Sprint internal documentation has confirmed that the carrier will enforce a new 5GB monthly cap on data for PAM and Mobile Hotspot  usage per month. The new cap will be retroactive to all accounts with the feature and unlimited data will not be grandfathered except for tablets with 3G, 4G and combination radios, which will be exempt from the new cap. The new cap will also feature an $.05/MB overage rate with customers being notified of the changes beginning next month via text messages and monthly bills.
The change only affects handsets and unlimited data access via the handset is unaffected. Sprint spokesperson Emmy Anderson has confirmed the change and has also confirmed that mobile hotspot data is calculated independently of handset data, which is intended to reduce confusion in terms of data usage.
I’m not sure how this will reduce confusion on the customer end. Won’t keeping track of hotspot usage separately from handset usage cause confusion for the average consumer?
This is not a problem! Still far & away the best value in wireless!
It will cause confusion, and some customers will be in for a major bill shock, especially if they are traveling, or use AutoPay and don’t read their bill every month.
Sprint will undoubtedly counter that they provide various options for monitoring mobile hotspot usage, still, I think this is the wrong move for Sprint. They would be better off throttling mobile hotspot data to mitigate the onslaught of iPhone hotspot users.
What about all of us who tether via cable or wifi without PAM or Mobile Hotspot plans? Do we continue to fly under the radar or should we limit tethered usage to 5GB?