Sprint Throttles Top 1% of Data Users, No "Truly Unlimited" Data For US iPhone Users [Updated x2]

sprintThough Sprint, the United States' newest iPhone carrier, has been running advertisements touting its "truly unlimited" network, the carrier is throttling smartphone customers who use "excessive" amounts of data, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

For those that want to abuse it, we can knock them off," [Sprint CEO Dan] Hesse said at an investor conference Thursday. He said Sprint pares back data use for about 1% of users, a practice known as throttling.

[...]

"You'd be shocked how much data you use in a month," Sprint asks in a recent television advertisement. "What happens if you go over? With Sprint, you don't have to worry; only Sprint offers truly unlimited data."


Hesse did say there were no plans for Sprint to move to tiered data plans like Verizon and AT&T have switched to in recent years, however it appears that there is no longer any US carrier that offers "truly unlimited" data plans for the iPhone.

Update: As pointed out by TechCrunch, Dow Jones seems to have misinterpreted Hesse. The throttling only applies to customers who use excessive data while roaming on partnered networks -- "a guy in his house in rural Montana" for example. Sprint's fine print notes the carrier will begin throttling after 300 MB of "off-network" data usage.

Update 2: Sprint has now clarified the situation with a blog post indicating the carrier does not throttle any customer's data usage, even for those with excessive roaming usage. The carrier does, however, have terms in place that permit it to terminate the contracts of users with heavy roaming usage, and it attempts to reach out to those customers and work with them before terminating their contracts.

Top Rated Comments

Sixtafoua Avatar
155 months ago
"For those that want to abuse it, we can knock them off"

Correct, using as much data as you want on an unlimited plan is definitely abuse.

Why do all the carriers in the US suck?
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AJH1993 Avatar
155 months ago
Not like sprint 3G speeds with the iPhone were fast to begin with...
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joshwawilson Avatar
155 months ago
I use my iPhone quite a lot and I reset it over a month ago. Since then it's reporting it has downloaded 154MB of data.

Can someone explain what these excessive users actually find to download on their phones that puts them in the top 1%?

Someone on MR posted that they purposely ran Pandora all night long on mute...those are the kind of people that made this happen
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Beachguy Avatar
155 months ago
The top 1%?


Occupy: Sprint
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iEvolution Avatar
155 months ago
Wait wait wait, hold up.

If they allow you to use as much data as you want a month regardless if its throttled or not, its still technically unlimited right?

Should read there is no truly Un-throttled data plans for iPhone users in the U.S.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kolax Avatar
155 months ago
Will "unlimited internet" ever truly exist on a mobile network without some sort of small print limit/throttling for excessive use?
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Logo

Apple Discontinued These 5 Products This Year

Monday November 27, 2023 7:03 am PST by
As the end of 2023 nears, now is a good opportunity to look back at some of the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year. Apple products discontinued in 2023 include the iPhone 13 mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MagSafe Battery Pack, MagSafe Duo Charger, and leather accessories. Also check out our lists of Apple products discontinued in 2022 and 2021. iPhone Mini ...
ios 17 namedrop

Police Departments and News Sites Spreading Misinformation About How iOS 17 NameDrop Feature Works

Monday November 27, 2023 5:11 pm PST by
Apple with iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 introduced a new NameDrop feature that is designed to allow users to place Apple devices near one another to quickly exchange contact information. Sharing contact information is done with explicit user permission, but some news organizations and police departments have been spreading misinformation about how functions. As noted by The Washington Post,...
iOS 17

iOS 17.1.2 Update for iPhone Likely to Be Released This Week

Monday November 27, 2023 8:24 am PST by
Apple will likely release iOS 17.1.2 this week, based on mounting evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs in recent days. As a minor update, iOS 17.1.2 should be focused on bug fixes, but it's unclear exactly which issues might be addressed. Some users have continued to experience Wi-Fi issues on iOS 17.1.1, so perhaps iOS 17.1.2 will include the same fix for Wi-Fi...
Cyber Monday Deals Feature 2022

40+ Apple Cyber Week Deals for AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and More

Sunday November 26, 2023 9:47 am PST by
Cyber Week has taken the place of Black Friday, and you'll find some of the same deals still around for the next few days, although many from Black Friday have now expired. This includes dozens of record low prices on Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, iPhone, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a...
General Black Friday Deals 2022 Green

40+ Apple Black Friday Deals Still Available for AirPods, iPhone, iPad and More

Friday November 24, 2023 5:01 am PST by
Black Friday 2023 has officially ended, but we're still tracking some of the best deals of the year on Apple products like AirPods, iPad, iPhone, MacBook, and many more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Specifically, in this article we're...