T-Mobile hit with $48 million FCC settlement for misleading 'unlimited' data plans

The Federal Communications Commission has reached a settlement with T-Mobile that includes the carrier agreeing to pay out $48 million over how it described its unlimited data plans to customers.

The FCC said that T-Mobile did not properly disclose the fact that its “unlimited” data plans allowed for the carrier to throttle its download speeds when some customers reached a certain threshold during times of high congestion. The FCC added:

Company advertisements and other disclosures may have led unlimited data plan customers to expect that they were buying better and faster service than what they received.

Under the terms of the FCC settlement, T-Mobile will pay $7.5 million to the government, along with $35.5 million that will be given out to customers in the form of 4GB of additional data for a “mobile internet line” along with 20 percent off the price of any accessory sold by the carrier. Finally, the carrier has agreed to spend $5 million for tablets and internet connections for low-income school students.