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

Here is an excellent piece of information that was sent to the PPCG News Room today. According to an informed source, Sprint will be unleashing conditional (no answer/busy signal) free call forwarding to any phone number, including Google Voice. This means that any incoming call to your Sprint number that encounters a busy signal or no answer will be forwarded to a pre-selected (by the customer) phone number for free.

Also, Simply Everything customers will also begin receiving unconditional (immediate) call forwarding included in their plan beginning late November. On a technical note, this is not available in the system UNTIL after an upgrade, so it will not work until the system has been upgraded.This is great news for any Sprint customer. An added service at no extra cost? Sounds like a win to me!

Quote:

Originally Posted by unknown source Sprint is proud to promote access to the new voicemail feature in Google Voice to deliver an even richer experience to customers. To enhance our customers’ ability to access these services, including Google Voice , starting 11/8/09, all Sprint price plans will include free conditional (no answer/busy) call forwarding (*73,*74,*28 ). Unconditional (immediate) call forwarding (*72) will remain $0.20/minute. Simply Everything customers will also begin receiving unconditional call forwarding (immediate) included in their plan beginning late November. Additional information will be available soon.