Well, this is sort of a mess.
Late Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it has reached a $48 million settlement with T-Mobile, including a $7.5 million fine and $35.5 million in consumer benefits, following an investigation into whether the carrier adequately disclosed speed and data restrictions for its so-called “unlimited” data plan subscribers.
FCC investigators determined that ads and other disclosures from T-Mobile, and its prepaid brand MetroPCS, failed to adequately inform customers about its policy that de-prioritizes the top 3 percent of its heaviest data users during times of network contention or congestion, resulting in slower network speeds.
Within the terms of the settlement, eligible T-Mobile and MetroPCS subscribers will automatically receive an additional 4GB of 4G LTE data for December. These subscribers will also be offered 20 percent off any single accessory at participating T-Mobile retail locations via a promo code to be sent along as a text message in December.
T-Mobile has agreed to update its fine print disclosures to clearly explain its “Top 3 Percent Policy,” what triggers it, who may be affected by it, and its impacts on data speeds. T-Mobile will also be required to notify individual customers when their data usage approaches the threshold for de-prioritization.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors and the Federal Communications Commission