycle, they will receive an additional 1 GB of data for $10 for use in the cycle. Currently, 98 percent of AT&T smartphone customers use less than 2 GB of data a month on average.
• Tethering. Smartphone customers – including iPhone customers – who choose the DataPro plan have the option to add tethering for an additional $20 per month. Tethering lets customers use their smartphones as a modem to provide a broadband connection for laptop computers, netbooks or other computing devices. Tethering for iPhones will be available when Apple releases iPhone OS 4 this summer.

There are quite a few users out there that have also cheated the system and are on the $15/month “dumbphone” MEdiaNet plan even though they have a smartphone. Will At&t start cracking down on these users?

What are your thoughts? With more and more companies using invisible caps on “unlimited” data plans, the plus side of this is at least you know your limits and you have options.

I have the Nexus One on At&t and I use WiFi while I’m at work, at home, and anywhere else I can. My data usage is usually 200Mb-300Mb/month for those times I’m away from WiFi. In my opinion, they should take their highly popular Rollover motto and apply it to their data plans. If they’re going to give set limits like they do voice, then why not offer Rollover for data? If I pay for 200Mb but only use 50Mb, then I should get 150Mb that Rollover every month for up to a year like they do voice. It only seems fair and it would go in line with their voice plans.

They’ve also said that smartphone users won’t be forced to change their current plan, so if you’re on the $30 unlimited smartphone data plan, you can keep that if you want.

There’s no mention of what happens if you go over your additional allotted data. If you’re on the DataPro plan and go over the 2Gb, then you get the extra 1Gb, what happens when you go over the 3Gb? Can you keep adding 1Gb for $10?

What are your thoughts? With 5Gb caps being the popular thing nowadays, and Sprint’s infamous $10 Premium Data charge for the Evo 4G, how does this compare?