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Your next T-Mobile bill may cost a little extra.
The carrier is increasing its Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery Fee for each voice and mobile internet line starting April 23. For voice lines, the fee is revised to $3.99 per month, up by $0.50 from the previous $3.49; for data-only plans, it will be $1.60 per month, up from $1.40. T-Mobile has been notifying customers via SMS.
According to T-Mobile’s website, the Regulatory Programs fee is collected to recover costs associated with government mandates and programs, such as 911 and mobile number portability. And the Telco Recovery fee helps cover charges imposed by other carriers to deliver phone calls to users on their network.
The fee increase doesn't affect those with taxes and fees included in their plans, T-Mobile says.
Verizon’s version of the same fee, called Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge, went up from $3.30 to $3.50 per month for each voice line and from $1.40 to $1.60 for each data line in December. The following month, its Unlimited and 5G plans also went up by $4 per month.
Earlier this month, T-Mobile also imposed a $5-per-month rate hike on some of its older plans.
Meanwhile, around 76 million T-Mobile customers affected by a data breach in 2021 are set to receive their settlement payouts starting this month. Customers who claimed out-of-pocket losses could receive up to $25,000 but most payouts will likely be around $25.