On the surface, it sounds great. Sprint officials have reportedly said that unlimited data plans will not be affected once the carrier rolls out its LTE service. While that is good news for Sprint customers in the short run, it is questionable whether it is sustainable, considering recent reports of financial difficulty – including the possibility of bankruptcy within the next few years. Data usage is likely to sharply increase with the availability of 4G LTE as users discover how much more they can do with the vastly superior speeds. Verizon Wireless and AT&T have both experienced steep usage increases with their 4G service and responded by phasing out unlimited data plans. Among the biggest issues for Sprint is its commitment to Apple. When they took on the iPhone, they agreed to what industry analysts see as a very large sales quota. This could put a huge strain on its data network capacity, even with limited data plans. With unlimited data, it could race out of control. Stay tuned.