T-Mobile makes pledge to disclose speeds

Under pressure from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), T-Mobile has agreed to give more accurate information to people trying to check on their Internet speeds.

The agency on Monday announced that T-Mobile will take a number of steps to make it easier for people to see exactly how fast their Internet is, even after they go above a data cap established in their plan.

{mosads}Subscribers who break through that cap have their Internet speed significantly lowered. Currently, however, it can be difficult for those people to tell exactly how fast their new speeds are, because some applications to test Internet speeds are exempt from those caps and tell people the full network speed instead of the speed that they are actually experiencing.

Under its new plan, T-Mobile subscribers who reach their data cap will receive a text message with a link to an application that checks their actual speed, among other efforts at disclosure.

Andy Levin, T-Mobile’s senior vice president of government affairs, said the move will “prevent any confusion” for customers who have surpassed their data caps.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement that the change would be good for the wireless company’s customers.

“Consumers need this information to fully understand what they are getting with their broadband service,” he said.

The FCC has put a focus on wireless companies adjusting users’ speeds based on busy networks, data caps and other factors, a practice known as “throttling.”

Earlier this year, Verizon backed off of a plan to slow some heavy users’ data speeds, after Wheeler made multiple comments criticizing the plan.  

— Updated at 4:16 p.m.