Sprint announced on Wednesday that it is raising its unlimited data plan from $60 to $70 beginning Oct.16. The telecom giant still has the cheapest unlimited data plan compared to T-Mobile that offers a plan for $90 per month.
Sprint explained that they decided to increase their price to provide better service to their customers, especially since mobile traffic increased 947 percent between 2010 and 2014.
"At Sprint, we give customers what they want - and they want the option of unlimited data," Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said in a press release. "At $70 a month, Sprint still beats the competition. Rather than increase the price without warning, we want to give customers one last chance to take advantage of the $60 rate."
CEO Claure believes that the company's latest strategy will help them become the No. 1 or No.2 network in terms of data speed in the United States in the next two years, beating Verizon and T-Mobile, according to CNET.
Existing subscribers who are billed $60 per month do not need to worry about Sprint increasing their monthly bill. They can continue to enjoy their unlimited data plan and activate a new phone with the same plan.
The price hike came after Sprint said last week that it plans to sit out from the upcoming auction of wireless airwaves that would improve data speeds. The Wall Street Journal reported that the company could be having financial trouble and is trying to save billions of dollars. T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T, on the other hand, have no plans of dropping out of the auction and are willing to pay for faster Internet speed.
