By David LaGuerre
A new agreement sets deadlines for wider access and an end to data-based slowdowns. Changes are not all immediate.
T-Mobile must change how it offers low-cost home internet, including T-Mobile broadband, to eligible New York households under an agreement announced November 9 by Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James. The agreement requires broader access, changes to download-speed limits and a website that makes the plans easier to find.
For Mohawk Valley households, the key question is whether T-Mobile already offers home internet at their address and whether they meet the state program’s eligibility rules. The agreement does not require the company to build service in every neighborhood or guarantee that every rural home can enroll.
What investigators found
The attorney general’s office said T-Mobile’s Affordable Broadband Act offering did not fully meet the law. Investigators identified a 50-gigabyte monthly data cap that triggered a sharp slowdown, a restriction to homes eligible for 5G service, and website coding that kept plan information out of search results.
Those are the state’s findings. In the signed agreement, T-Mobile neither admits nor denies them. The company cooperated with the investigation, according to the document. This is an agreement resolving an investigation, not a criminal conviction.
The source documents differ on one number: the news release describes the reduced download speed as 650 kilobits per second, while the agreement says 600. Both describe a drop from 25 megabits per second after the data limit. That discrepancy remains unresolved and does not change the agreement’s forward-looking speed requirement.
What must change, and when
The agreement takes effect November 9, 2026. Within 120 days, T-Mobile must stop intentionally reducing an enrolled customer’s speed below the applicable minimum. Temporary slowdowns caused solely by network congestion are allowed.
Also within 120 days, the company must offer the low-cost plan to eligible customers at every address where it offers residential fixed-wireless internet. This type of internet uses cellular signals to connect a receiver in the home. It is a home-internet product, even though the underlying network is wireless.
The agreement includes a network-constraint exception: a speed below 25 megabits per second does not violate that provision if a full-price fixed-wireless customer at the same address also could not receive 25 megabits per second. The terms do not promise identical performance at every location.
Within 60 days, T-Mobile must maintain a public plan page that search engines can index, and place a prominent link on its home-internet deals page. Within 300 days, it must report compliance, enrollment numbers and average download speeds to the attorney general.
Who may qualify
The state law generally requires covered providers to offer eligible households either a plan costing no more than $15 a month with download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second, or a plan costing no more than $20 with speeds of at least 200 megabits per second. That does not mean every provider must offer both options. The state says taxes and equipment fees are included.
Eligibility can be tied to Medicaid, SNAP, qualifying school-lunch eligibility, utility affordability benefits, or the senior and disability rent-increase exemption programs. The governor’s announcement also directs households that do not receive listed benefits to check whether their income qualifies them. Service providers and available speeds depend on the address.
What readers can do now
Start with the state’s broadband consumer resources. Confirm eligibility, the complete monthly charge, equipment terms and address-level availability with the provider. Ask when the agreement’s changes will reach the account rather than assuming they were completed on announcement day.
Keep copies of enrollment information and bills. A low advertised price is useful only if the household understands the service, eligibility and total charge. The state page is also a starting point for comparing covered providers.
This development is separate from the October T-Mobile phone-plan settlement concerning earlier price guarantees. Readers should not assume that eligibility for one agreement creates eligibility for the other.
Sources
Governor’s November 9 announcement; signed agreement, Assurance No. 26-069. This report attributes investigative findings to the attorney general and preserves the speed discrepancy between the two records.