SPRINT DUMPING UNLIMITED HOTSPOT PLAN

We'd heard rumblings that unlimited data for Sprint's mobile hotspot plan was going the way of the dodo, but come November folks, it'll be official. Data sent and received over tethering -- not smartphone usage -- will now be measured against a 5GB cap. The same applies to mobile broadband subscribers, who will lose "unlimited" WiMax, instead having all their bits counting towards 3GB, 5GB or 10GB buckets (as seen above). Going over your allotment in either plan naturally incurs overages, which could get pricey at 5 cents per MB, and worst of all, existing unlimited plans won't be grandfathered in.

NETFLIX RAISES PRICES, INTRODUCES NEW PLANS

Netflix announced two new unlimited DVD plans on Tuesday, including a $7.99 option for one DVD at a time and an $11.99 option that allows users to rent two DVDs at a time. The company also said that it will discontinue its current $9.99 monthly option that provides access to unlimited DVD rentals and unlimited instant streaming each month. Instead, the movie rental service will charge users $7.99 a month for unlimited streaming and a minimum of $7.99 per month for unlimited DVDs (with one rented out at a time at that rate).

Essentially, that means users with the current $9.99 offering will instead have to cough up $15.98 per month in order to maintain their current subscription plan. “Reflecting our confidence that DVDs by mail is a long-term business for us, we are also establishing a separate and distinct management team solely focused on DVDs by mail, led by Andy Rendich, our Chief Service and Operations Officer and an 11 year veteran of Netflix,” the company said in a blog post. Netflix’s current plans will expire in September, and users will need to switch to a new plan by that time.

VERIZON TO INTRODUCE TIERED DATA PLANS MID-SUMMER

Verizon Wireless has been saying for quite some time now that their $30 unlimited data plan was unsustainable and they would be investigating moving to tiered data. According to Fran Shammo, Verizon Wireless CFO, at the Morgan Stanley conference, the new data plans would debut in mid-summer.

Verizon started down the tiered road with its $15/150MB option, which quickly disappeared when their version of the iPhone launched. Shammo went on to say Verizon is still working through the details and that they don't yet know whether the tiers will be based on speed, bit buckets, or some combination of the two.

T-MOBILE ELIMINATING FLEXPAY PLANS

Not a lot is known at this time, but T-Mobile will be phasing out its FlexPay plans. A tipster over at BGRis saying that T-Mobile should be announcing soon what, if anything, will be replacing these plans.

FlexPay allowed users to get "all the benefits of our best wireless plans, including our Unlimited and FamilyTime® plans—without deposits, activation fees, or overages. Plus you will never be surprised by big overage charges because you cannot go over your plans Whenever Minutes."

LEAKED: AT&T REVAMPS TEXT MESSAGING PLANS

According to a new leaked image (from GearLive) from Best Buy, AT&T is getting ready to change the way their text messaging subscription plans work, with two previous plans being dropped entirely while a couple of new ones get introduced.

Starting on January 23rd, new AT&T customers will have two options when it comes to choosing their text message plans. The first option they can choose is $10 per month for 1,000 text messages, which would certainly do for me, but perhaps not your text-mad teenage daughter. For her, there’s a second $20 a month plan that gives you unlimited texting. Additionally, if you’re in a family plan, $30 will get you unlimited text messages.

Dropped from AT&T’s options are the previous text messaging plans: both the $5 for 200 text message plan and the $15 per month for 1,500 text messages plan. However, if you’re already subscribed to one of these plans, you’ll be able to keep the existing option, although new customers will only have a choice between the two new offerings.

VERIZON ANNOUNCES LTE PLANS AND PRICES

Verizon today unveiled more detail about their LTE wireless broadband launch, announcing that they'll be offering the 5-12 Mbps service in 38 markets and 60 airports starting December 5 (AKA this Sunday). Most importantly, Verizon finally unveiled their pricing for the new service, which after a year filled with endless hints by executives about wanting to try something new -- winds up being somewhat underwhelming, traditional, and expensive.

The base pricing for LTE laptop connectivity via USB modem (there will be no smartphones at launch) is significantly more expensive than the 3G pricing they unveiled in October, though the caps are obviously higher. Verizon's LTE pricing will now be $50 for 5GB of usage, or $80 for 10 GB of usage, with $10 per each additional GB. Verizon had this to say:

Verizon Wireless customers can choose from two 4G LTE Mobile Broadband data plans: $50 monthly access for 5 GB monthly allowance or $80 monthly access for 10 GB monthly allowance, both with $10/GB overage. For laptop connectivity, two 4G LTE USB modems will be initially available: the LG VL600 is available at launch and the Pantech UML290 will be available soon, each $99.99 after $50 rebate with a new two-year agreement. Both USB modems provide backward-compatibility with Verizon Wireless' 3G network. If laptop users travel outside of a 4G LTE coverage area, they will automatically stay connected on the company's 3G network.

It's interesting to note there's not even really an entry level LTE plan (say $25 for a gig of use) after literally dozens of Verizon executive comments claiming usage-based pricing was going to be the future. We'll assume this pricing may evolve as the company begins offering LTE smartphones, which Verizon today announced will arrive sometime in "mid-2011". Verizon also again today confirmed these devices will initially use 3G/CDMA for voice until LTE voice standards are hashed out. [DSL Reports]