Carriers
No 4G? You still pay for it, and so does Sprint
November 11, 2010 | by Andrew Kameka
Sprint
Sprint and Clearwire are in an almost comical back-and-forth over the HTC EVO 4G and Samsung Epic 4G. Sprint currently has to pay a wholesale sum to Clearwire because the EVO and Epic obtain 4G through Clearwire’s network. The arrangement doesn’t sit well with Sprint because paying wholesale means the company is charged even for customers who don’t live in markets with access to Clearwire’s 4G network. FierceWireless reports that the two companies are entering arbitration to resolve this issue.
The funny part of this situation is that EVO and Epic customers have been complaining about the very same thing that Sprint is trying to stop. Subscribers with a 4G-capable phone must pay a $10 monthly surcharge even if their home market lacks 4G coverage. Sprint has justified this by claiming that this is really a “premium data charge” for the large of amount of data someone is likely to consume with these high-powered devices. If you believe that, I’ve got some Enron stock that I’d like to sell.
Is it possible that Sprint charges everyone because Clearwire charges WiMAX prices regardless of whether WiMAX is available? It’s very plausible, but Sprint won’t go on record saying that. Will the carrier drop the $10 monthly plan if it wins arbitration with Clearwire? Absolutely not. The logistic headaches and financial losses of doing that makes that a bad business decision.
As much as it pains me to say, people really need to let this 4G fee thing go. We all know that Sprint is charging us extra, but it still costs less than AT&T and Verizon. We’re definitely being shafted, but the only solution is to not buy either the EVO or Epic in protest.
FierceWireless via [PhoneScoop]
Completely agree. I dont mind paying the extra $10, even though I dont have 4g in my area I still have a really great phone.
I live in a city with 4G. While I don't use the 4G often, it's worth the $10 when I have a "need for speed". However, I have two big issues with Sprint: 1.) charging a premium price and not being able to deliver said service to non-4G areas. 2.) not allowing people to opt out of the $10/mo and forego 4G ability. (I mean, we can forego the WiFi Tether, can we not?) Customers shouldn't be punished because Sprint **FAILED** to negotiate a decent contract with Clear
I live in a city with 4G. Nice to play some games like dimulco.
I live in a 4G area but I completely disagree with Sprint's reasoning for the fee. When my contract with Sprint was up for renewal, I decided instead to switch to T-Mobile rather than pay that fee. it's the principle of the thing. I know Sprint's service costs less than other services. But when you factor in the cost of the phones and the length of the contract, T-Mobile came out on top. If Sprint's $10 fee had not been in place we would have renewed with them for economic reasons — and Sprint has excellent cell reception, I will admit. But the main reason we switched when we were otherwise satisfied customers is because Sprint's explanations for the fee are an insult to our intelligence. People railing against the fee might be fighting a losing battle (see http://explainthefee.com/) but I applaud them because the justification Sprint is using to explain the fee is completely bogus. It's a circular argument and everyone should be insulted by their pitiful efforts to explain what the fee is actually for.
Here's another situation to consider. Before i signed up with Sprint and agreed to their obvious 4G monthly fee ( despite what they want to call it ) I checked their coverage map and found my house directly in the middle of "IN HOUSE COVERAGE". Of course, i get home to find that i don't have IN House or OUT OF HOUSE coverage. In fact the service doesn't work until i go a mile from here. (comment too long, to be continued)
I would not have signed up had the place i would primarily be wasn't 4g covered. I would have gotten another android phone (granted the Evo is amazing) where i didn't have to pay some BS montly "premium Fee". Now, if i was to go on about the conversations trying to get to manager, or have them call me back this post would go on forever (and probably not be posted due to excessive profanity). Long story short, they falsly advertise their coverage area, they falsly advertise their fees, and when they are called out about it they want to claim its because I can do more with my phone. Well, since i'm doing it over my seperately paid for internet service (with charter, but thats a whole other story) than i'm basically paying an extra montly fee to own a nice phone. Odd definition of "owning" in my book. (Comment to continue)
The least they could do is admit why people have to pay the fee, but in circumstances like mine, they should be waving that fee since they still to this day show my area covered when it's not. I've had the phone since it came out btw, months ago. As well, i reported this issue on day one, and have called back once ever 2 months since. (yes, i spoke to technicians there, and yes 4g works in other areas. )
Somebody mention that SPRINT owns around 50% of CLEAR.