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T-Mobile to tackle customers who abuse unlimited data
June 07, 2025
T-Mobile’sJohn Legere has published an open letter to its consumers, informing them about upcoming action to be taken against individuals who have been “stealing data from T-Mobile”. While that might sound a little odd, the company is actually planning to target customers who have been abusing its unlimited data plans, by consuming as much as 2 terabytes of tethered data each month.
According to Legere, only a small fraction of consumers are abusing the rules. They have apparently been doing so by concealing tethered connections in an attempt to use high-speed LTE data as an alternative to a traditional broadband. Mobile bandwidth is a more limited resource, so these high consumption users are hogging resources that should be spread across a wider selection of T-Mobile customers.
To combat the issue, T-Mobile has apparently developed technology that is able to detect when customers are trying to hide their tethering activity. The company will be warning suspected customers about their activity before moving them over to a limited 4G LTE data plan, where it can more effectively cap their usage. T-Mobile has already identified 3,000 users who will begin hearing from the company this week.
The carrier is keen to point out that this decision is not about throttling the data of the vast majority of users who make sensible and fair use of their data plans. The company actually has a 7GB tethering limit on its unlimited data plan, after which speeds are already throttled down. T-Mobile is only after those customers which are deliberately trying to circumvent the contract rules regarding tethering.
Legere states that he “won’t let a few thieves ruin things for anyone else”, but do you feel that T-Mobile is treating its customers fairly?
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