T-Mobile will pay $48 million over misleading 'unlimited' data plans

T-Mobile will pay a $48 million for its failure to disclose restrictions on its "unlimited" data plans, the Federal Communications Commission announced Wednesday.

The wireless carrier will pay that $48 million through a $7.5 million fine to the FCC and $35.5 million in benefits to consumers. The settlement resolves an FCC investigation into T-Mobile's practices.

The FCC investigation found that T-Mobile was able to slow down data speeds when unlimited customers exceeded a monthly data threshold -- and that customers weren't always aware of these restrictions.

"Company advertisements and other disclosures may have led unlimited data plan customers to expect that they were buying better and faster service than what they received," the FCC said in a statement.

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The FCC said it received complaints from consumers who "felt misled" when they learned of the restrictions to their plans. The speed limits, they said, effectively cut off their data by making it too slow to use once they reached T-Mobile's threshold.

“Consumers should not have to guess whether so-called ‘unlimited’ data plans contain key restrictions, like speed constraints, data caps, and other material limitations,” FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc said in a statement. “When broadband providers are accurate, honest and upfront in their ads and disclosures, consumers aren’t surprised and they get what they’ve paid for. With today’s settlement, T-Mobile has stepped up to the plate to ensure that its customers have the full information they need to decide whether ‘unlimited’ data plans are right for them.”

T-Mobile will now have to offer $35.5 million in benefits to customers with unlimited plans, applied through 20 percent discounts on phone accessories and 4 GB of additional data. The company will pay an additional $5 million through a program that will provide tablets and other devices to schools.

The wireless carrier will have to update its disclosures to more clearly inform consumers of data speed limits. The company will also have to notify individual consumers as they approach their monthly data limits.

T-Mobile in August announced it was "ditching the data plan" entirely, transitioning all new customers to a differently priced plan with unlimited data. That plan has similar restrictions to the ones criticized by the FCC.

AT&T has also faced FCC action about misleading data plans. The commission last year proposed a $100 million fine for AT&T.