Sprint is known for its unlimited data plans and it is currently the only major carrier that doesn’t throttle excessive data use. Following the announcement that Sprint planned to discontinue its WiMAX buildout and switch to the more widely used LTE standard, however, the company never mentioned whether its upcoming LTE network would continue to offer unlimited data plans. To clarify the issue, Sprint on Tuesday confirmed to TechHog that its 4G LTE devices “will be available on Sprint’s network featuring unlimited data.” While the carrier’s initial 4G LTE rollout will be limited, data-hungry users who are not pleased with AT&T and Verizon’s 2GB and 5GB plans may be tempted to switch to Sprint when the carrier’s LTE services begin to go live in the coming weeks and months.

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According to a purported T-Mobile memo obtained by TmoNews, the nation’s No.4 carrier may be looking to increase the price of its premium 5GB and ultra 10GB unlimited data packages. The change could go into effect as early as April 4th and would add an additional $5 to the cost each plan. The 5GB plan will jump from $35 to $40 per month and the 10GB plan will increase from $65 to $70. T-Mobile’s Value Plan pricing will remain unchanged. The premium and ultra plan increases will only apply to customers who sign up for service after the effective date, however. The price increase comes as the carrier is looking to restructure and in doing so, will also cut 5% of its workforce and close seven call centers over the next three months. A second leaked T-Mobile image can be found after the break.

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According to a purported leaked T-Mobile document obtained by TmoNews, the carrier will offer an unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling add-on for $10 a month starting April 4th. “Beginning April 4th, T-Mobile will offer Unlimited Any Mobile, a $10 per month subscriber-level feature that includes unlimited calling to any domestic mobile number, including Puerto Rico, regardless of carrier,” the document reads. The carrier claims that 80% of calls made on its network are to mobile numbers, making such an add-on appealing to subscribers looking to save money.  The feature will be available as an add-on for existing customers, and it will not require a new contract. Unlimited out-of-network mobile calling is nothing new; Sprint bundles a similar offering with its unlimited everything plans and AT&T has an add-on as well. A screen capture of the purported T-Mobile document follows below.

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Spotify on Friday unveiled Spotify Radio, a new service similar to Pandora that will roll out as an extension to the company’s desktop client. The service allows users to create artist-based stations that will stream an unlimited amount of music similar to the artist selected. Spotify Radio users can also skip an unlimited number of songs and save tracks as they play for on-demand listening later as well. The app and associated service are a welcome addition to Spotify, which has had very limited discovery features until now. The free Spotify Radio app is currently available as a preview and it is expected to land in Spotify’s app catalog within the next few days. Spotify has not indicated whether or not its new radio service will make its way to the company’s mobile apps.

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Republic Wireless went live on Tuesday with its impossibly cheap $19 unlimited talk, text and data plan, presenting a service that could potentially save some users a tremendous amount of money each month. “Newsflash: anything a cell network can do, the Internet can do better and cheaper,” Republic Wireless touts on its website. “So we think a truly smart smartphone should make a habit of using Wi-Fi for everything. Surfing. Texting. Sharing. And, yes, even talking.” Read on for more.

Thanks to software technology that offloads voice calling and SMS to Wi-Fi networks whenever possible, Republic Wireless uses Sprint’s cellular network only when Wi-Fi service is not available. When Wi-Fi connections are available, it uses UMA to pipe communications over the Internet.

Unfortunately, the term “unlimited” is apparently entirely unregulated in the wireless space, and Republic Wireless uses the term rather loosely. The carrier employs what it refers to as a “fair use threshold” that defines average monthly cellular service usage. Should a subscriber’s monthly usage regularly exceed that threshold by a significant amount, Republic Wireless will give said subscriber the boot.

“How much cellular usage is too much? It depends,” the carrier explains on its website. “Even assuming 0% wifi usage, for example, you could consume 550 minutes, send 150 texts, and download 300 megabytes of data without crossing the community’s fair use threshold. Everyone’s usage patterns will be different, but we’re confident you’ll be amazed at how little cellular you actually use when you have a phone that makes it easy to leverage the power of your Wi-Fi networks.”

The carrier’s FAQ continues,”What happens if I use more than the suggested guideline? First, you’ll be reminded of the guidelines and to what extent you’ve crossed the fair use threshold. We’ll provide you with tips for reducing your cellular footprint and plenty of opportunity to get back on track. When we contact you about your usage, we’ll let you know how much time you have to correct your problem.” If the problem isn’t corrected within the timeline specified, a subscriber’s service will be terminated.

Republic Wireless currently offers one smartphone, the Android Gingerbread-powered LG Optimus S, for $199.99 contract-free. The carrier has a “beta” label slapped on its service for the time being so outages may be an issue, and subscribers must establish at least one Wi-Fi connection before service can commence.

Sprint confirmed last month that beginning October 2nd, unlimited mobile hotspot plans would become limited mobile hotspot plans, affording users of the optional smartphone add-on 5GB of tethering data per month. Now, Sprint has added a second service to the unlimited data cemetery: mobile broadband. “If you have a mobile broadband device such as a tablet, netbook, notebook, USB card, connection card or Mobile Hotspot device, effective beginning with your next bill following notification, your on-network monthly data allowance will no longer include unlimited 4G,” Sprint said on its website. Starting next month, Sprint will offer three new mobile broadband plans that cap users at 3GB, 5GB or 10GB of combined 3G and 4G data per billing period depending on their plans. Additional data will be charged at $0.05 per megabyte, and the same overage charge applies to mobile hotspot plans. A table outlining the new plans follows below.

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Confirming earlier reports, Sprint has revealed that its customers will be able to purchase Apple’s iPhone 4S with Sprint’s unlimited data plans, which start at $69.99 per month. Sprint’s 3G mobile hotspot cap will remain at 5GB, however. Additionally, customers can pre-order the iPhone 4 now or wait until Friday, October 7th to pre-order the new iPhone 4S, which will launch on October 14th. Apple announced the iPhone 4S on Tuesday. It is equipped with a more powerful dual-core Apple A5 processor, an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 1080p video, and the new Siri voice command system. Read on for the full press release from Sprint.

SPRINT OFFERS THE ONLY UNLIMITED DATA PLANS ON iPHONE 4 and iPHONE 4S!

Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced unlimited data pricing plans for iPhone®on the Sprint network beginning on Friday, October 14. New and existing customers can pre-order iPhone 4S beginning on Friday, October 7 at 12:01 AM PST. Beginning today, iPhone 4 with iOS 5 is available for just $99.99 through sprint.com/iphone.

iPhone 4S is the most amazing iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. With the launch of iPhone 4S also comes the launch of iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features; and iCloud, a breakthrough set of free cloud services that work with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices.

iPhone 4S will be available from Sprint starting at $199.99 for the 16GB model, $299.99 for the 32GB model and $399.99 for the 64GB model. iPhone 4 will cost just $99.99 for the 8GB model and is available beginning today. These prices require a new-line activation or eligible upgrade and two-year agreement.

iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 require activation on one of the Sprint Everything plans with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM, including unlimited data, texting and calling to and from any mobile phone in America while on the Sprint Network. With Sprint’s unlimited data plans, customers don’t have to worry about throttling or surprises on their monthly bill due to data overage charges like they might with tiered data plans from other carriers.

Plans start at just $69.99 per month plus the required $10 Premium Data add-on charge. Sprint’s Simply Everything Plan is the only plan from a national carrier to offer truly unlimited calling, data and text for just $99.99 per month plus the required $10 Premium Data add-on charge (all while on the Sprint network). The Mobile Hotspot option will be available for an additional $29.99 per month supporting up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously. (Pricing excludes taxes and surcharges.)

Individual Plans
Anytime Minutes
Everything Data plans with Any Mobile, Anytime
Unlimited calling to and from any mobile in America, regardless of carrier, plus unlimited text, picture and video messaging, and unlimited data including email, Web browsing, social networking and GPS Navigation (all while on the Sprint network)

450
$69.99 plus $10 Premium Data add-on

900
$89.99 plus $10 Premium Data add-on

Unlimited
(Simply Everything)
$99.99 plus $10 Premium Data add-on

Why Sprint for iPhone 4S? That’s Simple!
·         UNLIMITED DATA: With Sprint’s unlimited data plans, customers don’t have to worry about throttling or surprises on their monthly bill due to data overage charges like they might with tiered data plans from Verizon or AT&T. Keep your wireless bill simple with Sprint’s unlimited data plans.
·         READY NOW CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: iPhone customers will have access to Sprint’s Ready Now service where trained retail associates will work one-on-one with customers to personalize their iPhone and set up features like e-mail, web and apps before leaving the store.
·         COMMITTED TO SERVICE: Sprint was unbeaten among major wireless carriers for customer satisfaction according to results from the 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index. Sprint leads all national competitors in both call satisfaction and first call resolution, two key metrics in the overall quality of customer service.

Sprint has once again reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the availability of its unlimited data plans — until it eliminates them. Speaking at GigaOm’s Mobilize conference in San Francisco on Monday, Sprint chief technology officer Stephen Bye reiterated the carrier’s stance on unlimited data. Bye stated simply that the company will continue to offer unlimited plans as T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon cap and throttle their offerings, but cost is the biggest variable. Read on for more.

“There’s clearly a cost to support unlimited,” Bye told conference attendees, noting that some subscribers use much more data than others. The CTO also noted that maintaining Sprint’s unlimited offerings is a constant challenge. ”Is there pressure? Yeah,” Bye added. “There’s a challenge for all engineers to work on how we get the cost structure down.”

Sprint has confirmed as much to BGR on numerous occasions. In an interview with BGR this past May, Sprint’s vice president of product development Fared Adib confirmed that the carrier would continue to offer unlimited data plans as long as it was monetarily feasible.

“We’re going to try to keep [unlimited plans] around as long as we can,” Adib said. “What most people don’t realize is that there is a cost here with us doing this, and we are definitely seeing a trend where people are using more and more data. Like I said we’re not against that, but what happens is that over a certain period of time if people abuse the unlimited data policies — if everyone constantly uses a lot of it — then it becomes more expensive for us to maintain the network. So you do have to look at that and balance that out as a carrier, to make sure you can still generate revenue to offset your costs.”

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Former renegade peer-to-peer file sharing service Kazaa is back from the dead. After numerous legal battles and settlements that reportedly reached into the hundreds of millions, Kazaa will attempt one last time to use what little heat surrounding its name is left in an effort to sell music. The firm now offers a like-named iPhone and iPad app that works just like Spotify, Rhapsody, Zune and the plethora of other music subscription services on the market today: pay $10 per month, stream as much music as you want, and store files locally if you choose. The apps touts a catalog of “millions and millions of songs,” and offers a free 7-day trial before the monthly fee is required. While seeing the Kazaa brand revived is amusing, we’re not sure what compelling argument Kazaa makes to draw users away from competitors, and we’ll likely stick with Spotify as a result.

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In an effort to edge in on MetroPCS and Sprint-owned Boost and Virgin Mobile, Verizon Wireless will introduce a brand new $50 monthly prepaid this week that includes unlimited text, talk and web, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The new plan, which first launched back in April as “Unleashed” in limited markets, will be available to customers in Verizon stores, Walmart, Target and Best Buy. The new plan is much cheaper than Verizon’s current unlimited talk and text prepaid option, which currently costs $94.99 per month. “This is a very competitive market, and we want to make sure we have a price portfolio to fit a greater number of customers,” Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney said. “In these times there are some people who would prefer living on a prepaid plan.” Read on for more.

Here’s what Verizon’s competitors charge: AT&T’s GoPhone service offers the same unlimited options and costs $50 per month. Virgin Mobile’s service costs $55 per month although there are cheaper options for customers who want fewer minutes. MetroPCS offers a nationwide unlimited plan for $45 per month but customers can also opt for more expensive 4G prepaid packages. Boost Mobile’s service costs $50 per month but can drop as low as $35 per month as part of its “monthly shrinkage” perk for making on-time payments.

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AT&T will stop offering its 1,000 text message package on August 21st and will instead only offer customers a $20 individual unlimited option and a $30 family unlimited plan, Engadget reported on Wednesday. The carrier’s official statement, provided to BGR via email, is as follows:

Starting August 21, we’re streamlining our text messaging plans for new customers and will offer an unlimited plan for individuals for $20 per month and an unlimited plan for families of up to five lines for $30 per month. The vast majority of our messaging customers prefer unlimited plans and with text messaging growth stronger than ever, that number continues to climb among new customers. Existing customers don’t have to change any messaging plan they have today, even when changing handsets.

Customers will still have the option to pay by individual messages at a rate of $0.20 per SMS and $0.30 per MMS, and AT&T has confirmed to BGR that subscribers who wish to ensure they to not incur a la carte messaging fees can call customer care and have messaging blocked on their account. This feature is free, and messaging can be enabled again at any time.

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GameFly announced on Wednesday it will soon offer a new service called “Unlimited PC Play” that will allow gamers to download an unlimited amount of games to their Windows or Mac computer. Much like Netflix’s business model, GameFly will provide instant access to more than 8,000 rental discs or more than 1,500 instant downloads for a monthly fee. The service will require a desktop client that will include news, a feed of HD trailers and screen shots of the latest games. GameFly also said there will be a social component that will allow gamers to interact with one another in real-time. A closed beta will begin on September 8th for current GameFly subscribers and a public launch will occur during the holiday season. Read on for the full press release.

GameFly Subscribers Will Have Access to Free PC Games

Digital Client Will Be The One-Stop Shop for Casual and Hardcore Gamers Alike

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — GameFly, Inc., the #1 online video game rental subscription service will be launching a new digital client, the one-stop shop for gamers, this holiday season. The biggest bonus for active GameFly subscribers will be the addition of free “Unlimited PC Play” which allows them to download and play as many Windows/Mac games as they want, from a large and ever-growing collection of titles. Gamers will have unprecedented flexibility in how they want to consume games, whether it is renting discs by mail from a library of over 8,000 titles, downloading any of the more than 1,500 Windows/Mac games for sale, pre-ordering new console and PC releases or buying used games – all managed via the desktop client. Casual to hardcore gamers can get all of their gaming information with up-to-the-minute news, a live feed and archive of HD trailers, videos, and screenshots, and a robust social component for real-time discussions of what’s hot and what’s not. In addition, users will be able to manage their entire library of games across all gaming platforms, as well as create custom libraries to share.

“We’re thrilled to bring digital to the gaming consumer in a meaningful way, as no other service or retailer brings physical and digital gaming together like GameFly,” said Sean Spector, GameFly co-founder and SVP of Business Development and Content. “With a library of over 9,500 titles from over 300 first- and third-party publishers, GameFly members have the ultimate choice of how, what, when and where they game.”

GameFly will launch their closed beta at a Los Angeles event on September 8, 2011, exclusively for GameFly members. All attendees will walk away with beta codes for themselves and a friend. Gaming enthusiasts not in the Los Angeles area who want to gain access to the private beta can visit www.gamefly.com/beta. The digital client will launch publicly during the holidays, but for a sneak peak now, see the teaser trailer here –www.youtube.com/gamefly.

Wireless carriers around the world are digging themselves into a deeper hole by neglecting to experiment with innovative pricing models for 4G LTE services. While consumers have exhibited concern surrounding tiered data plans and bandwidth throttling, Ovum believes such models are necessary to combat the growing capacity crunch plaguing cellular service providers. This crunch, of course, is serious enough that AT&T is hoping to soon $39 billion in order to acquire T-Mobile USA and use the carrier’s precious spectrum for its 4G LTE network build-out. Smartphone and mobile broadband users are pumping more data over wireless networks than ever before, and speedier 4G LTE service only stands to exacerbate the situation. Additionally, carriers are missing the opportunity to find new ways to squeeze more revenue out of this new premium high-speed service. “We looked at the LTE pricing strategies of operators in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the US, and were disappointed with our findings,” Ovum analyst Nicole McCormick said in a statement. “LTE provides operators with the opportunity to experiment with new and innovative pricing models, which allows them to find the best way of deriving revenues from the premium service. However, most operators have not grasped this opportunity. Instead, LTE tariffs in the regions Ovum analysed are dominated by unlimited offerings and large data buckets, which can be problematic.” Ovum’s full press release follows below.

Lack of innovation in LTE pricing models, report finds

5 August 2011 | Published by Ovum

Operators that offer high-speed mobile broadband technology LTE are failing to deliver innovative pricing models, according to Ovum.

In a new report*, the independent telecoms analyst firm claims that there is a lack of new and innovative LTE (long term evolution) tariffs, which is a missed opportunity for operators given that LTE is a new service in the eyes of consumers.

Nicole McCormick, Ovum senior analyst and author of the report, commented: “We looked at the LTE pricing strategies of operators in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and theUS, and were disappointed with our findings.

“LTE provides operators with the opportunity to experiment with new and innovative pricing models, which allows them to find the best way of deriving revenues from the premium service.

“However, most operators have not grasped this opportunity. Instead, LTE tariffs in the regions Ovum analysed are dominated by unlimited offerings and large data buckets, which can be problematic.”

According to the report, unlimited data plans for LTE can present significant problems for operators, especially if they are accompanied by a lenient fair usage policy.

McCormick commented: “Operators should not offer unlimited LTE tariffs without some sort of deterrent as they could have an impact on the quality of the service given LTE’s data-intensive nature. However, we note that some leading operators –Verizon Wireless,SKTelecom, NTT DoCoMo and LG U+ – have steered clear of unlimited LTE offerings despite offering such packages in the 3G arena.”

The report also found that charging high premiums for LTE is unsustainable in the long-term due to competitive pressures in the industry and increased migration to 4G services. McCormick added: “Operators will need to be careful not to alienate high-end customers that have paid a premium for a fast, high-quality service by reducing LTE tariffs too quickly or drastically.”

AT&T will begin to throttle data speeds during the first week of October, 9to5 Mac reported on Thursday. The carrier could move to throttle the data speeds of its biggest data users in an effort to ensure network stability for its first LTE devices, which are expected to launch later this year. It remains unclear how low AT&T will knock the throughput down to, but 9to5 Mac says Virgin currently forces data hogs down to 256Kbps until the next billing cycle after they use more than 2.5GB. T-Mobile also throttles its data speeds after users go over their monthly 5GB “unlimited” cap. The move should actually be beneficial for most AT&T customers looking for stable performance and will only affect those who use much more data than the average customer according to the report.

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T-Mobile announced new “Value” plans for customers who sign up for service and pay the full price of a new phone or bring their own device. Beginning on July 24th, customers will have the option of paying for a new device at an unsubsidized cost upfront or in monthly installments. T-Mobile’s cheapest Value plan is a $39 monthly option that provides 500 minutes and unlimited texting, but the carrier will also offer 2GB, 5GB, and 10GB data packages. Family lines will start at $49.99 per line, and customers will have the option of signing up for “value” mobile broadband plans, too. The new plans will be particularly attractive to customers who take hand-me-down phones from friends, but there’s a small catch. It’s typically attractive to buy a phone at full price to avoid being locked into a two-year agreement. If you sign up for a Value plan, however, you’ll still be locked into a contract. T-Mobile’s current “Even More” plans will be rebranded “Classic” when the Value options make their debut. Read on for the full press release from T-Mobile.

T-Mobile Unveils Affordable And Worry-Free Unlimited Data Plans

New T-Mobile Value plans make the latest 4G smartphones
and wireless services affordable for all
BELLEVUE, Wash. — July 20, 2011 — T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced new Value plans, making it more affordable than ever to step up to data on America’s Largest 4G Network™. Featuring flexible pricing for unlimited data and available with affordable monthly payments on any of T-Mobile’s phones and mobile broadband devices, including the latest 4G smartphones and tablets, the new Value plans could save customers hundreds of dollars annually.
Slated to be available beginning on July 24, the new plans build on T-Mobile’s commitment of offering affordable, consumer-friendly plans in tune with the evolving needs of wireless customers. Available with a two-year agreement for new and existing customers, the Value plans offer single-line and multiline options with a range of price points for talk, unlimited text and unlimited data with 2 GB, 5 GB or 10 GB of high-speed data — with no data overage charges. Customers can choose from a variety of monthly plans and only pay for the high-speed data they need.

“T-Mobile is committed to making the always-on benefits of smartphones and tablets more accessible and worry-free for all Americans,” said John Clelland, senior vice president, marketing, T-Mobile USA. “Customers want to enjoy all that the mobile Web has to offer, but they don’t want to pay for more than they need or worry about bill shock. Our incredible value comes from the combination of our nationwide 4G network, exceptional device portfolio and affordable plans that offer unlimited data access without overages.”

With the new Value plans, customers are empowered to purchase any product in
T-Mobile’s innovative device lineup or bring their own device and have access to the company’s best pricing. With no overages on the new unlimited plans and flexible terms, customers can pick the wireless data plan that best fits their needs and choose how they want to pay for their device. Value plan customers who purchase a device can pay an upfront down payment on a new device and make low, interest-free payments for the full price of the product while still getting T-Mobile’s best available rates on monthly service.* T-Mobile will continue to offer its traditional plans under the new T-Mobile Classic plan brand, previously called Even More™ plans.

For example, T-Mobile’s new Value family plan with unlimited talk, unlimited text and unlimited data with 2 GB of high-speed data is just $49.99 per line for two lines. Even with the addition of purchasing two smartphones, such as the T-Mobile myTouch® 4G Slide, on T-Mobile’s Equipment Installment Plan, customers may yield savings of more than $800 annually. *

“Families are looking for ways to affordably include mobile data so the kids can communicate via social networking, watch YouTube and surf the Web without parents breaking the bank,” said Tole Hart, senior analyst with Yankee Group. “Plans that help them get more while paying less will get a lot of attention.”

T-Mobile also will offer a robust lineup of mobile broadband service options under both the new Value and Classic plans. For instance, customers could add an overage-free mobile broadband Value plan to their voice service for $19.99 per month with 2 GB of high-speed data for products, including laptop sticks, tablets and the T-Mobile 4G Mobile Hotspot, which allows a family to share their 4G mobile connection with up to five Wi-Fi devices using a single mobile broadband connection.

T-Mobile’s new Value and Classic plans are expected to be available beginning July 24. In addition to the unlimited Value and Classic plans, T-Mobile also will introduce new Value plans for small business customers this summer with additional details available in the coming weeks.

T-Mobile continues to offer no annual contract plans with its Monthly4G plans, as well as Pay As You Go plans for as low as 10 cents per minute for voice calls. More information on T-Mobile’s service plans is available at http://www.t-mobile.com.