"We will be offering the benefit of our unlimited plans that start at just $69.99," a Sprint spokeswoman told D's Ina Fried. And what do you get for your 70 smackers? 450 minutes of talk time, and all the data services you can consume. So get ready to fire up those YouTube videos, Netflix movies and that FarmVille app on your lunch break. (If you want unlimited calling as well, the package will cost you $99 a month.)
Naturally, this ups the ante for AT&T and Verizon -- both of which used to offer unlimited data plans, but changed their minds once they saw just how much data iPhone users tend to consume. The Verizon iPhone launched in February with a $30-a-month unlimited data plan, but preorders had hardly begun when a policy change started throttling heavy iPhone users' bandwidth.
Sprint was rumored to be offering the next iPhone with unlimited data last month, but this is the first time the company has confirmed it. Given that the company is making a huge bet on the iPhone, and that its rivals will still be selling the iPhone 4 as well (and AT&T will also offer the free 3GS with a two-year contract), this news is a much-needed leg-up on the competition.