Found it.  This is why you'd go with the Sprint 5GB 'unlimited' plan for $60, instead of the Virgin 'unlimited' plan.

Response (Ricardo Mendoza) 08/27/2010 09:05 AM

Hello Will.

 

Thanks for contacting Virgin Mobile Customer Care.

 

Regarding your question, you get 1GB for the $40 plan. The duration is 30 days, 50 hours Web Browsing Or 4 hours of Video or 100,000 Emails.

Yup - I think the care rep hit the wrong macro there.  My mistake for copy-pasta'ing the wrong info.

From the Terms of Service:

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/legal/terms-of-service-virgin-mobile#bb2g

"$40.00 per month for unlimited mobile Internet (but not unlimited downloaded content)"

 

What on *earth* does that mean?  Sounds like a failure to understand how TCP/IP networks work.  Sigh.

Digging more . . .

Holy [expletive deleted].   Per Virgin Mobile Customer Care, there is *no* limit (no soft cap, no slowdown, nothin, nada) on Virgin Mobile $40 unlimited broadband.

Discussion Thread

Response (James) 08/31/2010 12:31 PM

Hello Will,

 

Thanks for contacting Virgin Mobile Customer Care.

 

Allow me to extend my apologies for any inconvenience this issue has caused you.

 

I have thoroughly reviewed your inquiry carefully, I was able to verify that according to the new information that we have reflected unlimited broad band to go service will give you unlimited web surfing with the other features without any limits.

 

If other wireless internet providers place a limit on their broad band service we don't place a limit on our service that is why if the web page says unlimited service you receive unlimited service that is what you will get.

 

[...]

 

Thanks,

 

James

Virgin Mobile At Your Service

1Starkissed wrote:

 

OK, so you know.  Your colleagues know.  Your supervisor knows.  Where does it go from here?  Do the people who make decisions for Sprint pricing have a clue how royally this screwed their contract customers?  and, more importantly, is anything going to be done about it?

August 2010: Sprint enforces that Sprint Broadband Unlimited customers have a 5g cap (See http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/41634 , Customers who have loyally been paying $60/month for at least 3 years.  Anyone who's signed up since 98 has been paying $60/month with the cap.)

August 2010: Virgin Mobile begins charging $40/month for unlimited broadband on the Sprint Network.

I mean, wow.  That takes cajones.

LMAO.  I see once again my fellow Nextel users and I have been proven right again.  My buddy N9NRA said about a year ago when Sprint introduced Unlimited Everything for Boost at only $50/month that Sprint was becoming a pre-paid only company, and it would be just a matter of time.  Seems like every day that goes by, that statement is become more and more true.

So, let's see.  If you want Nextel's stellar PTT, as well as UNLIMITED phone calls, unlimited messaging, and unlimited internet...you can pay $99.99/month to Sprint as a post-paid user, OR you can pay merely $50/month to be a pre-paid user.  The only advantages of being a post-paid user?

1. You can make 3-way calls ONLY if you're a post-paid user (or so Sprint claims...and I've tried it, it's not true...you can make 3-way calls on Boost phones too).

2. Sprint will gladly make your wallet lighter since you're a post-paid user.

Funny, but it doesn't make sense to be a post-paid user anymore...and now it sounds like it doesn't make a darn bit of sense to be a post-paid data user on the 3G CDMA Sprint side either.  About how long do you all think it will be before Dan Hesse declares that EVERYTHING offered by Sprint will be pre-paid only?!?  Remember, doing so cuts down on their monthly billing (they no longer have to monitor it, listen to complaints about overages, no paperwork to mail out, etc.) costs AND they don't have to invest anywhere near as much in expanding the networks (heck, they aren't bothering to now as it is).

Face it, folks.  Us Nextel folks have been calling this one from day 1 after Hesse took over.  We said it stunk and he would be worse than Forsee ever could be.  And now, we're being proven right.  How many more things is he going to lie to us about?  Unlimited use of your HTC Evo 4G at no additional cost to you?  Ha!  That was a lie.  That he was going to "reinvigorate Nextel as a true brand"?  Yeah...still have yet to see an actual commercial for Nextel since he announced that one.  Nope...this company is going pre-paid.  Just most of middle (and probably upper) management have NO FREAKIN CLUE ABOUT IT YET!

I'd like to say that us Nextel loyalists didn't tell you so, but guess what...WE DID!

Yeah, I have to agree- since Sprint doesn't have 4G where I live yet, it might be worth looking into cancelling and switching to Virgin Mobile if Sprint's plan isn't changed soon.  $20 per month wouldn't take long at all to cover the ETF

What time of day were you doing this test?  I've noticed that the taboo hour is around dinner time to about 8pm.  You should have a better latency especially with sprint.  I don't think I would be too quick to draw conclusions from that particular test.  My question is, what happens when sprint does get 4G to "our" areas and we may be using the virginmobile myfi2200.  Is this only 3G?  That would suck.  At least the overdrive hotspot is 3G/4G, even though the plan is on the verge of pricing itself out of the market, unless Sprint smartens up.