When smartphones arrived on the scene and later became ubiquitous, unlimited dated plans were the standard for internet access on the devices. Users could use as much data as they wanted outside of Wi-Fi range by paying a flat monthly fee to their provider. Verizon and AT&T have moved away from that model though, offering set prices for data caps and charging extra if you go over the limit.
Those two may have paved the way for the change, but it looks like the other companies are likely to be following suit. Unlimited data could be gone on every provider soon, as Sprint is aggressively advertising the feature as an advantage over competitors, yet is rapidly losing customers (T-Mobile is growing at a surprising rate using other strategies, though). Do people simply not care about unlimited data, even though it seems better for the consumer and is familiar to us?
The fact that Sprint is not reversing its fortunes and Verizon and AT&T aren't affected would seem to say no. Verizon markets itself on its widespread coverage in the US, offering the most service to the most people. It stands to reason if you live in an area where coverage isn't complete, what good is unlimited data if you spend half the time without service?
This could be the reasoning behind the shift in consumer concerns. Analysts say the other providers look set to follow in Verizon and AT&T's footsteps, because there's no incentive to keep the unlimited plans based on business trends.
Perhaps this was their strategy all along: lure customers in with unlimited data as the market exploded, and then switch to a model that would be more profitable for them. It's possible they were forced into this change too--with more video-streaming and data-munching apps populating smartphones, their networks were getting slammed by the amount of use they were seeing and had to limit users' data.
If you feel strongly about unlimited data and still have it on an old contract, hold onto it or switch to Sprint before they're forced to change, because all signs point to it becoming an industry relic in the near future.
Source: BGR