If you’re a Virgin Mobile customer, there’s something that you should know. Starting March 23rd, users who consumer more than 2.5GB of data will be slowed down. How exactly? Virgin plans to reduce data speed to 256Kbps for those who exceed the 2.5GB data limit. Needless to say, many Virgin customers aren’t thrilled about this arrangement. However, Virgin is giving those people who exceed the monthly limit a change to restart a monthly payment cycle once that limit has been breached (for a small fee).

While news to some, the fact of the matter is that Virgin has been talking about capping data speeds for some time now, but the company has made the decision final just recently. Virgin customers in the United States (no word on Virgin Mobile Canada, yet) should be receiving notices or text messages that detail the change. Here’s what you can expect to happen if you are a current Virgin subscriber.

Loud and Clear

If you exceed the 2.5GB level during any given month, Virgin will send you a text message when this limit has been reached. From that point on, you can decide to do two things. The first is to deal with the slower speed for the rest of the payment cycle. The second is to ask Virgin to reset your payment cycle on the spot. Why has Virgin decided to slow down speeds for some users? Virgin sent out a notice to clients explaining that the change is designed for the sake of consistency. According to the press release issued, Virgin wants to provide all users with the same speeds and service, and this can’t be accomplished unless speeds are slowed.

Of course, this spells bad news for some users who often exceed that set limit. Really, a few YouTube videos per month will put you over the limit. But, if you’re a conscious consumer, you might be able to dodge the slow bullet. The other option is, of course, to shop around for a new carrier, though many carriers in the U.S. cap data speeds too. Then again, it never hurts to shop around for a new carrier if you’re not happy with the one that you currently have.

The Sprint Offer

Sprint is one of the few companies (if not the only company) in the states that still offers a true unlimited data plan. Even though Virgin Mobile promised subscribers the same unlimited deal, the company is now following the lead of other mobile providers in the U.S. that no longer offer unlimited plans. Seemingly, Sprint is going to swallow up all of those clients that Virgin Mobile has now alienated. Although, one has to wonder how long Sprint will be able to offer this deal. More likely than not, Sprint will soon cancel its current unlimited plan.

It seems as though the days of unlimited plans in the U.S. are coming to an end. One might easily conclude, based on this fact, that similar plans in Canada may soon begin to expire (though these plans aren’t as prevalent in Canada). Data speeds are being cut across the board, and those who want more data will simply have to pay for it. If you are a current Virgin Mobile subscriber, how do you feel about this news? Are you angry that your unlimited plan is now going to cost you when it comes to speed?