T-Mobile ranks high when it comes to mobile carrier customer service and banking on that success, the company has invested a lot of money trying to get its foot in the door of home internet users. But, the company’s push to power may have come with a price for its customers: slower speeds.
In simple terms, if you go above and beyond that 1.2TB threshold in a month, your internet speed may be slowed down in “times of congestion.”
And how were we supposed to know this?
The MobileReport (TMO) decided to trace the crumbs on this trail and found that this change was not announced anywhere by T-Mobile. At least not publicly, but rather in its terms of service for its home broadband users, where it added in a new clause…
"As of January 18, 2024, new T-Mobile Home Internet customers using more than 1.2TB of data in a billing cycle are also considered Heavy Data Users. The threshold number is periodically evaluated across our rate plans and brands to manage network traffic and deliver a good experience to all customers while offering a range of customer choices."
“The change comes just three days after T-Mobile also quietly changed its pricing for Home Internet, so this looks like an active effort for T-Mobile to make the service more profitable for itself,” said TMO’s James Austin.
“Still, the way the service previously worked was amazing, and it’s sad to see the company getting stingier with it.”
If there's good news, it's this...
Austin was able to get T-Mobile to clarify some points which might make some of its customers feel a little better.
“The good news is existing customers are not affected by this change,” Austin found. “T-Mobile is free to change their minds later, but for now the limit appears to only affect new customers.”
T-Mobile added that this to try and clarify things:
“Customers still get unlimited data even if they use more than 1.2TB in a month (over 2X the average user – less than 10% of our customers). They’ll just be prioritized after other home internet customers for the reminder of the bill cycle, and they may notice slower speeds compared to other home internet customers in times of congestion. This ensures that all of our customers get a great network experience. At the start of the next month, those customers reset to normal prioritization until the next time they hit 1.2TB.”
Austin’s not completely sold on the company’s explanation, however. “Still, with the priority limit existing, we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s reduced even further within a year or two. After all, it seems companies everywhere want to make things worse these days,” he said.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-01-29 12:15:02
