Verizon announces the iPhone and Sprint announces increased prices!

Let’s hope it’s a great New Year!

I created this website over half a year ago as a way to express my thoughts and opinions about Sprint's policies regarding their "Premium Data" fee associated with their newest phones.  I didn't know what would become of it, or if I could even make a difference.  It was my first website that I ever created and it was great to see how my site grew.

Overall, I'm very happy with the way everything worked out.  I've received a lot of great feedback and many emails from people telling me their stories and their personal experiences with Sprint.  It's hard to imagine that 7 months ago that when you Google "Sprint Premium Data", that my site and it's articles would be all over the front page.

I feel that the work that I've put into this cause has been very rewarding.  I've achieved everything that I've wanted (except getting my bill lowered! ha!).  I wanted to be on the android news sites - and I was.  I wanted to make it to the Consumerist.com site - and I did, several times!  Digg front page - 2x and many, many other websites have featured this site on their front page.    Ultimately at this point, it's time to let everyone know that I no longer will be updating this website with any additional information until further notice.

If there is any major news that comes out, I'll make a post - but this will be it for awhile.

I've received tons of emails regarding the lawsuits people are filing and I think it's great.  It's no longer a guy with a website trying to fight Sprint, but many people, including lawyers that are raising their voice.  Good luck to those lawsuits and anyone else who continues to fight this fight.

I can be reached at explainthefee@gmail.com, if you want to reach out to me.

Finally, if there's one article that I could have someone read and understand my thoughts about this, it would be this one.  Please let others know about the site and the cause - if you can and hopefully we'll get more news about this to report on!

Thanks for all the support everyone, it's been a blast!

Sprint/Clearwire in arbitration over 4G monthly fees

FierceWireless posted an article yesterday stating that Sprint is now in a dispute regarding a required fee that they must pay another company every month.  Sound familiar?  What's interesting is that Sprint and Clearwire have entered into arbitration over a REQUIRED monthly fee that Sprint must pay Clearwire for each 4G capable device on their network.

So what's up for dispute?

1.  Sprint currently has approximately 810,000 EVO/Epic devices on their network.

2.  According to Clearwire, there are hundreds of thousands of EVOs and Epics that are NOT in Clearwire's current coverage area.

3.  Clearwire states that it's wholesale agreement with Sprint requires them to pay $4.46 per device each month, regardless if they're in Clearwire's coverage area.

4.  Sprint disagrees and has initiated the arbitration to settle better terms.

OK, let's get this straight.  Sprint agrees to pay $4.46 per 4G capable device.  They don't like that they have to pay for devices that are not using Clearwire's network, so they initiate an arbitration to get out of the original agreement's terms?

Are you serious Sprint?

Obviously there's going to be a winner and a loser here.  If the winner is Sprint, Clearwire is going to be out revenue that they've already projected with the previous agreement.  Clearwire just cut back 15% of it's workforce due to funding issues, so can they really take another hit like this?

The article goes on to state how Clearwire disclosed news of this at its quarterly filing with the SEC.

"We have been engaged in ongoing negotiations with Sprint to resolve issues related to wholesale pricing for Sprint 4G smartphone usage under our commercial agreements with Sprint," Clearwire wrote in its filing. "On October 29, 2010, we received a notice from Sprint initiating an arbitration process to resolve these issues. The process is in the early stages, and its outcome is unknown."

"If we are unable to reach a satisfactory resolution of these issues, we end up agreeing to an amount less than what we expected, or the arbitration process is not resolved in our favor, we could end up receiving substantially less in future wholesale revenues than we expect or for which we have planned. Such an outcome could require us to revise our current business plans and projections and could also adversely affect our results of operations.

But remember folks - this has nothing to do with Sprint's "Premium Data" fee!  Premium Data is NOT for 4G, right?

Read the original article here.

Do you REALLY need Premium Data?

I’m going to be asking a lot of questions in this article.  Over the last few months, I’ve done a lot of research and spoken with Sprint numerous times regarding the Premium Data add-on.  If I could have someone read one article on my site – it would be this one.  I think that after you finish reading this, you’ll have a better understanding of what I’ve been trying to prove.  If you’re up to the challenge, call for yourself and go down this list and see for yourself.  E-mail me your results and let me know if they are adding anything else to this list!

Do you REALLY need Premium Data?

Sprint says that it’s required to run their latest dual-band (3G/4G) phones.  They say it can’t be waived, you won’t be credited and it cannot be removed.  Sprint says that this allows the phone to unlock features that have the potential to provide a “richer data experience”.  So what does Premium Data really provide?  If you could take out a piece of paper and start numbering the features that you get with this add-on, what would you really be able to mark down?  Like I said before, I’ve talked to many.. many people and I think I may have finally figured out every possible response and counter-argument that they could provide.  Let’s see what Sprint has listed on their piece of paper!

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1. 4G Service

Some representatives have this down as their “go-to answer”.  I’ve actually heard them say this before I can even finish my sentence.  In my experience, this sets the tone of the call; if they mention this, you know that the person you’re speaking to has successfully used this previously to silence someone.  If you’re advised that the phone requires Premium Data because of the access to the 4G network, the appropriate response would be this:

“What if I’m not in a 4G area?”

The typical answer will be - “But sir/madam, you can always travel to a 4G coverage area and experience the accelerated speeds offered in our 4G network.”  That’d be a great answer if most people took out a Sprint coverage map when planning their weekend getaways, but in the real world you expect to pay for a service that you’d get all the time, not just when you need an overnight bag.  What if you suffer from agoraphobia and never intend to leave your home, or just simply live hundreds of miles from the nearest 4G coverage area?  If you’re going to say that it’s for when I travel to a 4G coverage area, the simple answer here is to charge me when and IF I’m in the 4G area! If the agent on the phone does mention this, press them on it.  They will almost always withdraw their answer and finally admit that it’s not for 4G service, after they come back from putting you on hold while they “double check” this.

If you are lucky enough to speak with any management level person on the phone, I guarantee that they’ll quickly advise you that Premium Data is NOT for 4G and they will apologize for any previous misinformation given to you by the other representatives.

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2.    Increase in Data Usage

Sprint’s next argument is that they have an expectation that EVO/Epic owners will use more data compared to the non-4G phone owners on their network.  The important thing to remember here is that some most users are not currently in a 4G area.  Let’s consider your EVO or Epic a 3G phone at this point, that’s what it would be right?  Apples to Apples!  Now, when you’re comparing these phones and start to talk about any data usage, let’s remember what type of plan you must sign up for:

All of the plans include unlimited data! How fantastic!  So what’s this talk about more data?  What if I don’t use more data?

“Will I get a refund if I do not use ‘more’ data?”

The answer is obviously “no”.  Even though Sprint says that they’re assuming you’re going to be using more data, you are still required to pay for “more” data on your “unlimited” plan even if you use less data than you did when you had your Palm Pre, BlackBerry or Touch Pro.  This is a sticky situation, as the definition provided by Sprint clearly says that your plan is unlimited, but I’ve been advised by several Sprint reps that the “Premium Data” actually unlocks unlimited data on dual-band (3G/4G) phones.  That’d be great, if I wasn’t in the same 3G network as my previous phone, using the same unlimited data plan.  My next question for Sprint:

“Do the ‘Everything’ plans include Unlimited Data?”

Since I just showed this to you in the previous diagram, you already know the answer, but ask them anyways.  It sets up the next few questions:

“Is there a 5GB or any data cap on either the 3G or 4G phones?”

I’ve received conflicting answers on this by several different reps.  I’ve been told this - “The Premium Data add-on allows you to get past the 5GB cap.”  I’ve made it very clear in previous conversations with Sprint and even pointed out their incorrect information on their website about this information.  Here they corrected this information – basically, there is no cap.

The question should no longer be if I’m using more data, the question should be - “Why is there a question of my data usage?”  If I have two phones activated on my “Family Everything Data” plan and I’m living in a 3G area, regardless of the phone being capable of connecting to 4G, the phones are on the same network.  Unlimited data usage with NO cap should mean that I can use my phone the way I want to (within Sprint’s regulations) and not be penalized just because I have a new phone.

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3. Hotspot

Having the ability to turn my phone into a Mobile Hotspot is another feature that Sprint wants me to write down as a “Premium Data” feature of the EVO/Epic. “Sir/Madam, did you know that the phone is able to be used as a Mobile Hotspot, capable of powering your iPad or Nintendo DS, or even your laptop?”  My question is simply – “Is it required?”  Just because I have the ability to turn the phone into a Mobile Hotspot for another $30 a month, doesn’t mean I need to be charged $10 for a “Premium Data” add each month.  I’ve approached this issue with the following question:

“Is the $10 Premium Data fee a pre-requisite to the mobile Hotspot?”

The $30/month Mobile Hotspot is an add-on just like the Roadside Rescue for $4/month.  Just because only these phones have the ability to use the Hotspot feature, it doesn’t mean you can mark it down on the list of what Premium Data is actually for.

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4. “Cool” Software

If you ask Sprint what the differences are between the Samsung Transform and the Samsung Epic, they’ll read off their comparison fact sheets and you’ll probably be told that the Epic has Combined IM, MMS, and SMS messaging.  It also has integrated contacts, linked contacts and a layered calendar.  Don’t forget the chat-style messaging.  Yes, these are “features” that are only available on the Epic.  The Transform does not come with these features; you can see this comparison on Sprint.com

If these are “Premium Data” features, then surely the EVO must have these, right?

“Does the EVO have any of these ‘Premium’ features?”

Wait, another “Premium Data” phone lacks these “Premium Data” features?  This obviously can’t be the reason, so they might start to mention that the Epic has the ability to use AllShare.  This is the ability to stream content between other Samsung devices through a WiFi connection.  I was told that if I had a Samsung TV, I could easily watch movies on my Samsung TV from my Epic and wouldn’t have to worry about any wires.  Let’s just ignore the fact that not everyone has WiFi and a Samsung TV, but let’s focus on the fact that they’re trying to sell this proprietary feature as “Premium Data”?  Does the EVO have this?  What about the Samsung Media Hub?  Again, it’s proprietary software to the device that you're buying.

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5. Faster Speeds

Ah, arguing with Sprint regarding this “feature” has amazed me.  I’ll try to explain this without getting too technical.  I’ve been told that the dual-band phones have the ability to experience faster (wicked) speeds than any phone ever.  Right away you can see an issue with this claim.  First of all, if you’re talking about faster speeds on the 4G network, then isn’t that technically charging $10 for 4G speeds?  You cannot come out and say that the $10 isn’t for 4G, but then say that the fee is for faster speeds.  4G is faster speeds!  Now I must admit that this is something they thought through, so they included a short disclaimer while mentioning this.  They’ll say something like this: “You will have a richer data experience whether you are in the 3G or the 4G network.”  They claim that you will have faster speeds even in the 3G network!  How can this be?  Ask this if you’re curious to how this is possible:

“Will Premium Data allow a 3G/4G phone to receive faster speeds than a 3G only phone while connected to a 3G only connection?”

Believe it or not, the answer that you’ll typically receive is “yes!”, so you must ask further about the technical specifics:

“What is the maximum download speed that the Samsung Epic could achieve on a 3G connection?”

The answer is “up-to 3.1Mbps”.  That sounds like a very solid answer; it’s an exact number.

So let’s ask a different question:

“What is the maximum download speed that the Samsung Transform could achieve on a 3G connection?”

Oh snap.  Again, it’s “up-to 3.1Mbps”.

See what I’m doing?  I’m asking questions that I know the answer to.  I’m proving a point.  Dual-band 3G/4G phones will have the same maximum download speeds that “3G only” phones will have.  It’s a fact.  Sprint has actually approached this issue with an unconventional solution.  They’ve told me that my download speeds would actually appear faster because of the superior processor.  Websites will load faster, applications will download faster and in general, the phone will be vastly superior to any other phone out there on the market.  The appearance of my download speed will be faster?  Are you serious?

Yes, I admit that websites will probably load faster, but that’s because you’re using a faster processor.  Wouldn’t you expect the phone to be faster?  That’s why you’re buying the most expensive phone that they sell, which brings up my final point.

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6. Hardware

The dual-band phones will outperform any other Sprint phone that they currently sell, in every way.  They have faster processors, more memory and of course prettier screens.  These are top of the line phones.  They are very high quality phones; you’d expect to get awesome hardware.  Let’s ask this question:

“Why is there no Premium Data charge on the Samsung Transform?”

“Wait, why does the phone ..[pause].. lack the charge?”  Yes, you’ll often hear a pause on the phone.

Someone who isn’t versed in the Samsung Transform might say that the ability to have a dual video chat with the dual cameras is obviously one reason, but that can’t be it, since the Transform has a dual camera for live video conferencing.

They’ll probably jump next to the fact that the screen is .5”-.8” smaller than the Epic/EVO.  This is true, the screen is smaller.  However, there is another difference: the processor.  Quickly follow up to whatever answer they give you with this:

“Why does the Epic cost $100 more than the Transform?”

The answer will probably be similar to this:  “The phone is vastly superior and overall a higher quality phone.”

I agree with that answer.  The reason why you’re paying $100 more for the phone is simple; it’s because the phone is a higher quality phone!  Consumers will decide if they need the “bells and whistles” or if they need a basic model.  That’s why people buy the 60” LCD and not a 36”, or decide to upgrade to a Blu-ray player.  Pose this question:

“Is the Premium Data add-on for a better hardware experience?”

Yes, it does seem very baiting.  You’re asking a very straight question; “Is the add-on allowing me to have a better experience using the hardware of the phone?”

Follow up with this final question:

“If I’m paying $100 more for a superior, higher quality phone and then additionally $10 for the same hardware features, am I not paying you $10 a month for hardware of a device that I already own?”

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To conclude:

It’s simple.  Anyway that you look at this, there is no “clear and concise” answer.  It’s all been smoke and mirrors and they're still dancing around the answer.  My goal is to no longer have them “explain the fee”, but now explain their explanations.  Nothing is making sense and I’m not sure if any Sprint employee is ever going to be able to provide an answer to my questions that makes logical sense.  I’ve been told by each representative that they cannot comment any further on my questions since they are only able to comment on what they’ve been told.  The last few points that I brought up are some obvious features that can be used when you're not in the Sprint data network.

If you take your phone to an underground bunker in the middle of Nevada where there are no Sprint cell towers for miles and take out your phone, you'll notice that you have no connection to the Sprint network.  If you try to use the "Premium features" (the software and hardware of the phone), it's going to work.  You're still going to be able to record a video with your camera.  You'll be able to stream it via HDMI out or use the Samsung AllShare with a TV.  The processor is going to run your apps smoothly, but you're still NOT going to be in any Sprint Data network.  If you're NOT in the Sprint Data network and the features that they are charging you $10 a month for still function, then I think you can clearly see that we have an issue that isn't being addressed.

I recorded another conversation with another representative and then his supervisor, and then her supervisor.  I was eventually told that they would have their manager call me back within 48 hours and then I was hung up on.  My conversation was based on the hypothetical situation of a potential customer asking questions before they signed up for a contact with Sprint.  I’ll be posting this conversation in its entirety on the site in the next few days.

If you call Sprint and get a different definition of "Premium Data", please E-mail me your results and let me know.