Mobile carrier T-Mobile has settled charges brought by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that the company failed to adequately disclose speed and data restrictions for its so-called “unlimited” subscriber data plans.
Under the terms of an Order issued in October 2016, T-Mobile will pay a fine of $7.5 million, provide an additional $35.5 million in benefits to certain T-Mobile and Metro PCS customers, and update and improve its disclosures regarding the company’s unlimited data plans. In addition, the company has agreed to contribute at least $5 million in equipment and services to schools and students across the U.S.
The settlement ends a lengthy investigation by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau into consumer complaints that T-Mobile’s unlimited data plans actually “de-prioritized” data speeds after using a fixed amount of data each month. According to the FCC, the practice “substantially limited their access to data” and essentially “rendered data services unusable for many hours each day,” and that T-Mobile failed to adequately inform customers with unlimited plans of the restrictions.
Read the complete text of the Commission’s Order in connection with its settlement with T-Mobile.
