T-Mobile agrees to drop 50 GB cap in New York broadband deal

T-Mobile agreed to remove a 50 GB monthly cap from low-income home Internet plans under a New York settlement announced Monday, state officials said in a press release.

The agreement matters because New York’s Affordable Broadband Act requires eligible households to receive at least 25 Mbps service for $15 a month, while the state said T-Mobile reduced speeds to 600 Kbps after the cap.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James said a state investigation found T-Mobile did not comply with the law. The settlement requires the company to remove the data and speed restrictions, expand the plans’ availability and make plan information easier to find online.

The case concerns T-Mobile’s fixed wireless home Internet service, which uses the carrier’s cellular network to provide broadband at a single residential location. It does not concern T-Mobile’s mobile phone plans.

“An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found T-Mobile’s offerings did not meet the ABA’s requirements, which mandate that home Internet providers offer high-speed broadband to income-eligible households for $15 per month at speeds of at least 25 Mbps, or $20 per month for speeds of at least 200 Mbps,” New York officials said in the release.

The settlement said T-Mobile lowered a customer’s maximum download speed from 25 Mbps to 600 Kbps after the monthly data allowance was used. New York officials said a typical customer could reach the 50 GB threshold after about four days of use.

T-Mobile did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement. “Respondent neither admits nor denies the OAG’s Finding in paragraph 1-14 above,” the document said.

T-Mobile said in a statement that it has “a long history of helping customers in New York stay connected through low-cost broadband” and is “updating our plan to meet the state’s requirements while maintaining the same low price.” The company said its agreement with the attorney general “provides greater clarity around our offering and makes the plan available to more eligible customers.”

New York also said T-Mobile limited Affordable Broadband Act plans to homes eligible for 5G home Internet, even though it offered full-price fixed wireless Internet capable of 25 Mbps in some 4G areas. The settlement says T-Mobile offers 5G home Internet to roughly 40% of homes in rural upstate New York and 4G LTE home Internet to the rest of the homes in regions where it offers fixed wireless service.

The company also agreed not to block search engines from indexing its Affordable Broadband Act webpage and to link to that page from the part of its website that lists standard home Internet deals. New York could sue T-Mobile if it violates the settlement, and the law allows civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation.

The settlement requires T-Mobile to eliminate the speed limits and expand plan availability within 120 days.