New York’s attorney general has forced T-Mobile to halt placing data caps on home internet plans offered to low-income residents under the state’s Affordable Broadband Act.
Violations of the Affordable Broadband Act
State investigations revealed that T-Mobile failed to comply with the Affordable Broadband Act (ABA), which mandates service requirements for low-income residents. The legislation requires providers to offer eligible households broadband speeds of at least 25 Mbps for $15 a month or 200 Mbps for $20 a month, free of extra taxes or equipment fees. Additionally, the law obligates providers to make reasonable efforts in promoting these affordable options.
The Office of the Attorney General uncovered that T-Mobile applied monthly data caps to these ABA plans. T-Mobile reduced internet speeds to as slow as 650 kilobits per second after users consumed 50GB of data, a threshold that typical broadband use could exhaust in approximately four days. Furthermore, the provider restricted its ABA plans solely to regions featuring 5G wireless coverage and blocked search engines from indexing plan details on its website.
T-Mobile Settlement and Response
As a result of the investigation, T-Mobile agreed to eliminate the data caps, expand the availability of ABA plans across all New York territories where it provides home internet, and permit search engines to access plan information.
“Reliable and affordable internet service is a basic need for all New Yorkers, but T-Mobile flouted the law designed to help vulnerable New Yorkers access it,” New York Attorney General Letitia James stated. “My office is committed to seeing the Affordable Broadband Act realize its goal of ensuring that New Yorkers in need are not denied access to affordable home internet. I encourage all eligible New Yorkers to enroll in a low-cost home internet plan through the ABA.”
In a statement shared with Engadget, T-Mobile said, “We have a long history of helping customers in New York stay connected through low-cost broadband, and we’re updating our plan to meet the state’s requirements while maintaining the same low price. We’ve reached an agreement with the New York Attorney General that builds on that commitment, provides greater clarity around our offering and makes the plan available to more eligible customers.”
