Sprint Reportedly To Offer Unlimited Data for iPhone 5
First, The Wall Street Journal reported that Sprint would get the iPhone 5. Now, Bloomberg is reporting that Sprint will follow in the footsteps of Verizon and offer an unlimited-data package plan. But some analysts are wary of the rumors.
Two weeks ago, the Journal cited people familiar with the matter saying Sprint would start selling the iPhone 5 in mid-October. That would help Sprint compete with Verizon and AT&T and leave a struggling T-Mobile out of the iPhone loop.
Bloomberg picked up where the Journal left off, also citing people familiar with the matter, with a report that Sprint would rely on unlimited-data service plans to distinguish itself from the other iPhone carriers.
"It's a competitive disadvantage if your two larger competitors have the iPhone and you don't," Matthew Thornton, an analyst at Avian Securities, told Bloomberg. "Getting the iPhone closes that gap."
Rumors Likely True
The rumors aren't so farfetched. Sprint does, after all, offer unlimited data plans on high-profile smartphones for $100 a month. BlackBerry and HTC devices that run on the third-largest carrier can tap into plans for all-you-can eat voice and data service.
But carriers have run into problems with unlimited-data plans for the iPhone.
Even if Sprint did get the iPhone 5 -- and even if Sprint offered unlimited-data plans on the device -- the unlimited plans might be short-lived.
The unlimited plans were offered as Verizon rolled out its iPhone 4, in a move to win customers from AT&T. But in July Verizon put the kibosh on the all-you-can-eat services for new accounts.
"I think it's a little too early to discuss because the rumors have been spring rumors," said Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis. "I am going to wait until there is something to comment on. I am not saying Sprint won't get the iPhone 5, but Sprint didn't say it."
Death of Unlimited?
Verizon's kibosh was followed by AT&T's decision to throttle the heaviest mobile broadband users on its network. Starting Oct. 1, AT&T smartphone customers with unlimited plans -- the wireless carrier describes these customers as those whose extraordinary level of data usage puts them in the top 5 percent of heaviest users in a billing period -- may experience throttling, or reduced connection speeds.
AT&T stressed that the action would only affect a minority of consumers, those who use 12 times more data on average than typical smartphone data customers. Essentially, consumers that aren't data hogs won't notice any difference in connection speeds.
So, again, even if "people familiar with the matter" are reporting that Sprint will get the iPhone 5 in mid-October, and that it will offer unlimited data plans, it likely would be a matter of time before Sprint's network would become overloaded by the mobile broadband hogs -- and the third-largest carrier would have to do what its competitors are doing, shift down.
