T-Mobile to remove data caps from low-income broadband plans in New York
A state investigation found speed throttling and restrictions on where discounted plans were available and how customers could find them online.
T-Mobile will eliminate monthly data limits on its low-income home internet plans in New York after the state attorney general’s office found that the company had violated the Affordable Broadband Act.
The investigation found that customers who exceeded 50GB of monthly usage could have their connection slowed to 650 kilobits per second. The attorney general’s office said typical broadband use could reach that allowance in about four days.
Investigators also found that T-Mobile restricted the discounted plans to areas covered by its 5G network and blocked search engines from accessing information about the offers on its website.
Alongside removing the caps, T-Mobile will extend the plans throughout its home internet service area in New York and make the online plan details accessible to search engines.
The law requires providers to offer eligible households at least 25 Mbps for US$15 per month or 200 Mbps for US$20 per month, with no extra taxes or equipment charges. It also requires providers to take reasonable steps to publicize those options.
