T-Mobile Will Now Tell You When Your Data Slows Down

After consumer advocate complaints and pressure from federal regulators, T-Mobile has agreed to be transparent with customers whose data plans have been "throttled" after exceeding their monthly data limits.

Subscribers who exceed their data caps aren't cut off from wireless connection; instead, T-Mobile slows down their Internet to 128Kbps or 64Kbps (depending on their service plan), but the company has made it difficult for customers to figure out their new, slower connection speed, Ars Technica reported.

The new guidelines will be implemented within 60 days and should make it much clearer for frustrated customers whose data connection has slowed.

The Federal Communications Commission has been keeping a close eye on telecommunications companies and "has been actively investigating wireless carriers' speed reduction practices since this summer," the agency said.

Last month, the FCC sued fellow wireless carrier AT&T for allegedly deceiving millions of subscribers who paid for "unlimited" data plans but experienced throttling, something that was detailed in the fine print but far less visible in marketing campaigns.

T-Mobile's agreement with the FCC includes these new steps to allow for improved transparency with subscribers:

• Send customers a text message once they hit their monthly high-speed data allotment linking to a speed test that customers can use to determine their actual reduced speed;
• Provide a button on customer smartphones linking to a speed test that will show actual reduced speeds;
• Modify the text messages it currently sends to customers once they hit their monthly high-speed data allotment to make it clear that certain speed tests may show network speeds, rather than their reduced speed, and the modified texts also will provide more information about the speeds that will be available after customers exceed their data cap;
• Modify its website disclosures to better explain T-Mobile's policies regarding speed test applications and where consumers can get accurate speed information.