Sprint to enforce roaming data limits, send SMS notifications

[greenbastard]

Remember, Sprint is going to notify customers before they reach their initial roaming limits. Hopefully they notify the customer that they will accrue charges for roaming if they exceed the 100MB limit in those 3 messages, and then the customer can't complain of lack of notification on Sprint's part.

The way people in my family plan roam is when they have an extended trip somewhere that has no native service. A good way of getting people to think about their roaming usage is to send a text as soon as they start roaming. The first text should warn them that they have entered roaming coverage and that they have a limit. After that, send that same reminder every 24 hours with an update of usage until that that customer is back on native coverage. Im sure those messages may cost Sprint some money, but they're probably still way cheaper than data anyways. It could lead to more responsible data usage by customers overall.

[GoBigRed79]

The way people in my family plan roam is when they have an extended trip somewhere that has no native service. A good way of getting people to think about their roaming usage is to send a text as soon as they start roaming. The first text should warn them that they have entered roaming coverage and that they have a limit. After that, send that same reminder every 24 hours with an update of usage until that that customer is back on native coverage. Im sure those messages may cost Sprint some money, but they're probably still way cheaper than data anyways. It could lead to more responsible data usage by customers overall.

The last time I took a trip to Canada I had a Verizon phone with me. I had forgot to turn data roaming off but the first time I looked at my phone a splash page came up to let me know I was roaming, what charges I would incur, and how to disable roaming on my phone. It also offered me a chance to buy a bucket of data from the splash page.

 

I don't mind sprint tightening up their roaming rules. As others have said, I will take that in exchange for cheaper plans. But sprint needs to ensure customers are informed so they don't get big surprises on their bills.  Persoanlly, I would rather they just cut off roaming at the limit rather then charge overages.  

[S4GRU]

Thats a bit too much to expect from customers. There is a reason they are trying to simplify the framily plan to begin with. Further complicating usage terms leads to confusion and customer frustration.

 

Furthermore, you can't expect for people to dump Sprint just because they go over their roaming limit once every blue moon. For example, I recently roamed and coughed up 175 MB of roaming. That has been the only time I have roamed over 20 MB in a billing cycle in my entire time with Sprint. Im sure that my 5 years of being a customer heavily outweigh that one billing period Sprint took a hit on roaming for me. There are better ways of enforcing roaming usage, but getting people to leave Sprint is not one of them.

Well, then you're not going to like your Sprint roaming future. Brace ya'self. They are planning warning texts. That's it.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[swintec]

the other problem is that roaming data accounting takes a couple of days or so to be updated versus a couple of hours with sprints own data accounting.  The texts are a nice touch but you can easily blow way over your roaming allotment before the roaming carrier even sends the usage to sprint.

[Fuber]

For me and the family its not complex. They leave the roaming off unless they are in a situation that they need it in. If they have to use it, it would be minimum. If I left the roaming on it would text me on and off during the day as I go in and out of roaming areas, if it would to warn me each time I was in a roaming area.

[WiWavelength]

Thats a bit too much to expect from customers. There is a reason they are trying to simplify the framily plan to begin with. Further complicating usage terms leads to confusion and customer frustration.

 

Furthermore, you can't expect for people to dump Sprint just because they go over their roaming limit once every blue moon. For example, I recently roamed and coughed up 175 MB of roaming. That has been the only time I have roamed over 20 MB in a billing cycle in my entire time with Sprint. Im sure that my 5 years of being a customer heavily outweigh that one billing period Sprint took a hit on roaming for me. There are better ways of enforcing roaming usage, but getting people to leave Sprint is not one of them.

No, it is not "too much to expect from customers." They need to be informed. Otherwise, the so called free market does not function properly.

 

Furthermore -- to parallel your words -- you should go back and reread digiblur's post. This woman expected to roam for a week at no additional cost. If she received additional charges, she would be the one to spurn Sprint, not the other way around. Well, if she exceeded her monthly roaming allotment, additional charges are the way going forward. Take it or leave it.

 

I understand that many of you want simplicity. But that almost always means paying consistently more to indemnify against your potential usage later. This applies almost equally well to both roaming and "unlimited" data. But for wireless service, that is not smart financial planning to pay every month for the potential of something that you may rarely or never use.

 

So, the most vociferous complaints will come from those who want to keep Sprint prices but roam out the wazoo at no additional cost. Previously, those subs likely would have gotten the boot from Sprint. Now, they are able to stay but pay for their usage. How is that not fair?

 

AJ

[S4GRU]

the other problem is that roaming data accounting takes a couple of days or so to be updated versus a couple of hours with sprints own data accounting.  The texts are a nice touch but you can easily blow way over your roaming allotment before the roaming carrier even sends the usage to sprint.

 

This will have to improve.  I remember this issue well.  Especially when I roamed on Commnet.  Verizon roaming seemed to show up much faster.

 

Robert

[thewezgrays]

I am torn on the data cap, but it is what it is. (I am pleased to see them cutting off at 300mb even if on the new tight 100mb limit)... But what I will/would not be pleased about is ANY sign of charges for roaming.  

 

That would NOT be a way to try to compete with the "big two"... Setting a roaming cap is already making Sprint like a prepaid option (straight talk, virgin, boost, etc)... Setting roaming overage costs would take us back to the '90s... I know I would shut my Sprint phone down the same day I had even a 0.25 roaming charge on it.

[FLEX ARMSTRONG]

My main roaming consumption is Google navigation, I'll have to limit it in certain areas!

 

SENT FROM MY LG G-FLEX ON THE NOW NETWORK FROM SPRINT!????✌

[mozamcrew]

I am torn on the data cap, but it is what it is. (I am pleased to see them cutting off at 300mb even if on the new tight 100mb limit)... But what I will/would not be pleased about is ANY sign of charges for roaming.  

 

That would NOT be a way to try to compete with the "big two"... Setting a roaming cap is already making Sprint like a prepaid option (straight talk, virgin, boost, etc)... Setting roaming overage costs would take us back to the '90s... I know I would shut my Sprint phone down the same day I had even a 0.25 roaming charge on it.

What needs to happen is you need to be given the option, once you hit 100Mbyte limit, is either to disable roaming data, or agree to pay (at cost with no markup) whatever Sprint is being charged by the other carrier for the roaming data.

[thewezgrays]

What needs to happen is you need to be given the option, once you hit 100Mbyte limit, is either to disable roaming data, or agree to pay (at cost with no markup) whatever Sprint is being charged by the other carrier for the roaming data.

I agree completely in the short term -- but to compete they better build out a first class nationwide network where we do not need to roam so much (see last comment above you about most data roaming being on navigation for an example)...

[bretton88]

This will have to improve. I remember this issue well. Especially when I roamed on Commnet. Verizon roaming seemed to show up much faster.

 

Robert

I find it ironic Verizon gets their roaming data much quicker since Verizon allows unlimited roaming.

[S4GRU]

I find it ironic Verizon gets their roaming data much quicker since Verizon allows unlimited roaming.

I'm saying that when on Sprint device roaming on VZW, the roaming data amount used posted to my Sprint account much faster than it did when roaming on Commnet. All my VZW roaming while on a VZW device always showed at native. Commnet shows as native to VZW customers.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[irev210]

Some of you guys are pie in the sky fools. You want to have your cake and eat it, too. Lower plan prices, maintain "unlimited" data, increase bandwidth deployment, expand native coverage, retain problematic subs. Give me a break. Think about what you are saying. You cannot have everything including the kitchen sink without financially running Sprint into the ground. Lower prices will mean some sacrifices, including some subs who are poor fits for Sprint.

 

AJ

 

I think you need to balance this in the context of reality.

 

I'll start off by saying that the old loose roaming terms were a recipe for abuse and I am glad they are formalizing them.

 

But you need to look at this from a business point of view.  You need to balance the value of the subscriber against the cost of roaming provision.

 

Say "Nancy" is a high value customer that travels for work.  She spends 95% of her time in native sprint coverage and roams 5% of the time.  She doesn't care if she is spending $100 a month for service for unlimited sprint deluxe package or $120 a month for verizon everything-better-plus-blast!-edge-extreme service... she just wants service to make phone calls.  Nancy doesn't care about spectrum rules or legacy cellular licenses, etc.

 

I remember reading that Sprint pays something like a billion dollars a year in roaming costs.  That would be 2.7% of sprint's total revenue or so.

 

So say Sprint pays 5%, on average, of Nancy's bill for roaming charges.  The alternative is Sprint making zero dollars off of Nancy and having Verizon land the profitable subscriber.

 

Sprint's native network isn't as strong as Verizon's.  Free roaming was (and still is) a good way to keep customers satisfied with Sprint service who would otherwise switch to Verizon.  Sprint just balances this between the cost of roaming and the cost of losing the subscriber.  It's not having cake and eat it too, it's just do what's most profitable.  Sometimes offering free roaming is the profitable thing to do.

[S4GRU]

I think you need to balance this in the context of reality.

 

I'll start off by saying that the old loose roaming terms were a recipe for abuse and I am glad they are formalizing them.

 

But you need to look at this from a business point of view. You need to balance the value of the subscriber against the cost of roaming provision.

 

Say "Nancy" is a high value customer that travels for work. She spends 95% of her time in native sprint coverage and roams 5% of the time. She doesn't care if she is spending $100 a month for service for unlimited sprint deluxe package or $120 a month for verizon everything-better-plus-blast!-edge-extreme service... she just wants service to make phone calls. Nancy doesn't care about spectrum rules or legacy cellular licenses, etc.

 

I remember reading that Sprint pays something like a billion dollars a year in roaming costs. That would be 2.7% of sprint's total revenue or so.

 

So say Sprint pays 5%, on average, of Nancy's bill for roaming charges. The alternative is Sprint making zero dollars off of Nancy and having Verizon land the profitable subscriber.

 

Sprint's native network isn't as strong as Verizon's. Free roaming was (and still is) a good way to keep customers satisfied with Sprint service who would otherwise switch to Verizon. Sprint just balances this between the cost of roaming and the cost of losing the subscriber. It's not having cake and eat it too, it's just do what's most profitable. Sometimes offering free roaming is the profitable thing to do.

You act like Masa doesn't know this. This was part of the equation, and yet they still did it. That speaks to me much greater volumes than your Nancy analogy. Also, Masa said spending money roaming on your competitors makes you poorer and them richer. And he has a point.

 

Sprint is focusing its future roaming on partners (CCA/RRPP) and not these one sided roaming agreements. And Sprint's not really competing with anyone on roaming. It's not like Tmo has generous roaming allotments that Sprint has to compete with.

 

The last time I saw the statistic, which was 2012, 99%+ of Sprint customers stayed within their roaming allotments on average. And Network Vision was under way in first round and starting second round markets back then. The percentage is still likely somewhat similar, even if it has grown. So the amount of customers here who will be affected is quite small. Sprint thinks it's worth it, given the current competitive environment. I tend to agree, all things considered.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[shockerengr]

Sprints "native" coverage footprint has taken a pretty good hit in the last few years....(yes, through partners)  But this is an area that Sprint needs to tread carefully - when there are substantional portions of US Interstate with no Sprint coverage for people,  a once every 3 year vacation starts to make people rethink their wireless service.  I know I am, and I'm looking at about a week vacation through the west. It's a big aggravation on top of little ones....and putting these stricter limits and charges before bolstering the rural partnerships will probably drive more people off who don't want to deal with the hassle.

 

Sprints roaming agreements were a big reason I was willing to come back 6 years ago... And not using data / offloading to wifi isn't nearly as easy as it's made out to be sometimes.

[lordsutch]

I think the big question going forward is whether or not CCA/RRPP roaming will count against the cap regardless of technology. Such an idea is not unprecedented in the industry, after all; in the olden days before their buyouts and buildouts, Verizon made a distinction between "extended network" (roaming but without a cap) and true roaming (maybe on some plans they still do).

 

I could see the argument of "let's not give money away to ex-Alltel AT&T and Verizon"; the argument "let's try to make even more money off nTelos and C Spire customers' roaming than we already do by cutting Sprint roaming onto them" is rather less compelling to me, even if the dollar figures are the same, since $1 in forgone money from C Spire and $1 out to Verizon are both $1 of opportunity cost, after all.

 

It's not a huge issue from where I sit, yet, but a lot of Sprint customers have essentially taken the idea that they don't have to be paranoid about roaming (just like unlimited data allows users not to be paranoid about doing an app update away from wifi) to be an advantage over the Other Guys. Maybe lower pricing will offset some of that but at least on planet my phone bill that lower pricing isn't there yet.* Particularly when Our Disruptive Friends are putting together plans that make people not have to worry (throttling rather than overages; international data roaming that will at least cover your basic needs) it's somewhat troubling Sprint seems to be moving in the direction of VZW-style nickel-and-diming without yet having a ubiquitous network that will allow people to tolerate that.

 

* I could go with 2 lines of $60 unlimited and come out about $10 ahead of where I am now, but I'd be losing subsidized upgrades in the future along with 2/3 of my roaming data allowance; since I work 2-3 days a month in ex-Alltel and VZW land in an office with deeply flaky WiFi, even crappy 1X roaming data beats no data at all.

[jreuschl]

I'll assume that Sprint won't match T-Mobile's international free data anytime soon now!

[drhenning]

I also have noticed more "White" space on the Sprint Map recently which were light purple..   On a recent trip to Northern LP Michigan, I used a fair amount of roaming data on a weekend when I staying at an old summer camp on Grand Traverse Bay I attended as a teen for a reunion.   I could get a light Sprint signal but until it started roaming to a Verizon tower across the water, I could get no data to check email..    I also noticed while driving around the area, voice access but no data even in some areas showing up as not roaming....     I ended up using a little over 200MB on my phone in my last month on an older plan since I switched to a new Family Share plan and will save a good amount of money on it since my normal data usage among my phones was not huge so I have plenty room...

 

Even in an area that my daughter and her husband go on vacation where their phones have been their only link (No WIFI) is now showing up White rather than light purple it previously did...  

 

I have advised my family that I will monitor...   and see how it goes...

 

D

[WiWavelength]

I'll assume that Sprint won't match T-Mobile's international free data anytime soon now!

 

Deutsche Telekom has native presence or reciprocal agreements around the world.  SoftBank and Sprint do not have the advantage of that scale.  My take:  who cares?  In this geographically huge country, most Americans do not travel internationally.  Those who do can afford other solutions.

 

AJ

[Mr.Nuke]

I'll assume that Sprint won't match T-Mobile's international free data anytime soon now!

We'll see how long that sticks around if DT sells their T-Mobile stake.

[njjdnt]

I received no text messages alerting me, but this morning I received a email saying my account has been suspended. "

We hope you find this information beneficial and a good tool to help you monitor and control your usage:

 

Confirmation no.: #####

Date/Time: Aug 29, 2014 06:13 am(CST)

 

Data suspension: We have suspended your domestic data roaming ability for mobile number ##########. As of 08/10/2014 at 08:48pm, you have used 307200.00 KBytes of the Sprint 3G Data Roaming limit defined in your plan terms and conditions. Your data roaming service will be reactivated on 09/04/2014. This alert only applies to domestic data roaming; you can continue using data on your device while on the Sprint network."

 

Roaming occurred because I was in the UP of Michigan for a two week trip. As the email stated I went over the limit on 8/10 however I did return from the UP and stop roaming until 8/15. I did offload some of my data to WiFi but I guess not enough. I'm on an old plan so my roaming limit is 300000KB. As of this morning my account says I used 307200.00 KBytes of roaming.

 

Sprint's expansion to MT isn't quick enough, for I'm heading to Billings, MT for three weeks in September. I'm going to have to watch my roaming. I will also have to consider switching carriers for my situation changed and I now travel to non native Sprint areas for work.

 

(I'm not bitter with Sprint I understand it's a business decision. I'm disappointed that I might now have to give money to big red.)

[jaybiz81]

I'm on an old plan so my roaming limit is 300000KB. As of this morning my account says I used 307200.00 KBytes of roaming.

 

You actually get more than 300,000KB, but not by much.  1MB = 1,024KB, which is exactly 307,200KB.  So, that's your cutoff, meaning you can squeeze a little more in after 300,000KB.  It's not much, but it helps, or did for me while I was on vacation.  I still ended up going over to 314,000ish KB since there was a delay in data usage posting to my account, but this was before this roaming data suspension policy.

[swintec]

So, that's your cutoff, meaning you can squeeze a little more in after 300,000KB. 

 

looks like you can squeeze a lot over the limit.  he roamed through the 15th and he only just now got the email.  the reporting delays like i mentioned previously make this still a problem i think.  so now the question should be, do you tread lightly when on vacation roaming or do you go balls to the wall knowing they will stop you anyways whether you are at 301 megs or 900 megs.

[drhenning]

On the old plans, it was a soft limit of 300MB...  On the new plans it's a hard limit of 100MB with prices for overage..  Most of the time it's no big deal except when going into the country... Will then have to turn off roaming data to keep it from grinding away....