Why it matters to you
It’s a bummer that most cell phone plans don’t have taxes and fees included, especially because fee increases will get passed on to those customers.
Calling all T-Mobile customers — some less than stellar news is coming your way. The Un-carrier just announced a new fee change that will impact some of you — specifically those who are not part of the T-Mobile One plan. Beginning June 10, 2017, the Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery Fee for certain T-Mobile accounts will increase. Voice line costs will go from $2.71 to $3.18, and data lines will jump from $0.98 to $1.16.
Because T-Mobile One plans have their taxes and fees included, no changes will be made for those customers. But others should be prepared to see a change in their monthly bill. Moreover, former SunCom Wireless customers, who have previously been able to avoid paying this fee, will see their luck run out in this regard starting June 10 (unless, of course, they’re on a T-Mobile One plan).
T-Mobile explains that the fee is “not a government tax, rather a fee collected and retained by T-Mobile to help recover certain costs we have already incurred and continue to incur.” The Un-carrier continues, “[The fee] includes: 1) Funding and complying with government mandates, programs, and obligations, like E911 or local number portability ($0.60 of the total charge for voice lines and $0.15 for data only lines), and 2) Charges imposed on T-Mobile by other carriers for the delivery of calls from our customers to theirs, and by third parties for certain network facilities and services we purchase to provide you with service.”
While it’s certainly no fun to pay more, at the very least, T-Mobile is giving customers bit of advance notice before levying the new charges.
“We regularly assess our costs and occasionally adjust our fees and taxes as part of regular government program compliance and third-party service reviews,” T-Mobile concludes. “This helps to ensure that our customers are accurately assessed fees and taxes based on their needs and the type of plan they purchase.”