Sprint today took the wraps off a $20, unlimited wireless broadband data option the company claims "beats all national carriers." Looking at the company's press release, users on these new Starter Unlimited Data Plans can pay $20 for unlimited LTE data, but after 1 GB of usage users will find themselves throttled back to 2G (read: 50-100 kbps or less) speeds for the remainder of their billing cycle. Additional data is $15 per each gigabyte.
Users will also need to pay $20 to nab unlimited voice and text service, bringing the new plan's monthly cost to $40 a month. With truly unlimited data at Sprint $70, most users are going to bump their head on the throttling ceiling and spring for the more expensive plan.
“Our Starter Unlimited Data Plan is the most affordable data plan available at any national carrier,” Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure crows in a press release. “Our customers no longer have to worry about being surprised by costly data charges."
In what appears to be a PR counter to T-Mobile's recent mockery of overage fees, Sprint said it's also introducing unlimited data for customers on the Sprint Family Share Pack plans, who'll now also find themselves throttled to 2G speeds once their reach their monthly data allotments. They too can opt for additional data at $15 per gigabyte, which are still overages, but just don't think too hard about it.
All of these changes take effect as of tomorrow, October 30.