Sprint promises unlimited data for potential LTE iPhone

After confirming that its unlimited data plan would continue for LTE Android smartphones, Sprint said today it will also offer unlimited data on the next iPhone — even if it runs on LTE.

“I’m not anticipating the unlimited plan would change by that point,” Sprint CEO Dan Hesse told CNet’s Roger Cheng in an interview today. “That’s our distinctive differentiator.”

Hesse said the unlimited data plan has made customers jump ship from other carriers, and he called it “a match made in heaven” for Sprint. Of course, the third-place carrier may be singing a different tune after it actually launches its 4G network (expected over the Summer) and gets overloaded with consumers streaming Netflix over LTE.

Obviously, we still don’t know for a fact if the iPhone 5 will support LTE 4G, but given the new iPad’s use of the technology, I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet. And after testing out plenty of LTE smartphones, it’s getting difficult for me to live with the slower 3G speeds of my iPhone 4S. Apple can’t afford to fall behind when it comes to network speeds.

Sprint reported an $863 million net loss for the first quarter this morning, but at the same time it saw a healthy gain of 263,000 contracted subscribers.

iPhone 5 mockup via BENM.AT