ISPs that want to raise another challenge to New York’s law could get help from the Trump administration, which asserts that states must not enforce price regulations or net neutrality laws against any ISP that obtains grants from the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. The grants have not been distributed yet, and California argues that the Trump administration does not have authority to preempt such laws.
T-Mobile’s violation of price-lock promise
In addition to this week’s settlement, New York struck a deal with T-Mobile last month over the carrier violating its promise to never raise prices on certain mobile plans that came with a lifetime price guarantee.
A state investigation “found that from 2017 to 2019, T-Mobile advertised ‘Price Guarantee Plans’ to its 4G customers, promising to ‘never change the price you pay,’” the New York attorney general’s office said on October 20. “However, in 2024, T-Mobile changed course and began raising the price of these plans by approximately $5 per phone line. New Yorkers enrolled in approximately 252,957 of these Price Guarantee Plans saw their phone bills increase.”
T-Mobile agreed to give affected customers several reimbursement options and a price lock until May 2029. The attorney general’s office estimated that the agreement would provide up to $38 million in value to customers affected by the price hikes. T-Mobile also agreed to pay the state a fine of $98,834.75.
T-Mobile provided a statement on the price-hike settlement.
“The $38 million cited in the press release is an estimate of potential benefits that a group of long-standing T-Mobile customers may choose to take advantage of, not the amount in refunds or payments,” T-Mobile said. “The agreement provides for approximately $98,000 paid to the state and a range of optional customer benefits. We’re glad to have this matter resolved and remain focused on delivering value to our customers.”
