Even longtime T-Mobile customers will have to put up with slow internet speed policy

Publish date: 2024-07-09
T-Mobile's 5G Home Internet is one of the best options for those who want high-speed, unlimited internet, and at $60 a month, it's also reasonably priced. T-Mobile is an expert at ruining good things though and it started on that path in late January when it got stingy with Home Internet speeds but at that time the policy was only for new customers. The policy has been extended to all customers now, according to a new report.

Previously, T-Mobile didn't dictate how you could use Home Internet. But beginning in January, it enforced a new "fair usage policy" that said every month, after hitting 1.2TB, customers may notice slower speed in times of congestion. This is not the same as a data cap as users will get unlimited data even if they use more than 1.2TB of data. 

The Mobile Report has learned that the "Fair Usage commitment" policy will now apply to all users. It came into effect on April 10, according to a leaked internal document. 

The carrier says that the policy ensures that "all customers have fair and balanced access to the network." That's why, once you hit 1.2TB, other customers will be prioritized over you.

1.2TB is a lot of data and most users are unlikely to get anywhere near that ceiling unless they routinely transfer a lot of large files or they have many people living in their house. T-Mobile had previously said that only 10 percent of its users use more than 1.2TB of data.

Also, the deprioritization will only kick in when the network is congested.

Customers who exceed the limit will be notified that they might experience slower-than-usual speeds during times of congestion. This will last until the beginning of the next billing cycle. 

Everything considered, it doesn't look like many customers will be impacted by the change but that doesn't make it any less worrisome. That's because T-Mobile might slowly be preparing its customers for hard-hitting changes. After all, it took the company only three months to extend a policy that was initially meant for new customers only to all customers.

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