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Sprint to Hike Unlimited Data Plan Costs by $10 Starting Oct. 16

Unlimited data will now start at $70 per month, not including the cost of the phone. Of course, AT&T and Verizon no longer even offer such plans.

Asa Mathat for Re/code

Well, you can’t say they didn’t warn us. As of Oct. 16, the price for Sprint’s unlimited data plan will jump by $10.

CEO Marcelo Claure suggested at this year’s Code Conference in May that while unlimited plans are great, they would either need to go up in price or go away.

New and existing customers have until Oct. 15 to lock in a $60-per-month rate for unlimited data. After that it is going up to $70 per month, Sprint said.

That’s still $10 less than T-Mobile’s fully unlimited data plan, while AT&T and Verizon long ago stopped offering unlimited plans to new customers (and have done much to push existing customers off such plans).

But it’s a sign of the times for Sprint, which briefly offered iPhone customers a $50-per-month unlimited plan as part of last year’s iPhone for Life promotion, though that offer has since been ended for new customers.

The company is now looking to invest in improving its network and stem losses.

Sprint says current customers on the $60 plan will be able to remain on the plan even after the upgrade “as long as they still meet the plan requirements and are purchasing a phone option and financing option that is compatible with the plan.”

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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