Sprint customers with 4G devices on standard Everything Data plans are reporting the removal of the additional $10 Premium Data fee from their accounts on the latest statements from the carrier, while those on SERO are also reporting the removal of the fee from those accounts as well.
This follows the expansion of the Premium Data fee to all smartphones at the end of last month, which has caused dissatisfaction within the customer base most likely to purchase smart devices on the carrier due to the increased cost per year.
At the time of the announcement, Sprint justified the increase based on the amount of additional data that smartphones consumed in comparison to its shrinking lineup of feature phones, until it was confirmed that swapping devices on the account from a smartphone to a feature phone and back again would add the fee to the account (with select exceptions), even though agreements were signed before the additional fee was imposed on all smartphones.
Because the fee was being imposed via ESN swap on customers that originally signed agreements under the old rates, we at PhoneNews.com considered this a material change of service. With this new development, Sprint has decided to remove the fees on SERO Premium and Everything Data plans with 4G smartphones. We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops, since it may lead to the complete elimination of the Premium Data fee on all smartphones and have a request for comment out to Sprint for clarification.
