T-Mobile illegally imposed 50GB cap on low-income home Internet plan, NY says

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement with T-Mobile on November 9, 2026, resolving allegations that the carrier illegally imposed a 50GB monthly data cap on its $15 Affordable Broadband Act home internet plan. Yahoo reported that once customers hit the cap, their maximum download speed dropped from 25 Mbps to approximately 600–650 Kbps, and that a typical household could exhaust the 50GB allotment in about four days. TmoNews reported the drop was more than 97 percent, down to 650 Kbps.

New York’s Affordable Broadband Act requires qualifying providers to offer eligible households either a $15 plan with download speeds of at least 25 Mbps, or a $20 plan at a minimum of 200 Mbps, without additional taxes or equipment fees. Engadget reported that providers must also make reasonable efforts to promote these low-cost options. The state found T-Mobile’s post-cap throttling made the $15 plan functionally non-compliant regardless of its advertised headline speed.

Under the settlement, T-Mobile must remove the data cap entirely and stop intentionally reducing enrolled customers’ download speeds below the ABA’s required minimum within 120 days of the settlement’s effective date. Temporary speed reductions caused solely by network congestion are excluded from that prohibition. T-Mobile must also expand ABA plan availability to every address where it already provides residential fixed-wireless internet service in New York, and improve the plan’s visibility online so the relevant page appears in standard search results.

Eligibility rules remain unchanged. Qualifying households are those participating in Medicaid, SNAP, HEAP, school-lunch assistance, or SCRIE/DRIE, as well as those meeting applicable income thresholds. Customers still need to verify eligibility and apply through T-Mobile’s ABA enrollment process. TmoNews directed eligible New Yorkers to check broadband.ny.gov.

T-Mobile neither admits nor denies the allegations. In a statement shared with Engadget, the company said: “We have a long history of helping customers in New York stay connected through low-cost broadband, and we’re updating our plan to meet the state’s requirements while maintaining the same low price. We’ve reached an agreement with the New York Attorney General that builds on that commitment, provides greater clarity around our offering and makes the plan available to more eligible customers.” Attorney General Letitia James said: “Reliable and affordable internet service is a basic need for all New Yorkers, but T-Mobile flouted the law designed to help vulnerable New Yorkers access it.”

The settlement concerns T-Mobile’s fixed-wireless home broadband offering under New York law and does not extend to the company’s standard mobile phone plans. Compliance reporting submitted to the AG’s office could help clarify whether enrolled customers are receiving speeds that meet the statutory minimum in practice.