Pending iPhone 5 Release Sprint to Cap Mobile Hotspot Data Usage at 5GB?

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Sprint’s latest actions are painting a clear picture, the carrier is getting ready for an iPhone launch, whether it’s the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S or iPhone 4.

After seeing Sprint’s CEO Dan Hesse earlier today talk company guidance in view of a potential iPhone launch, and failing to either confirm or deny a Sprint iPhone in the process, we’re now looking at a new change that faithful Sprint subscribers will not appreciate, the capping of mobile hotspot data traffic.

SprintFeed has it that the Phone as a Modem tethering option will be limited to a maximum of 5GB of traffic per month. The good news is that the smartphone data plan will not be affected by such changes as Sprint will continue to offer unlimited traffic each month to Everything plans with data users, as long as that traffic it’s generated on a smartphone.

The changes should enter effect on October 2, therefore just a few days ahead of the actual iPhone 5 launch and a few weeks before the launch of the device. Sprint has not announced the change yet but the screenshot above seems to be pretty explanatory.

Is the carrier taking precautions pending a Sprint iPhone launch? Some data-hungry current and future iPhone users may be interested in Sprint’s unlimited data offerings, which is why the carrier seems to want to make sure its future smartphones, and especially the iPhones, won’t put extra pressure on the network due to the traffic they generate. Because let’s face it, with a mobile device put into tethering mode, one could take advantage of an unlimited data plan like the one Sprint has to offer.

“Existing customers with Mobile Hotspot plans will be migrated to the new $29.99/mo. 5GB plan,” the screenshot reads, and there’s no way around it. In fact you should also know that after the 5GB of traffic overages will be applied at the rate of $0.05/MB.

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