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Data throttling is a tactic employed by companies to throttle or reduce the speed you get from your Telecom company.
Data throttling can be particularly upsetting if you have an unlimited plan where you should theoretically get an unlimited amount of kpbs.
There are two important terms here. Data throttling occurs when you pass a threshold for your data usage. This is also referred to as your data cap. If you have a plan that is not Unlimited, data throttling slows down your speeds once you surpass that threshold.
Deprioritization is a fancy term that happens whenever the network slows down your speeds through data throttling in order to give priority to other users. This can happen no matter which plan you have, including unlimited plans. Deprioritization is basically a way for carriers to give priority to whichever customers they choose. In fact, if you are in a congested area and your signal suddenly goes out, that’s probably because the tower is shared by multiple providers and they gave priority to someone else.
Just the same as you can run a test with your internet speed to see if you are being throttled, you can do a speed test for your phone. With this you can repeat the speed test at the same time of day, in the same place, over the course of a few days or weeks to see if it is noticeably different.
The contract text for your Metro by T-Mobile plan does not actually include the words data throttling or deprioritization. You find this information if you visit the data usage page on the website. This can be a little confusing and leads to a lot of frustrated customers who feel they have been misled.
On this page Metro by T-Mobile says that once you reach the gigabytes you have paid for in your plan, you will get reduced speeds. They also say that in any situation where a single Tower is congested, where a lot of people are using the same network at the same time, they reserve the right to reduce your data speeds through deprioritization. Customers who do not have unlimited plans will be hit the hardest and will be hit first by this deprioritization.
Like most major cell phone providers, Metro by T-Mobile gives priority to their customers who pay for unlimited plans. However, those who pay for unlimited plans are not immune. They will also face deprioritization if there are a lot of people using a tower in your area and they are not clear about what these speeds are dropped to because they say it’s based on the number of people using a network at any given time and the location.
What can you do if you believe Metro by T-Mobile throttle your data? What steps can you take especially if it is a new billing cycle and yet you believe there are still slower speeds than you pay for?
Start by trying to contact Metroy by T-Mobile customer service. You can contact Metro by T-Mobile customer service from your phone at 1 (888) 863-8768.
You can also submit an email to customer service here.
If you conducted a speed test and found evidence that data throttling might be happening, contacting customer service is a great place to start because you can bring it to their attention and if they know that you know it’s happening, they might make it a point to try and stop it. This is especially true if you use that information as leverage to explain why you might consider switching to a competitor that is less likely to use such tactics for customers with unlimited plans.
You can read more about how to make their corporate office listen here.
If you have tried to reach out to Metro by T-Mobile customer service and you aren’t getting a satisfactory solution, there are other options. Consumer arbitration is something laid out in your contract and it provides you a way to bring your case before an independent arbitrator.
Arbitration is a form of dispute resolution which allows you to bring your dispute against T-Mobile in front of an independent arbitrator who will review all of the facts and make a fair decision. This is also something specifically laid out in your contract with Metro by T-Mobile.
We can help you when Metro by T-Mobile throttles your data and won’t respond to your customer service outreach efforts.
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