In a move that clearly reflects increasing usage of mobile data, one of the leading US carriers, Sprint Nextel, has announced its decision to make a $10 hike in the monthly fees that it charges new smartphone users.

As a result of the new move, which will take effect from January 30, the lowest priced monthly service plan available to smartphone owners using Sprint Nextel's network will undergo an increase to $80 per month.

The hike in the monthly fee will be applicable to all new smartphone activations on the Sprint network, including those of devices that use the carrier's older 3G network. For smartphone users using Sprint's high-speed `4G' WiMax network, the carrier already has in place a $10-per-month `premium data' fee.

Noting that its smartphone owners, on an average, use 10 times more data than traditional phone users, Sprint said that the decision to increase the monthly fee for smartphone users largely reflects the changing scenario in the US mobile market.

Commenting on Sprint's move, Roger Entner, analyst and founder mobile telecommunications analyst firm Recon Analytics, said: "Sprint's decision to apply the Premium Data add-on charge to activations of smartphones going forward recognises the enhanced user experience that today's smartphones deliver, which, in turn, drives substantially higher data usage and cost."