Got an unlimited data plan with U.S. carrier Sprint? Well, be careful with your cellular streaming. Because if unlimited customers consume more than 23 GB per billing cycle, the carrier has confirmed that it will begin throttling in order to provide all of its customers with a better experience, according to MacRumors.

The news came directly from Sprint, in an article entitled "Protecting the 97 percent," which explained:

The 23GB threshold is typical in the industry and other carriers have already implemented a similar practice. We agree this is a smart approach towards making sure a small number of customers don’t adversely impact the experience for others. Today approximately three percent of our postpaid subscribers are using overwhelmingly disproportionate network resources. Our goal with QoS is to prevent some portion of that three percent going forward from negatively impacting the other 97 percent of customers.

Despite explaining in its press release that 23 GB lets users do a lot with their iPhone (you can use the data to send some 6,000 emails with attachments, for instance), unlimited customers with Sprint will nevertheless feel cheated. After all, an unlimited plan should be unlimited, right?

Indeed, other carriers in the U.S. have followed suit, with "uncarrier" T-Mobile confirming a similar move recently and announcing a 21 GB throttling imposition. In this respect, Sprint has outdone rival carrier T-Mobile by a couple of gigabytes.

As MacRumors explains in its article, Sprint’s news will also have an impact on new unlimited plan sign-ups, too:

The change will affect those who choose an unlimited data handset plan after October 16 or to Sprint customers who choose to upgrade their devices on or after October 16. Those who go over 23 GB will see their data prioritized below other customers, which means they will encounter slower data speeds, but only in times and locations where the network is constrained.

It looks like the days of unlimited cellular access truly are coming to an end. For Sprint’s original post, click this link.