Virgin Mobile USA data throttling starting in March

By Bla1ze
last updated

Remember last year when Virgin Mobile USA said they would be delaying their plans to throttle data for users who used more then 2.5GB in one month? At the time, they never gave any reason as to why they were delaying it but it was mentioned that they would be re-visiting the plans in 2012 and now -- it's 2012.

To make sure we can keep offering our Beyond Talk Plans at such great prices, we're putting a data speed reduction in place for anyone who uses over 2.5GB of data in a month.Will it affect me?Based on your activity for your last plan month ending in December, you could be affected by this change.If you continue to use the same amount of data as you did in your last plan month, you may see your data speeds reduced during a plan month when the data speed reduction is implemented on March 23, 2012. You can still use your phone to do everything you currently do, but you may experience slower page loads and file downloads and lags in streaming media.This will not affect your ability to text or make calls with your phone.How will it work?Starting March 23, 2012, if you use over 2.5GB of data in a month on your Beyond Talk Plan:• Data speeds may be reduced to 256Kbps or below for the rest of your month.• If data speeds are reduced, they will return to normal as soon as your next plan month starts.• If you'd rather not wait for your new month to start, you can restart your plan immediately through My Account.How will I know if my data speeds have been reduced?If you reach 2.5GB of data in a month, you will receive a text message letting you know your data speeds will be reduced for the rest of your plan month.By putting this data speed reduction in place, we're making sure we can deliver the same quality service you've come to expect from Virgin Mobile. We hope you understand.*Data usage per activity is based on an average. Bandwidth varies by website, video, email and other Internet application

Virgin Mobile USA customers who fit into the "over 2.5GB" of usage criteria are now getting text messages directing them to a website where the above information is given. You'll have until March 23 before they actually put it into effect, but it's something to be mindful of.

Thanks, GreyCelt!

Bla1ze
Bla1ze
23 Comments
  • Well that will drop their data speeds from 400k to 50k like every one else on the sprint network.
  • Well thats still more than 3x the amount you can get on a decent tariff in the UK. I would do anything to have the offer of a 2.5GB fair usage policy..
  • Maybe they should throttle our cost also?
  • Throttle doesn't mean lower, but I'll humor your comment; Tell me who has lower prices than Virgin Mobile, with even close to the same coverage? Including this throttle, Virgin Mobile's current prices are incredible.
  • I was trying to be humorous. I don't even have virgin mobile.
  • Ah. You said "our" cost: made it look like you were with Virgin Mobile. Last time I checked, it was $55 for unlimited text, talk, and data, using Sprint's network. And that is the high-end expensive plan. Virgin Mobile users don't really have any right to complain about this. It is still unlimited data, after all.
  • I just switched to Simple Mobile, unlimited everything for $40, in most places, and they ride on T Mobile's signal. Good enuff for me.
  • And you don't have to worry about data caps because your 3G is permanently throttled to 119kbps! http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1734250-New-40-00-3G-plan-SLO...
  • Yeah I tried that crap network a few months ago and the 118k/sec on "3G" was horrendous. I had to force my phone to "2G only" so I could get 159k/sec. Now I just moved my wife over to a Straight talk sim out of a Nokia e71 into her iphone 3GS and we are only paying $45/month for totally unlimited on AT&T network. ;)
  • You're welcome. I've also put in an enquiry to them asking if they are going to give us any way to monitor our usage because on their website they have no way for customers to monitor data.
  • We can check/monitor the data usage in" My Account" on theirwebsite. Once you sign in you will see the remaing balance PLUS info about your data usage. Page will also let us know if data speed has been reduced..
  • The carriers don't want their paying customers to use their services very often. High users don't slow down networks. It's large numbers of users accessing data at the same time that slow networks down. There are no such things as data abusers.
  • 256kbps down would be an improvement on Sprint's 3g speeds here. This isn't throttling, it is expanding!
  • LOL, I had sprint for 2 months when the EVO came out and quickly broke 2 contracts because of the slow data.
  • i dont think anyone will hit 2.5 gb. i use to have virgin and the highest i ever got was like 800kb (one time) my average was always 200-300kb cuz of sprints shitty ass network.
  • Says the guy who can't tell the difference between MB and KB.
  • I don't think this will effect me. I am usually on wifi anyway.
  • Back when I had Virgin, I don't think I could ever get a fast enough connection to use that much data.
  • I am still on the $25/month plan with my triumph. I have a few apps that track my data usage and I hardly ever go over 300MB/month due to being on wifi almost all the time.
  • I will never understand how people can use this much data on Virgin/Sprint's 3G. Last year I was still on Sprint waiting for my contract to expire so I could move to Virgin. In the interim, the WiFi antenna/chip on my phone crapped out so I had to use 3g all the time. Over the course of 3 months my monthly data usage was around 275MB. I would have loved to have had 256kbps down. Most days I was lucky to have 128kbps according to the speed test app. I realize you hit the cap after about 44 hours of continuous usage at 128kbps, but I was too frustrated with the speed to use data that much in a given month. Maybe others have better speeds in other areas, but Sprint/Vrigin 3g really sucks in my area. Which is really sad considering I live less than five miles from their HQ. Then again, that may be the problem. With so many Sprint customers where I work and live I wouldn't be surprised to learn the network is overloaded locally.
  • " Data speeds may be reduced to 256Kbps " well 256kbps would be a increase here !!.. have had VM for almost a year. speed around my house is around 12 to 25kbps .. other parts of berkeley , CA sometimes will hit 120 - 150 kbps... was just in palm springs for film fest and i got a whopping 09kbps to 14kbps. i have a ATT go phone ( for use where VM doesn't work) and get 250kbps at home and 1.8Mbps around berkeley.
  • It may not be a big blow to people who don't have enough coverage to use the data, but in my area I get about 1.2-2 MB down pretty consistently. If you watch any type of streaming video at all the usage shoots up pretty fast as you would expect. I mean 35 bucks is a good price and still better than the bigger companies, but it's making companies like Straight Talk look pretty good right now. I'll pay the extra 10 for actual unlimited/unthrottled data.
  • 2014 here: And this is iMickey503 telling it to you like it is. Now that the HTC Evo3D is a few years old by now. the days for this phone look numbered. Especially when it comes to its WiMax Radio and it's usage of 4G data. Spring now owns a good part of Virgin mobile these days. Virgin also no longer has 24 hour customer service either. 4G is all about LTE, in 2014. And WiMax is almost a dead tech.