I guess my point is simply that if one eliminates the extreme data users from the mixture, then the data usage picture looks significantly different. I don’t dislike the unlimited data plans, I simply dislike having to subsidize other people’s data usage. Those folks who are rountinely consuming huge amounts of data cause Sprint to have to prematurely upgrade networks which costs everyone money and causes plan prices to rise.

At one point, Sprint dropped the customers who were causing too much of a strain on the customer support system so we know that Sprint is conscious of the costs and there is precedent for getting rid of customers that cost the company too much.

PS: I really enjoy your blog. While I may not agree with all of your opinions, I enjoy reading your insights. Please, keep writing!

-Pete

By definition the “average” smartphone user actually does consume as much data as we think, however, your point is accurate that any averaging means that there are some that use significantly less than the average and some that use significantly more. We have chosen to emphasize the simplicity of a single unlimited plan over the custom-sizing of a complex array of different priced options based on how much any user thinks they might typically use (with the risk of surprise overage bills). We recognize that some consumers will walk away from Sprint because they think they’re better served by the multiple bucket approach, but for now we think simplicity serves most really well.

Thanks,

Russ

I’d like to point out to you that while it’s true that many smartphone users typically do use far more data than their counterparts with feature phones, I don’t think the average smartphone user consumes nearly as much data as you might think.

My wife and I have had Smartphones for years with Sprint and I just checked my latest bill and even though I routinely connect to the internet to retrieve my email and RSS feeds, weather and stock prices I rarely use more than 200MB of data a month.

The problem is that if you average out data usage between my family and a teen who is downloading HD movies on his/her evo you are going to get a distorted view of the data usage of your customers. In essence, those of us who don’t use much data are subsidizing the data usage for the rest of the customers.

I’m sure that you can run the numbers yourself, but I suspect that 15%-20% of your customers account for 75% of the data usage. It would be interesting to see if your data validates my supposition!

Pete

Sprint still owns more than 50% of Clearwire and will continue to buy wholesale 4G services from Clearwire beyond the end of 2012. The reference to the end of 2012 is that our large purchase commitments to Clearwire end then.

I hope that helps.

Russ

My concern is that if I upgrade to a new 4g device today that it will not support the LTE 4g because your current devices are all WiMAX 4g. Thus putting myself and other customers in a bad position, where we have 4g devices that cannot use WiMax 4g , furthermore we dont have an upgrade credit available as a full 24 months have not passed, and even if we sell our devices no one would want to repurchase them as they are literally obsolete for the LTE network.

Simply put, does sprint have a plan for many customers who wish to upgrade but are on the fence?

Will the recently announced iPhone 4S be available for sero p members? Been a long time Sprint member and hoping to stay one!

Thanks for the response. In keeping with my original statement, I’m excited to hear Sprints upcoming announcement on network plans. I’m most excited about the possibility of Sprint finally rolling out EVDO rev.B, which is faster than WiMAX and has better reach, and is easier on the battery.

Is there any news if devices like the HTC EVO 4G would be able to support it? Does Sprint have a comprehensive list of EVDO-rev B compatible devices?

Thanks!

By it’s nature, Android uses lots of data. When you have an Android phone, you install apps (that’s why you want Android, right). Most apps connect to the Internet and draw down data. You use the web. You use e-mail. You use Facebook or whatever your favorite social network is. You text. You take pictures and share them with your friends. Android makes all of this really easy, so when you get Android, you actually use it the way it was meant to be used. And all that data use translates into increased costs for Sprint. We’re not a charitable organization. We can’t afford to lose money forever. Unlike the government, we can’t get an unlimited supply of debt to keep funding a deficit. Therefore, we have to charge a price that covers our costs. Because Android phones cost us more each month, we can either raise everyone’s pricing, or we can limit Android phones (and other smartphones) to those plans where the pricing might allow us to at least cover our costs. It’s simple business economics.

I hope that helps.

Russ