Android Thoughts: Sprint Ups Data Rates by $10/Months on New Smartphone Plans

"Ruh roh Shaggy, get ready to fork over an extra $10/month to Sprint to cover the wireless service provider's "Premium Data add-on charge to activations of smartphones." But don't worry, the additional funds coming out of your pocket is how Sprint shows it's "committed to providing its customers a great wireless experience now and in the future." Does that help ease the sting?"

This is going the wrong way - if carriers want more customers to get on board with ARPU-boosting data plans, they've got to get cheaper, not more expensive. Unless of course, due to spectrum constraints and an inability to actually cope with the data usage happening today, carriers like Sprint don't particularly want hordes of new customers signing up. I find that hard to believe - data service plans are one of the few areas of new growth for wireless carriers based on what I read.