Abstract:
The New York State government in the United States recently reached an agreement with telecom operator T-Mobile, requiring it to remove the 50GB monthly traffic limit in preferential home broadband packages for low-income families. Previously, after a user's monthly usage reached 50GB, the download speed would plummet from 25Mbps to 600Kbps, a drop of more than 97%. The New York State government believes that this approach does not meet the requirements of the local Affordable Broadband Act.
On November 9, 2026, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and State Attorney General Letitia James jointly announced the settlement agreement. Under New York state law, income-eligible households are entitled to home broadband service with price limits: a $15-per-month plan must offer download speeds of at least 25Mbps, or a $20-per-month plan must offer at least 200Mbps download speeds. The above price must also include taxes and equipment charges.
The New York State Attorney General’s Office previously launched an investigation into T-Mobile and found that although the company provided a preferential home broadband package of $15 per month, it also imposed a very strict traffic limit. Users can only use 50GB of high-speed traffic per month. Once the upper limit is reached, the maximum download speed will be limited to around 600Kbps.
This means that broadband services that originally promised to provide 25Mbps download speeds will become extremely slow after the data is exhausted. According to estimates by the state government, an average family may consume 50GB of traffic in only about 4 days, leaving the network almost unable to be used normally during the remaining time.
The investigation also found that T-Mobile has set additional restrictions on the applicable scope of preferential plans. The company only allows users who live in areas with 5G home broadband service coverage to apply for preferential packages. Even if some areas already have T-Mobile’s 4G LTE home broadband service and can meet the minimum network speed requirements stipulated by law, users still cannot enjoy the preferential prices.
Another issue involves how public package information is. Investigators discovered that T-Mobile had made special settings for the discount package introduction page on its official website, preventing search engines from properly including relevant content. This means that even if low-income families actively search for cheap broadband services online, it may be difficult to find a package that they are legally eligible to apply for.
New York State’s Affordable Broadband Act not only requires carriers to provide services that meet price and speed standards, but also requires companies to take reasonable steps to promote these offers. The state government believes that T-Mobile's practices actually prevent eligible residents from understanding and applying for relevant services.
According to the agreement reached by both parties, T-Mobile must complete the rectifications within 120 days.
First, companies need to remove the 50GB data limit and no longer deliberately reduce download speeds below the legal minimum just because users reach a certain monthly data limit. Second, preferential packages must be expanded to all areas in New York State where T-Mobile provides home fixed wireless broadband services, and cannot be limited to 5G coverage areas. Finally, the company must modify the relevant settings of the official website so that search engines can properly include discount package information, and provide an eye-catching entrance to the discount package on the ordinary home broadband package introduction page.
However, the agreement allows operators to temporarily reduce user speeds when network congestion does occur. Therefore, canceling the traffic cap does not mean that the actual download speed of 25Mbps can be guaranteed under any circumstances, but it prohibits companies from actively implementing long-term speed limits simply because the user usage reaches 50GB.
T-Mobile did not admit or deny the violations found in the New York State investigative report. The company said it has reached an agreement with the New York State Attorney General to adjust related services to comply with state government requirements while maintaining the original preferential prices. The company did not explain in detail why it had previously set the 50GB limit, nor why it limited the package to 5G coverage areas.
It is worth noting that this incident involves the home fixed wireless broadband service provided by T-Mobile through the cellular network, not the mobile communication package for mobile phones. Users should not interpret this agreement to mean that T-Mobile is eliminating data limits on all mobile phone plans in New York State.
The New York State Affordable Broadband Act will be officially implemented in January 2025. Previously, U.S. broadband industry groups had tried to block the law's implementation through lawsuits, citing concerns over state governments' authority to regulate broadband prices. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately did not hear an appeal from industry groups, allowing New York state to continue enforcing the law.
This investigation into T-Mobile also shows that low-price broadband services stipulated by law do not just require operators to list a preferential price on a promotional page, but must also ensure that users can actually obtain the corresponding network speed and service quality.
For low-income families, a $15 monthly broadband package that can only use high-speed traffic for four days is obviously difficult to meet normal family Internet needs. New York State's request to lift the 50GB limit actually extends the regulatory focus from nominal price concessions to whether the service truly meets the promise.
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