Sprint, the 4G fee and SERO

[bmbriefs]

Hi everyone,

I just received an SERO premium plan and have an upgrade in my phone waiting for me. I'm wondering- I've heard that you need to pay the $10 "4G fee" when you get this phone. Is this true? And if so, does anyone out there use this phone on SERO premium and does that require the additional 4G fee?

thanks in advance for your help!

 

[simonnyc]

I was on the $30 SERO 500 with my TP2 for a couple of years and just upgraded to sero-premium a few weeks ago. I upgraded to the Arrive since this was the best non-4G phone in my opinion. i can confirm that the Arrive (which is not 4G) can be used with the $40 SERO-P plan with no add'l $10 fee.

 

[bmbriefs]

Thanks Simonnyc!

 

[frylock]

The fee is NOT A 4G FEE! It's a Premium Data fee. And on the Sprint Sero premium plans, there's only a few it applies to. The Evo is one. I think the Galaxy S is as well (but not positive).

 

[bmbriefs]

Not to get bogged down in technicalities- but for regular plans it is a "premium data fee." For SERO plans- if you have any smartphone you are required to get a "SERO premium" plan which costs $10 more. If you have a 4G phone on the SERO plan, you have to pay $10 on top of the SERO premium plan, so $20 over the basic SERO. So, you can see where my confusion came from. It would be a lot better if Sprint used different terms to describe these things since the premium data fee and premium plan are not the same thing.

Anyway- I ended up ordering the Arrive on the SERO premium plan- a sweet deal. I had been considering holding out for the Nexus S 4G, but decided against it because of this extra $10 for a 4G phone. Over a 2 year contract, that's an extra $240 and not worth it to me. I prefer the UI on WM7 anyway.

 

[frylock]

bmbriefs, that is not correct. The extra fee is phone-specific, and is not for all 4G phones. It's for phones that users are heavy data users. 4G costs Sprint less than 3G, so it makes no sense that the fee would be just for 4G phones. it's for phones that people tend to consume a lot of data on.

McGuire’s Law is where this info comes from btw. Someone who works at Sprint, and is a great provider of info.

 

[turdsamich]

bmbriefs, that is not correct. The extra fee is phone-specific, and is not for all 4G phones. It's for phones that users are heavy data users. 4G costs Sprint less than 3G, so it makes no sense that the fee would be just for 4G phones. it's for phones that people tend to consume a lot of data on.

McGuire’s Law is where this info comes from btw. Someone who works at Sprint, and is a great provider of info.

This doesnt make any sense. Sprint currently has 3 4G phones the Evo, the Epic and the Evo shift and they would all fall in the heavy data usage category. Why would they charge the Fee on the Epic and the Evo but not on the Shift?

I think the author of that blog just forgot to mention the Shift.

In theory you are right 4G is more efficient than 3G but Sprint is still rolling out the 4G network so the cost savings on their end isnt reality at this point. Also, the surcharge was originally a 4G data surcharge but Sprint changed it for all "premium data" devices, which basically means all smartphones 3G and 4G.

 

[bmbriefs]

From sprint's SERO FAQ:

" . In addition 4G Smartphone activations will require an additional $10/line/month".

Sprint | Already an Everything Plus or SERO customer?

I think this explicit description was made after the McGuires law lost.

 

[frylock]

From sprint's SERO FAQ:

" . In addition 4G Smartphone activations will require an additional $10/line/month".

Sprint | Already an Everything Plus or SERO customer?

I think this explicit description was made after the McGuires law lost.

That page has been up for a long time. I think the problem is that the Employee Referral plan and the SERO plan are similar, but not exactly the same in terms of rules.

It basically seems that on SERO, the premium data fee will be a case-by-case basis. And Sprint may or may not follow logical breaks. I am just happy the Arrive doesn't have it.