T-Mobile introduces soft data cap for Home internet users

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T-Mobile has started notifying its Home Internet customers about a new soft data cap that could see lower connection speeds based on usage.

In a letter sent to customers and reviewed by KnowTechie this week, T-Mobile officials said Home Internet customers who use more than 1.2 terabytes (TBs) of data during their billing cycle “may notice lower priority among other Internet customers.”

T-Mobile Home Internet, which operates on T-Mobile’s 5G wireless network, already receives lower connection priority than customers using their phones or hotspots on most unlimited wireless plans.

Now, customers who use more than 1.2 TBs of data per month could see their connections even further deprioritized on T-Mobile’s wireless network. This move will help ease network congestion when more people are connected to T-Mobile’s network.

Not a hard cap, say officials

T-Mobile explains that the limitation is not a strict data cap that disconnects customers once they surpass a certain amount. Instead, it is a soft cap designed to maintain network stability for all customers.

According to a notice reviewed by KnowTechie on T-Mobile’s “Open Internet Policy” page, the soft data cap officially took effect in January.

At the time, the soft data cap was implemented for new customers who signed up for T-Mobile’s Home Internet plan, which, depending on certain factors, costs between $50 and $60 per month.

Now, the soft data cap is rolling out more broadly to all T-Mobile Home Internet users, the company affirmed this week.

“The threshold number is periodically evaluated across our rate plans and brands to manage network traffic and deliver a good experience to all customers while offering a range of customer choices,” the company says on its Open Internet Policy webpage.

T-Mobile says customers can check their current rate plan by logging into the T-Mobile app or visiting the My T-Mobile website.

Are you a T-Mobile customer affected by this? Do you feel like 1.25 TB is enough, more than generous? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is an award-winning freelance journalist who covers the intersection of media, technology and journalism. He is the publisher of TheDesk.net and a contributor to KnowTechie, StreamTV Insider (formerly Fierce Video) and Digital Content Next. Matthew is based in Northern California.