Database Users

Very bad news for AT&T users

Guys I have really bad news for anyone on ANY kind of "Unlimited" data, whether that's an old iPhone unlimited, smartphone unlimited, or aircard/laptop connect unlimited plans:
They are dead. Period.
I used my unlimited laptop connect SIM card in my Galaxy Tab for my mobile connection for, well ever since I've had the device really, and I have had the plan since ye olde Cingular days. My usage varies, but it ranges anywhere from 4-6GB on average, to occasionally as much as 20+GB in a billing cycle.
I received an automated message saying that I was nearing my "limit" for the month, and advised I curtail my usage, lest my service be suspended. Of course the first thought that went through my head was "BULL$HIT!!! I have unlimited usage you bastards!!! It even says so on my bill!!!"
So of course I call in to talk to customer service (politely of course), and immediately asked to speak with a manager. Without going into much detail, here's the skinny:
Since September of this year, if you have ANY "legacy unlimited data plan," users who exceed 5GB of usage on a regular basis: 1. on the first "offense" exceeding 5GB, will be throttled, but will not be charged any overages, and 2. upon the second offense, will receive a notice (usually via text or email) when they are nearing their 5GB threshold, and should they exceed that threshold, could have their service suspended. Should your service be suspended, "the customer has two options: Cancel their plan with a waived ETF (early termination fee) -OR- resume service on an up-to-date tiered plan which is subject to overage charges." <=== Their words.
We all knew that sooner or later, AT$T would find some way of finally killing off the last of the unlimited data users. It seems that day has come... Well, at least I can say I feel really good about using their service with the peace of mind knowing that it didn't matter how much data I used for as long as I did. I know that, for the overages that I -would- have been charged, since unlimited data was done away with, I'd have owed literally tens of millions of dollars!! Don't believe me? I'm serious. The $10/GB overage thing didn't start until about a year and a half ago. My average usage since 2005 is about 10GB a month, so that's $900 for the least 18 months (Ok, big deal...). But before then, it was $.01/KB for overages. So that means that's $10.24/MB (1024KB = 1MB) or $10,485.76/GB (1024MB = 1GB), times the ~5GB of "overages" I would have been responsible for on a monthly ~$52,428.80 basis!!! So lets see, $52,428.80 * 48 months (roughly the amount of time I had data service before the new overage plans.) and we get a grand total of ~$25,16,582.40
And before you ask, yes, I was still going through roughly 10 gigs a month, even back in 2005, even on EDGE speeds. That was my primary internet connection and I torrented EVERYTHING, and listened to internet radio a LOT!
So yeah, ~$25,16,582.40 HA!!! That's MILLIONS of MY dollars staying in MY wallet AT&T!!! You money grubbing bastards!!!
Unlimited Data, we have had good times... You will be missed...
R.I.P

Huh? I have two UK devices, a SGS2 and 3G Tab. I'm on the data for Non-Smartphones unlimited plan at $10 per device with a phone line SIM in my Tab. My average usage is between 4-6GB per device per month. I'm currently at 8GB on the Tab because I've been streaming a lot of video. I've heard nothing from AT&T. What happens data-wise on AT&T has to do with your device, the APN settings you use, and the plan you're on. If you're using a device they recognize by the IMEI than you're subject to audit, especially feature devices. If you're using an international device they have no idea what it is. The 4G APN settings also run through different servers than the Cingular settings with the 4G servers being used as part of the audit process. All their 4G devices since the Infuse have been routed though their 4G servers even though the Cingular APN delivers the same HSPA+ speeds. And since they can't do away with grandfathered plans it makes sense that they'd want to incent people to move off of them by making their lives miserable. One size doesn't fit all when using AT&T for data.

BarryH_GEG said:
Huh? I have two UK devices, a SGS2 and 3G Tab. I'm on the data for Non-Smartphones unlimited plan at $10 per device with a phone line SIM in my Tab. My average usage is between 4-6GB per device per month. I'm currently at 8GB on the Tab because I've been streaming a lot of video. I've heard nothing from AT&T. What happens data-wise on AT&T has to do with your device, the APN settings you use, and the plan you're on. If you're using a device they recognize by the IMEI than you're subject to audit, especially feature devices. If you're using an international device they have no idea what it is. The 4G APN settings also run through different servers than the Cingular settings with the 4G servers being used as part of the audit process. All their 4G devices since the Infuse have been routed though their 4G servers even though the Cingular APN delivers the same HSPA+ speeds. And since they can't do away with grandfathered plans it makes sense that they'd want to incent people to move off of them by making their lives miserable. One size doesn't fit all when using AT&T for data.
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All of my devices are unlocked an imported. I absolutely refuse to use anything that has been tainted by a carrier, so I know it's not IMEI. I have been using the isp.cingular APN for years... ;_;

Jade Eyed Wolf said:
All of my devices are unlocked an imported. I absolutely refuse to use anything that has been tainted by a carrier, so I know it's not IMEI. I have been using the isp.cingular APN for years... ;_;
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Then it's the plan. Assuming you're not bound by a contract, tell them you've changed phones and are now using a Moto Krzr and that you want to move to the data for Non-Smartphones plan. I have friends using it and (so far) no one's been flagged.
P.S. - Are you using a Nexus by chance? Google provides the carriers with a database of IMEI's so it's picked up by AT&T as a feature phone.

BarryH_GEG said:
Then it's the plan. Assuming you're not bound by a contract, tell them you've changed phones and are now using a Moto Krzr and that you want to move to the data for Non-Smartphones plan. I have friends using it and (so far) no one's been flagged.
P.S. - Are you using a Nexus by chance? Google provides the carriers with a database of IMEI's so it's picked up by AT&T as a feature phone.
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GT-i9100 and GT-P7300 here.

isp.cingular is the issue here as it is monitored.
use "wap.cingular" or "phone"

clubtech said:
isp.cingular is the issue here as it is monitored.
use "wap.cingular" or "phone"
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Can't. Tried those already. This is a laptop connect plan, so the only two APN's that work are isp.cingular and Broadband.

Jade Eyed Wolf said:
I have really bad news for anyone on ANY kind of "Unlimited" data, whether that's an old iPhone unlimited, smartphone unlimited, or aircard/laptop connect unlimited plans
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The above is a much different statement than you getting flagged on a "Laptop Connect Plan." There's been talk in the ASGS2 and Skyrocket forums about people being flagged but those flagged had previously upgraded their grand-fathered unlimited data plans to 4G and are using the 4G APNs. I thought it was strange that AT&T wasn't applying a surcharge to grand-fathered unlimited plans being used with LTE. Now I know why, they're throttling instead.

BarryH_GEG said:
The above is a much different statement than you getting flagged on a "Laptop Connect Plan." There's been talk in the ASGS2 and Skyrocket forums about people being flagged but those flagged had previously upgraded their grand-fathered unlimited data plans to 4G and are using the 4G APNs. I thought it was strange that AT&T wasn't applying a surcharge to grand-fathered unlimited plans being used with LTE. Now I know why, they're throttling instead.
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That's the thing, I haven't upgraded anything at all. Though I wonder if it's just the APN that's causing all the trouble... I've been using the Broadband APN lately (because it's faster), so i wonder if I just go back to using the isp.cingular APN instead they'll leave me alone? Who knows...

That's a lot of money, but not quite tens of millions.
$52,428.80 * 48 months = $2,516,582.40

kcaz said:
That's a lot of money, but not quite tens of millions.
$52,428.80 * 48 months = $2,516,582.40
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Oops! My bad! Lol!

Sprint notice about wireless data usage: Am I in trouble or is this a Bluff?

So I received a letter from Sprint last week that states: "we noticed a type of usage on your account not allowed by our terms and conditions."
Then further stating: "One of the examples provides that our data services may not be used to generate excessive amount of internet traffic through continuous, unattended streaming, downloading or uploading of videos or other files or to operate hosting services including, but not limited to, web or gaming hosting..."
"In order to avoid termination of your service with Sprint, we ask that you change your data use to comply with our terms and conditions outlined above. We will monitor your account to ensure compliance. If a violation occurs after 10 days from the date of this letter, we reserve the right to terminate service on the account listed above without additional notice.
Has anyone else received this letter or one similar? It just seems odd that after almost 2 years of my "abuse" I finally receive this letter about how I'm using too much of "unlimited" data that I pay an extra $10 for monthly.
I'm definitely guilty as charged, and I'd hate for this abuse of mine to severely ruin Sprint's data network but I am only curious to find out how many services have been terminated for such violations. Is Sprint bluffing?

Everyone I know that got those letters was tethering while using vzw prls. But no its no bluff.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App

Well that's scary. Do you know if there are any other ways I can tether using other prls?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

If your on a sprint prl your better off staying that way. People that use other prls(Verizon) do it for better 3g speeds but your roaming all the time by doing that. So in your case that would just send another red flag.
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mteezey said:
If your on a sprint prl your better off staying that way. People that use other prls(Verizon) do it for better 3g speeds but your roaming all the time by doing that. So in your case that would just send another red flag.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
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If the OP was on Sprint PRL's I doubt that (s)he would be receiving this. If you did not change your PRLs check to see if you have roaming on. Sometimes if you're in a place in between coverage spots it'll switch you without you knowing.
If turning off roaming doesn't work and you didn't change your PRL's than one of two things happened: Someone else did or sprint sent the letter to the wrong place. Call sprint and complain about how you have unlimited data blah blah blah. Make sure you mention how you 'were not' tether.
The other possibility is that they noticed an unusual spike in your activity. You'll need to explain to them why you went from 2GB to 20GB. I've never had this problem because ever since I got my phone I've always used 15+ GB a month.

I am quite sure that I am not roaming, the phone notifies you once it goes into roaming. Prl has only been updated a couple times but never manually changed by myself.
Well the letter did say that Sprint reserved the right to terminate my account, not necessarily going to follow through with termination. But the worst case scenario is that I am terminated, then that is the point when I will actually call Sprint. Until then I will continue to do as I have always done considering that it is the 21st (10 days after the letter I got that is dated 2/10/12).
I could bet that Sprint allows "excessive data use" while paying $30 per month for hotspot lol

cMeka said:
I am quite sure that I am not roaming, the phone notifies you once it goes into roaming. Prl has only been updated a couple times but never manually changed by myself.
Well the letter did say that Sprint reserved the right to terminate my account, not necessarily going to follow through with termination. But the worst case scenario is that I am terminated, then that is the point when I will actually call Sprint. Until then I will continue to do as I have always done considering that it is the 21st (10 days after the letter I got that is dated 2/10/12).
I could bet that Sprint allows "excessive data use" while paying $30 per month for hotspot lol
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I actually I remember hearing something in September(guess) that Sprint was gonna have a 5gb cap for hotspot users and it would be 5cents a mb above that. Crazy I know. Obviously hasn't been done yet. Anyway back to the prl. Since you were using Sprint and not a hybrid or Verizon that's not the issue. The user above was right when he said they noticed a spike in your usage. If you constantly streaming movies and hosting something maybe slow down just to be safe. That's JMO
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App

5GB is a tight cap for the average of 10GB per month.
But according to this table I found on my online Sprint account, my big spike was during the month of December but I slowed things way down the following month in January. Hopefully I can continue not having so much usage but that letter really bothered me. I love Sprint, I wouldn't even consider another carrier after termination.. That's just the unthinkable for me right now.

Yea that's a really tight cap. I can't speak for sprint coverage as I haven't had it in years. I have my 3vo on metroPCS and clearwire for 4g
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App

Termination Letter
Do you ever kicked off? Was there a solution? I just got a letter too!

If they term you does it let you out of the etf fees? By them terminating your contact if should void that early termination fee, could be a way out for some. Just a thought
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http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5448865 [ROM] RUJELUS22 The Kuban FD24 (ICS) (Updateed 5-5-12)

Yes. If you are on a Sprint contract and want out quickly, just use Roam Control or some PRL hack and force it to use Verizon's towers all the time. They'll terminate you without charging you an ETF.

Aside from excessive data roaming on Verizon towers, I'm also hearing stories on this forum of Sprint customers getting warning letters for using torrents or similar programs, even on Sprint's towers. I have never had such issues with my Verizon 4G unlimited data plan. Is this true on Sprint's end?
I wonder how long Sprint will continue to just waive the ETF's for people that excessively roam on Verizon on purpose to get out. Seems like a big money loser to them, doesn't it? Unless you have to return the phone back to them, which I'll assume you have to.

Having not worked for Sprint in a couple years but having friends work there the main issue is that Sprint does not own their own network in many places and where they do the expense of maintaining that network has only increase several fold. They recapture the money through data plans but limit "excessive" users because of the strain. They know power users force a VZW PRL to improve EVDO speeds. What all of this does is force Sprint to pay it's roaming agreements and loose money to other networks. The only way to recapture this money is through it's users who use less data and forcing the data hogs to either comply or go elsewhere. It is cheaper to eat an ETF than have you use "excess" data month after month.

If you are on Sprint legendary grandfather plan. You should be very careful because Sprint will just cancel you line(s) without notice as being a breach of contract. From SlickDeals forums.

Sprint threatening letter! Not really unlimited...

Just got a letter from Sprint, telling me control my internet usage within 10 days.... Otherwise they will kick me out. Sprint MOD EDIT: WATCH YOUR LANGUAJE, don't advertise as unlimited and then send these threatening letters to your customers.
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Thats why I left sprint...they crippled...errr completely removed tethering from my Palm device. I used to be able to tether via bluetooth, then one day was greeted with a message to contact CS. when i called to inquire about the loss of functionality, they told me that they now only offer that service functionality for their new top of the line devices (at the time was the Evo 4G). I told them that they need to change the name of the "Simple Everything Data" Plan, to the "Almost Everything Data" Plan. I was so angry I broke contract and canceled service right then and went to TMO. I 2nd what you say about sprint.

They only send that letter if you abuse roaming (which is outlined in your ToS) they do not send the letter if you overuse sprints network
Thanks for trying, stop trying to sound innocent and making sprint look like the bad guy

Have you ever heard of a fair use policy?
Sprints network has very little bandwidth 3G wise due to using outdated tech, so if your a heavy user on 3G it affects their other users.

This is the easiest way out of any contract download several gigs of data (while roaming) in a few days on your phone and they will gladly kill your contract for you.**
Personally I bought roam control (for CDMA only) for my phone just so I could force it to roam (in my valley sprint service sucks) so while I'm home I force it to use Verizon's network which as you might guess makes Sprint real happy
-Ice
**I suppose I should add that I do not endorse this method for getting out of your contract & trying this method may end badly (500 page long multi-thousand dollar bill) if they catch on to what your doing.

lol, you must be using a lot of data!

MrLadoodle said:
Have you ever heard of a fair use policy?
Sprints network has very little bandwidth 3G wise due to using outdated tech, so if your a heavy user on 3G it affects their other users.
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Fair use means that if i am sold something as unlimited i should use it in that way.
That so call fair use policy is only fair on Sprint and T-mobile not on customers which are the ones that pay the monthly fee,and the reason why those companies exist,without me and you and the other sprint is just a bunch of empty useless antennas.
Is not my fault that they use outdated tech,in fact when i bought my Epic 4G touch 2 days ago no one from Sprint told me their network was as slow as 1998 DSL connections,and that their tech was outdated and that their wimax network is nothing but fake crap that only very few people can take advantage of.
They told me the phone was great and that the network was fast,not to mention the whole 4G crap hipping.
The only problem i see here is Sprint fault not his fault,is not his fault that Sprint used outdated tech i am sure no one when he bough the phone told him,hey we have and old crappy network so don't use it to much,even that is the only one advertised as ""Truly"" Unlimited and uncapped.

pretty lame company, offer you "unlimited" then complain you are downloading too much WTF

I don't understand why 'unlimited' is supposed to be Sprint's big selling point. Their 3G speeds are pathetic in most places, and even when the coverage map shows you squarely under 4G, you probably won't get it--especially if you're inside any sort of building, or God forbid, in a car.
I personally wanted 5GB of fast, reliable bandwidth than all you can eat crap, so I left.

I worked in a Sprint store before, and even before that, I received one of these letters. As someone stated above, it only applies to roaming, which costs them a lot of money once you pass your allowed amounts. They have an agreement with Verizon and roaming (and Verizon has one with Sprint). The rules are:
- 300 MB of roaming
- More than half of your minutes used for 3 consecutive months are roaming minutes
- Most of your text messaging (although I'm not sure on this one)
Chances are, you're either using a PRL hack, Roam Control (which is now off the Market I believe), or you just live in an area with ****ty Sprint signal. If the latter is the case, just save yourself the trouble and switch to another provider.

Haven't had any problems with sprint other than hitting their bandwidth throttle. Seemed to limit my down rates to 300Kb/s at first then just cripple to a trickle after that.

Did you have a high spike in usage? Did you move into a highly populated area?
These could be why. For example; 25GB, 41GB, 33GB, 44GB; Those are my usages for the last 4 billing cycles. I transfer a lot of data over wifi, my home network, and other networks. Along with solely high quality video and audio [MOG, Rhapsody] streams. I've never received a letter or complaint.

Just got a letter from sprint saying exactly what the OP said. Not roaming but "unlimited data" usage. I'm always on 4g and I used about 109gb of data this month. They said if I don't control it they will terminate my contract. That's a lot of data I know but unlimited is unlimited!!! F them!

inflewence said:
Just got a letter from sprint saying exactly what the OP said. Not roaming but "unlimited data" usage. I'm always on 4g and I used about 109gb of data this month. They said if I don't control it they will terminate my contract. That's a lot of data I know but unlimited is unlimited!!! F them!
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Even I would argue against you dude. 109GB is an insane amount. They mean unlimited to a reasonable amount. My friend goes to 60GB and doesn't get warned. You must've went crazy with your data to make them warn you.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

If it does happen, just start up a prepaid number somewhere and port it out. Then port it back into Sprint. They have no say then.

just to clarify, as I work for sprint currently:
Updating your PRL does nothing, other than tell the phone which towers have lower roaming costs. (on sprint)
Verizon doesn't roam on any network. (I was a verizon manager as well) If you have a vzw phone, you won't roam at all.
If your using 109 gb's a month and complaining about sprint saying something to you, I would reccommend getting an actual home internet connection instead of using it for tethering so much.
As far as the roaming stuff, yes, if you roam a ton while with sprint, they can release you from the contract, but its not an automatic thing. A lot of times you will have to call cs a few times (because sprint CS sucks, and are a bunch of morons usually) and have them pull the account and see how much you are roaming and how many dropped calls, ect, are.

jman42028 said:
just to clarify, as I work for sprint currently:
Updating your PRL does nothing, other than tell the phone which towers have lower roaming costs. (on sprint)
Verizon doesn't roam on any network. (I was a verizon manager as well) If you have a vzw phone, you won't roam at all.
If your using 109 gb's a month and complaining about sprint saying something to you, I would reccommend getting an actual home internet connection instead of using it for tethering so much.
As far as the roaming stuff, yes, if you roam a ton while with sprint, they can release you from the contract, but its not an automatic thing. A lot of times you will have to call cs a few times (because sprint CS sucks, and are a bunch of morons usually) and have them pull the account and see how much you are roaming and how many dropped calls, ect, are.
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I was a technician at both Sprint and Verizon and I can tell you Verizon roams on Sprint. It happens a lot on my campus.
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Oh, sweet. This argument again. Please read the 'unlimited' agreement you have with Sprint. Please note the conditions which apply. Please note what specific data activities you are permitted in the agreement. Note also the prohibited activities. Finally, pay close attention to the bottom of this contract where you electronically signed and acknowledged/agreed to all the conditions which they are well within their rights to enforce.
109gb of data is quite a bit. How does one's handheld use that much data in a month?

Imaginos said:
Oh, sweet. This argument again. Please read the 'unlimited' agreement you have with Sprint. Please note the conditions which apply. Please note what specific data activities you are permitted in the agreement. Note also the prohibited activities. Finally, pay close attention to the bottom of this contract where you electronically signed and acknowledged/agreed to all the conditions which they are well within their rights to enforce.
109gb of data is quite a bit. How does one's handheld use that much data in a month?
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Tethering, obviously. I'm ok with tethering to a reasonable amount (ie to browse the web for a little while when there's no connection), or even to download a couple of gigs (on 4G) but 109GB is ridiculous and I side with Sprint in this case.

Verizon throttled me for using 89GB ONE time, and then throttled me at 12gb. Now I have only used 5GB on my verizon phone so they don't come down with the throttle hamer of doom. Just giving a heads up that verizon is not true unlimited.
Proof:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCbvDEewcJU&feature=channel&list=UL
That is all

T-Mobile Legal Notice (Roaming Data Cap)

Email received today at 4:46 PM EST.
Is this the type of change that allows out of a contract without ETF's?
* This thread is a question *

I read an article on this and it stated that you may need to prove that it will effect you adversely. That is to say you have used more roaming data than the cap allows in the past so it will effect you now. If you haven't used excessive roaming data before the contract change it will not effect you. I for one would love to be able to cancel because of this but rarely use data roaming.
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No idea you think it would though i live in a place where i am constantly roaming, and only time that i am not roaming is when i go to work

Are you guys set up for paperless Billing? I'm wondering if I will get an email or if I will get something with my paper bill.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App

and also there is a thread in general on this u should check out

I also received this notice, and called to speak with customer service. Its complete BS thou, I travel weekly for work i'm always roaming on other networks which has never been a huge issue, yea edge sux but you can't expect them to have towers in every location across the US. However this 100mb max limit data roaming then they either shut you off until you connect back with Tmobile tower or pay $15 per mb is complete bull ****. I signed my contract with the agreement to have data roaming without limitations as its a feature I need.and after 30 min on phone with customer service, loyalty department, and supervisors I get basically we are sorry but its not our problem. Can't cancel or termination fees will apply, why ? BC they said I don't meet the requirements even thou on last months Billing cycle I used 2.5gb of data roaming. Wtf do I need to roam 100% to meet the requirements? O and there resolution was I can get the 10gb data plan which bumps up the allowed data roaming, but not for free I'd have pay additional $30a month for the service. How the hell is that a solution? they change my service without my consent and I should have to pay them more money monthly just to get a lil more allowed roaming...more than pissed off about this...going to contact my state attorney general as they have violated my contract.
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^Well the above posters case should be grounds for termination without ETF. There's a very specific piece of contract law you can cite and take care of it with no need for a lawyer as well.

I live in a "Roaming" area as well, so this change will affect me too.
What my question is, and its not answered in the email sent and will probalby have to call T-Mobile and ask them, is if data over Wi-Fi is counted in with that?
If Wi-Fi data is excluded, then I don't have a problem with not using data roaming since I currently do use my home and store's routers Wi-Fi for both Wi-Fi- calling and data.

Sprint's updated roaming agreement

So I went to check the mail at my old address and found a Sprint letter from Nov. that was giving me notice about excessive roaming. The letter wasn't completely unexpected because I did in-fact roam on 3GB a good bit (1GB max most likely).
The thing that surprised me though was the contract wording in the letter was different than it used to be. It now says this:
Off-network Roaming: The primary use of your Device must be for domestic purposes within the Sprint-owned network. Domestic means use in the 50 United States and U.S. Territories (except Guam). Sprint reserves the right, without notice, to deny, terminate, modify, disconnect or suspend service if off-network usage in a month exceeds: (1) voice: 800 min. or a majority of minutes; or (2) data: 100 or 300 megabytes or (based on plan terms) a majority of kilobytes. The display on your device may not always be on and will not indicate whether you will incur roaming charges. <- This used to not include anything about 100MB
100MB is absurd as a cancellation minimum, and a clear indication that Sprint is losing money based on their ****ty coverage (well... coverage speed) and god awful customer support. I pay Sprint like $90/m, there is no possible way, even at 300MB of roaming that I am out-costing my plan... The way I look at it, if Sprint really is having trouble with roaming they have a few options that would help them loads more than just booting people off network because they are assholes.
1) Come up with a way to not allow PRLs to be changed, or at least make it so time consuming most people will avoid it.
2) Set a freaking datacap on off network roaming, if my phone just stopped pulling data at say 300MB than I'll never go over 300MB.
3) Maybe use the logical non-money-hungry solution that involves getting with other networks and coming up with prices that still make a lot of money, while not acting as if data is some gold like asset that cost out the ass to provide when in reality it isn't that costly. (3 will never happen).
TL;DR: Your better off (if you use Sprint) just keeping roaming off on your phone because 100MB/m is beyond tiny in modern internet usage.