The days of your unlimited data plan are numbered whether you like it or not.
MGM/UA Entertainment Co. / Via gifbay.com
The biggest cell phone companies — AT&T and Verizon — have been trying for years to push customers out of unlimited data plans, mostly recently with the strong arm tactic of data throttling on their heaviest users. Now Sprint is looking to take advantage of consumer resentment toward its competitors by starting a new war over data pricing.
On Monday, Sprint introduced a new set of plans designed to undercut the market leaders, in its words, a plan that "offer[s] double the high-speed data at the same or lower price as compared to AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless." But along with promising to offer twice as much usage, the plan comes with the same obvious caveat: "To improve the data experience for the majority of users, throughout speeds may be limited, varied or reduced on the network."
It's a response to the widespread resentment over the tactic of data throttling. With more users consuming more and more data because of higher resolution screens and mobile video, unlimited plans have become less economical for carriers. Think of it like an all-you-can-eat buffet: The restaurant only makes money when there's a correct balance of people who eat one entree and those customers who endlessly gorge. If you have a restaurant filled with only people who overstuff, the model doesn't work.
Back in July, Verizon announced that it would begin throttling the data of users with unlimited plans who had used too much. When the FCC issued concern about the changes, Verizon said that it was a practice being conducted by all other carriers too. And just this week, two AT&T customers with unlimited data plans told BuzzFeed they received warning messages about their data usages — one saying that his service was going to be throttled due to his high usage.
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