[Epic 4G General] HeXeD:
Are 80% of you brain dead?

This thread was started to argue the fact that Sprint has supposedly said the 10$ fee is for 4G data, but is now arguing that the 10$ upcharge has never been for 4G, and that it is a 10$ fee for "premium data" which basically means "Your phone is a beast, and you will most likely be consuming more data than you ever did, some more than others, so everyone has to pay the price."

For the people who are A) posting responses saying "if you don't like it go somewhere else and quit your *****ing and B) posting whiney complaints that they shouldn't have to pay 10$ extra for ANY reason (no 4G coverage, don't use data as much as they think you do)..... please go start your own thread. This is what you call "thread crapping" and the derailment of this thread because people want to ***** about a 10$ charge, and others want to ***** about the people *****ing does absolutely no good and make most of you sound like idiots.

So to be on topic....

I am unable to find any "official" word from Sprint that states the charge is specifically for 4G service. The link refers to an official comment by Sprint in May. They didn't even have 4G phones at this time, so in my opinion, they can clarify it any way they want before the actual phone comes out. Everyone who purchased a phone at the time the Evo 4G released (or even later, the Epic 4g) "SHOULD" have been told that the 10$ fee is for Premium Data.

But, when my wife purchased her Epic, and I purchased my Epic (her's is a personal device that she pays for and mine is provided by my company through our Corporate sales contact), both of these reps indicated that the Premium Data Addon was the reason for the 10$ upcharge. When asked what the Premium data Addon actually was, they BOTH said "It's because of the 4G". So at this point, like someone else had said, Sprint never officially said the 10$ was for 4G but for SOME reason, it seems almost every rep you talk to still refers to the Premium Data addon as a 4G charge. This means they either have had horrible training.... OR.. Sprint originally trained people to know the 10$ was for 4G but then changed their tune before they even started charging for the premium data addon.

So what is it? Is it because Sprint changed their mind or "verbage" in order to keep customers from being pissed off about paying 10$ they don't even have the coverage for? OR is it just a training mistake? I think if we can find any concrete evidence that a large portion of the 10$ fee is used to pay Clear for 4G service then we could come to a conclusion that Sprint is lying to it's customers. I think that is the main "beef" the OP has with Sprint is something he perceives as being a lie. Bottom line is, no one wants to be lied to and it is horrible business to lie to your customers. And for any of you idiots who say "Well you don't get anything better with Verizon, ATT, and Tmo.. so deal with it".. that's the worst argument possible. Some things are just not acceptable and to me, lying is one of the big ones. If you let your provider step all over you just because everyone else is doing it, then nothing will get better.

I personally think, that the supposed 40% of the 10$ fee is paid to Clear, and the other 60% of the 10$ is paid to maintain and upgrade their network. Not just 4G but the network as a whole. If that is what is going on, I am 100% fine with that. In fact I am ok with it no matter how you spin it because I know that money is going to better my experience. The way I see it, is if customers in non 4g covered areas refused to pay the 10$ charge, then they would NEVER get 4G service, or at least not soon enough to be in their 2 year contract.