T-Mobile will begin charging for overages on their low-tier data plans starting August 13. The change affects various 200MB introductory packages but could be a sign of things to come for all data subscribers.
T-Mobile’s current data packages don’t charge overages when customers surpass their allotted bandwidth, but rather throttle transfer speeds in an effort to curb further usage.
“Customers will incur overages of $0.10 per MB when they exceed 200MB of data ($10 for 100MB) up to a maximum monthly payment of $40 with both Value and Classic plans for data including the 200MB add-on fee,” T-Mobile said in a statement published by AllThingsD.
Customers will receive a text message from T-Mobile when they reach 180MB with the opportunity to upgrade to a different data plan featuring a higher usage cap. A second text will be sent when the 200MB mark is reached, again offering the option to move to a more expensive plan.
T-Mobile claims the 200MB plan has exceeded expectations and “in order to remain competitive” the package will be grandfathered as of August 13.
T-Mobile isn’t the only wireless provider making changes to their unlimited plans. AT&T recently confirmed they will begin throttling broadband speeds later this year, although the change is said to only affect the top five percent of data users.
AT&T didn't say how much data the its heaviest users consume, but if it's any consolation, the company said you could receive thousands of emails, visit thousands of sites and stream hours of video each month without making the top five percent. It's unclear how much you'll be allowed to use before having your speeds reduced, nor has AT&T mentioned precisely how much they'll throttle data hogs. The change will go in effect starting October 1 and we assume the company will offer more details by then.
https://www.techspot.com/news/45072-t-mobile-to-start-charging-overages-on-low-tier-data-plan.html
