Last week, without uttering a peep, T-Mobile became much more generous with its tethering policies. The change was originally uncovered by TMoNews, and users on reddit and other forums have since confirmed it, but as of publication T-Mobile hasn’t mentioned it publicly at all.
Here’s what’s happening:
- All tethering is now unlimited, although data buckets still apply. Going forward, just like phone data, if you go over your tethering allowance, you will be throttled – but you won’t be cut off like before.
- Throttling appears to be 128kbps – approximately double the speed of dial up. While this isn’t great, it’s still enough for basic web browsing and checking email. You won’t be able to stream anything, but you’ll be able to stay connected. And it’s surely a lot better than being cut off completely.
- Like before, throttling will be taken from your normal data bucket. So, if you’re on a 3GB plan, you can use your 3GB however you damn well please.
- Unlimited users all got a bump of 2GB. If you’re on the old $70 unlimited plan, your tethering bucket just went up from 3GB to 5GB. If you’re on the newer $80 plan (or you’re on T-Mobile’s promotional 2/$100 unlimited plan), your tethering bucket just went up to 7GB from 5GB.
As a frequent traveler, I’m very pleased with these changes – especially since I no longer have to worry about being cut off completely!
