Sprint's CEO Dan Hesse says he hopes to keep the company's data plans unlimited as the company shifts toward faster 4G services through the WiMax technology it's rolling out in cities across the nation.

AT&T, which offers Apple's iPhone, is already capping the amount of data users get with a plan, and Verizon has talked about doing the same. The proliferation of smart phones and other wireless-enabled data-heavy devices has made consumers ever-hungrier for data, and carriers say they're struggling to accommodate the demand.

In a keynote yesterday at EmTech 2010, Hesse noted that when carriers moved to 3G technologies, "the solution was there before the problem", meaning few consumers used enough data to justify 3G. Today, Hesse says, consumers are waiting for faster networks.

Sprint is certainly encouraging people to think about what they could do with faster speeds. Its 4G network was turned on in selected cities over Labor Day weekend and will continue to expand to additional coverage areas. Its flagship phones for 4G, which can also operate on 3G networks, are the HTC Evo and Samsung Epic, both of which can serve as mobile WiFi hotspots in addition to functioning as smart phones. Hesse noted that users could run five or six devices through hotspots over 4G.

Hesse said consumers strongly prefer to pay a flat fee for wireless services. "Users will pay a premium for simplicity, for predictability, and for peace of mind," Hesse said. He believes Sprint can continue to provide unlimited data plans "as long as the usage is reasonable." He noted that the company will closely watch what happens as other carriers shift to metered plans.

One worry, Hesse said, is that heavy users unhappy with metered plans on other carriers might all shift to Sprint, overwhelming its resources. But he said the company would explore ways to handle changing demand for data before shifting to metered plans. For example, he said, because Sprint expected Epic and Evo customers to use more data than those with less-advanced phones, the company charges an extra $10 a month for unlimited plans on those models.

Google and Verizon have released a joint proposal for legislation supporting an open Internet, refuting claims that the two companies were working on a deal that would let Google pay Verizon for special treatment for its content.

The companies laid out seven major points that they hoped the legislation would address. Many were aimed at issues relating to net neutrality.

In particular, the companies say their proposed legislation would forbid the type of agreement they were accused of making:

This means that for the first time, wireline broadband providers would not be able to discriminate against or prioritize lawful Internet content, applications or services in a way that causes harm to users or competition.

Importantly, this new nondiscrimination principle includes a presumption against prioritization of Internet traffic - including paid prioritization. So, in addition to not blocking or degrading of Internet content and applications, wireline broadband providers also could not favor particular Internet traffic over other traffic.

The proposed legislation would include a proviso that broadband providers could offer "additional, differentiated online services," possibly including "health care monitoring, the smart grid, advanced educational services, or new entertainment and gaming options." They note that protections would be in place to make sure these services weren't used to get around net neutrality laws.

However, it still sounds like the companies are leaving a loophole. As the companies write:

We both recognize that wireless broadband is different from the traditional wireline world, in part because the mobile marketplace is more competitive and changing rapidly. In recognition of the still-nascent nature of the wireless broadband marketplace, under this proposal we would not now apply most of the wireline principles to wireless, except for the transparency requirement. In addition, the Government Accountability Office would be required to report to Congress annually on developments in the wireless broadband marketplace, and whether or not current policies are working to protect consumers.

It sounds like things are being left open so that wireless carriers could still manipulate traffic, though the proposal states that carriers should be monitored and it should be easy for consumers to find out what's going on.

Location-based services may still be searching for their purpose in the larger world, but they've found their niche at music festivals. Attendees at Lollapalooza, a major music festival taking place this weekend in Chicago's Grant Park, will be able to take advantage of an application for iPhone and Android that uses the location capabilities of smart phones to update and improve on common festival activities.

"One of the biggest things people are trying to do at these festivals is keep up with and connect with their friends," says Michael Feferman, digital marketing director at C3 Presents, which produces the event. Feferman described how the app builds on common practices at festivals.

For example, people typically plant flags in the ground as rallying points where friends can meet up. The Lollapalooza app lets users drop a virtual flag, complete with privacy controls so only a user's friends can see the signal.

Attendees often send flurries of text messages to coordinate with each other, and the app simplifies this by letting people communicate on friend walls so that everyone can see the messages.

Feferman believes that similar apps will eventually be taken for granted at festivals and will be entirely ubiquitous. This hasn't yet been realized, however, because connectivity is often a problem at events--festivals are often at remote locations without great connectivity in the first place, and they're flooded with a huge, sudden population all trying to use the network at once.

This year, Lollapalooza hopes to better serve the population hoping to post status updates, use twitter, and share and upload photos. Instead of relying on wireless carriers, who often suffer heavy criticism during such events, Feferman says festival organizers decided to take matters into their own hands. They installed free Wi-Fi over the 100 acres of the festival, which involved setting up temporary infrastructure to carry that load.

Feferman stressed that "it's very hard to provide people with the connectivity and service that they're used to," but he hopes that wireless access will help to make the location-based application more useful for attendees.