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Boost Starts Throttling January 20
'Unlimited' Plans Get 2.5 GB, Then Throttled to 256kbps
Sprint affiliate Boost Mobile says they'll start throttling wireless data users more heavily starting January 20, something Sprint CEO Dan Hesse hinted at earlier this year. The Twice website directs our attention to new language on the Boost website that says that "starting on or about 1/20/13, Monthly Unlimited plans will offer 2.5GB/month of full speed network data but will slow to 3G speeds of 256kbps for continued data use after 2.5GB." After this change, Boost says that "customers that go over the 2.5GB threshold may experience slower page loads, file downloads and streaming media," adding that "data speeds will restore to full 3G/4G speeds when a customer’s new monthly plan begins."
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brianiscool
join:2000-08-16
Tampa, FL

brianiscool

Member

Sprint

As Sprint gets poorer and their infrastructure shrinks. Their prices will continue to go up and more restrictions will appear.

megarock
join:2001-06-28
Fenton, MO

megarock

Member

Wow...

I almost switched to them for their unlimited plan.

Glad I didn't waste my money or time. Unlimited ain't unlimited if you LIMIT IT.

MovieLover76
join:2009-09-11
Cherry Hill, NJ

MovieLover76

Member

Re: Wow...

Given sprint's current 3G network's abysmal performance, They really have to do this to their prepaid mvno's. Sprint has to be losing tons of post-paid customers who use their 3G network.
Imagine paying $100 for sprint's 3G network, yuck!

OSUGoose
join:2007-12-27
Columbus, OH

OSUGoose

Member

So

Who's gonna sue them? There taking a existing unlimited plan and making it limited. Only out they have is there isn't a contract so they will hide behind its was unlimited for that month, and no that plan wont be available next month.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080

Member

$

not so much of a good thing, and shrinkage takes on a whole new meaning, doesn't it??

jhacker
join:2001-12-11
Peoria, IL

jhacker

Member

Wouldn't that be an improvement?

When I was with Sprint until 11 months ago, 256 kbps on a consistent basis would have been better than normal! That's pretty sad!

chaud
Serious Business
join:2004-07-09
Huntsville, AL

chaud

Member

Re: Wouldn't that be an improvement?



Yeah. Throttle me right up to 256kbps please.

n2jtx
join:2001-01-13
Glen Head, NY

n2jtx

Member

Re: Wouldn't that be an improvement?

Me too!
jc10098
join:2002-04-10

jc10098

Member

Re: Wouldn't that be an improvement?

Well your choices are T-Mobile or Sprint for unlimited. I've had sprint since the late 1990s and their network has improved, but their data hasn't. My speeds are throttled 24x7 by their crippled network. Places that do have 4G have very nice speeds. I was out in Crystal City, VA and I got 15-20mbit via their 4g. However, Sprint is very slow to roll out service. I'm sure by the time they get markets covered, ATT and Verizon will have finished blanketing the U.S. and well be on to 5G or whatever service is next.

kpfx
join:2005-10-28
San Antonio, TX

kpfx to chaud

Member

to chaud
Yep! I've been calling Sprint's 3G data "Wireless Dial-up" for the past year. Don't think I've gotten over 200 Kbps in a loooong time.

Which is sad. Back before the iPhone days, I remember getting 1.2 Mbps on my Motorola Razr with EVDO rev 0 or something. I had lots of fun poking fun at my Apple buddy who got the first iPhone that was stuck on EDGE.

n2jtx
join:2001-01-13
Glen Head, NY

n2jtx to jhacker

Member

to jhacker
LOL. I consider my Sprint service throttled 24x7. What are they going to do? Throttle me to an old dialup modem speed of 28.8K?

kpfx
join:2005-10-28
San Antonio, TX

kpfx

Member

Re: Wouldn't that be an improvement?

Hah! Agreed. Maybe they should switch us over to 2G (1xRRT)?

Actually... we'd probably get better speeds as that service will "burst' at 144 Kbps.

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

swintec

Premium Member

Re: Wouldn't that be an improvement?

said by kpfx:

Hah! Agreed. Maybe they should switch us over to 2G (1xRRT)?

Technically, 1xRTT is a 3G technology just like EVDO.

kpfx
join:2005-10-28
San Antonio, TX

kpfx to jhacker

Member

to jhacker
Yep... still bad. Do your worse and throttle away Sprint!

Gaff
Just like the gypsy woman said
join:1999-09-05
North TX, US

Gaff

Member

Already enforced on VM

Not entirely unexpected, given that this came into force for Sprint's other prepaid arm, Virgin Mobile, a few months ago.

I'm not crazy about throttling, but (1) if you can get over 256kb on VM or Boost already then consider yourself well-off, and (2) for the price this is still a great deal.

$25 a month on my Motorola Triumph using VM is dollar-for-dollar probably the best 3G deal around.
BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
Central CT

BiggA

Premium Member

Re: Already enforced on VM

Exactly. The coverage issues are much more of a problem than this throttling, which would really only kick in on WiMAX, and even then, it wouldn't be that big of a deal.

michieru
Premium Member
join:2009-07-25
Denver, CO

michieru

Premium Member

Looks like a tactic to me.

They know this will piss off many people which will have them move to another carrier by choice and as the numbers reach rock bottom the stragglers that remain will probably get a free phone once they turn off the iDEN network.
NoHereNoMo
join:2012-12-06

NoHereNoMo

Member

To throttle...

I guess they don't know that 'to slow' is a synonym for 'to limit' (as well as 'to throttle').
Rob2647
join:2008-08-12
Rochester, MI

Rob2647

Member

A sign of whats to come?

Is this Sprints way of slowly migrating from "Unlimited" data. I won't be surprised that Sprints Unlimited data does not survive 2013

Good thing I left Sprint when I did.

JasonOD
@comcast.net

JasonOD

Anon

Sprint's own fault

Their decision to whore out their 3g network to every cheap two-bit MVNO they possibly could has absolutely trashed their 3g network for everyone. Including their own pre-paid customers, no matter how hard they QoS the MVNO players.

VZ and ATT do share but limit MVNO presence on their 3g network, and there's no way in heck they'll be sharing their 4g network with anyone anytime soon. Maybe with softbank's cash, they won't be as desperate.

SiDg
@verizon.net

SiDg

Anon

But..

Will this change effect current boost customers or just new sign-ups. I remember back when VM started the 2.5Gb limit someone commented that current subscribers kept their unlimited and not throttled at 2.5. I don't know if that was the case, but I can't tell from the other DslR article what the plan is.

Selenia
Gentoo Convert
Premium Member
join:2006-09-22
Fort Smith, AR

Selenia

Premium Member

You guys are overreacting

As much as I hate Sprint's network this does not seem to be a move of greed on their part. It seems to be an actual attempt at alleviating congestion on their putrid Network since they only limit speed and charge no overages. Not like many Sprint customers would notice anyways, for many it would be an upgrade. This traffic management might be worth it, if it improves this situation in the interim, before upgrades from Softbank can be brought live(hopefully purchases of better spectrum. T-Mobile eliminated their throttle when they got more built out capacity-wise. Sprint may do the same if they get the abysmal network under control. Then, hopefully, more robustly built out using Soft bank cash. I would pull for Sprint as Verizon and At&t are the only decent networks for my area. I personally prefer AT&T for good customer service and an HSPA that covers more area than VZ LTE, which frequently falls back to CDMA speeds in areas right around me(1xRTT or EVDO Rev A yuck!). They are overpriced though and VZ is even worse. Would be nice if Sprint could get serious enough to bring pricing pressure to bear on the market. Even someone else. The more, the merrier! As to the Sprint brand, it makes business sense to throttle that last. Otherwise they would see more churn from postpaid to prepaid than they already have from people trying to dodge the throttling.

buddahbless
join:2005-03-21
Premium

buddahbless

Member

Re: You guys are overreacting

said by Selenia:

As much as I hate Sprint's network this does not seem to be a move of greed on their part. It seems to be an actual attempt at alleviating congestion on their putrid Network since they only limit speed and charge no overages.
T-Mobile eliminated their throttle when they got more built out capacity-wise. Sprint may do the same if they get the abysmal network under control. I personally prefer AT&T for good customer service and an HSPA that covers more area than VZ LTE, which frequently falls back to CDMA
The more, the merrier! As to the Sprint brand, it makes business sense to throttle that last. Otherwise they would see more churn from postpaid to prepaid than they already have from people trying to dodge the throttling.

I agree this is not a greed move just strategical thinking, what reason would there be for A smart consumer stay on Sprints own branded network if they can get the same data and speeds for less with a $5 decrease in there bill every 6 months if they jump ship to boost. Also since many sprint phones can now be flashed to boost the handset limitations are non existent. Sprint had to do something to keep customers on Sprints billing system ( slow the churn rate) and this is the first step.

Tmobile did NOT eliminate there throttle ALL there prepaid plans and MVNOs still are throttled even slower than what Sprint is proposing. We TMO customers only receive 120kbps we would jump for joy if it was raised to 256 kbps. Only TMO new post paid plan customers received full unlimited with no throttle and you still have to pay a premium for that service, previous on contract plan customers are still throttled. I believe once TMO converts most of there many EDGE areas they may raise there throttle as most customers will be on HSPA and soon LTE but I doubt for prepaid they will ever eliminate it ,For Sprint and T Mobile real unlimited will be only for post paid customers, that will be the new way to lure you into signing a contract.

The more the merrier is true hopefully when TMO and sprint are finish building out there LTE network they the two work out an agreement to allow free roaming from one to the next ( with a compatible LTE phone) it would only make sense in areas where one does not have coverage but the other does ( actually I think it will benefit Sprint more than TMO). As we all know ATT and VZ are not going to allow roaming ( voice txt or data) on there LTE network with out costing you a pretty penny.

cork1958
Cork
Premium Member
join:2000-02-26

cork1958

Premium Member

You didn't know it was coming?

You would've had to been living under a rock to NOT know this was coming!

Considering I don't live on my phone like so many other people, this will have absolutely no effect on me and I could care less about it except for the fact that it will throttle the pigs who do live on their phones!!

For the $35 a month I pay, Boost is till the best around and has better coverage in my area than Verizon or T-Mobile, both of which I've had before, with Verizon being the worst of these 3, for me.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080

Member

Re: You didn't know it was coming?

said by cork1958:

You would've had to been living under a rock to NOT know this was coming!

Considering I don't live on my phone like so many other people, this will have absolutely no effect on me and I could care less about it except for the fact that it will throttle the pigs who do live on their phones!!

For the $35 a month I pay, Boost is till the best around and has better coverage in my area than Verizon or T-Mobile, both of which I've had before, with Verizon being the worst of these 3, for me.

Ever since the Sandy storm, Virgin mobile (sprint towers) has been horrible parts of NYC.. they're just not upto full strength.. that is, saying they never bothered to see if the anetannas are pointing in the right direction.. that would take a whole lot of money they don't want to pay the tower providers to re-tweak.. that is until they get a ton of complaints... so.. COMPLAIN already!!
crucialcolin11
join:2004-09-12
Roseville, CA

crucialcolin11

Member

RE: boost

wonder if this also applies to paygo or daily subscribers as well.
rstuckey
join:2001-08-26
Austin, TX

rstuckey

Member

Unlimited.... what.

If it's an unlimited plan data-wise, that's one thing to then limit the speed. What's the FAQ EULA ETC say. Actually, is there any such thing as an unlimited plan speed-wise? Although infinite speed would be nice.
neftv
join:2000-10-01
Broomall, PA

neftv

Member

Virgin Mobile does the same thing now.

Virgin Mobile is doing the throttle now with 2.5GB to 256kps so it was only a matter of time.
The thing with unlimited Data on Sprint, Tmobile etc is that once their subscription base reaches 60, 70, +80 million these unlimited plans will disappear. Everyone going to be on a tiered data plan eventually. It's really to bad that such dated concepts of tiered data are coming back from the days of when the internet first became commercial.