T-Mobile low-income home internet capped at 50GB, NY says

What does the New York Affordable Broadband Act require?

Providers with at least 20,000 customers must offer income-eligible households broadband for $15 a month at 25Mbps or more, or $20 a month at 200Mbps or more. The law doesn't mention data caps, but the state argues that throttling speeds after a cap breaks the speed requirement. By the state's estimate, a typical customer could hit 50GB after about four days of use.

What else was wrong with T-Mobile's plan?

T-Mobile only offered the plans at homes eligible for 5G home internet, which shut out 4G-only areas, even though it sold full-price plans there that could reach 25Mbps. The settlement says the company also hid the plan's information page from search engines, which made it hard for people to find. According to the settlement, T-Mobile offers 5G home internet to roughly 40 percent of homes in rural upstate New York and 4G to the rest.

Within 120 days, T-Mobile has to drop the speed limits and offer the plans at every address where it sells residential fixed wireless service. It must also remove the search-blocking tag and link to the page prominently from its standard home internet deals. Slowdowns caused purely by network congestion are not violations.

The process was slow. New York's Department of Public Service raised concerns in June 2025, and a settlement took almost 18 months. The law only began to be enforced in January 2025, after a nearly four-year court fight with industry groups, including wireless lobby CTIA.

T-Mobile says it is updating the plan to meet state requirements at the same low price. New York can sue if the company breaks the settlement.