Early last year, T-Mobile rolled out several draconian changes that frustrated its customers, leading some to decide to cut ties with the company.
Last April, T-Mobile raised monthly fees on some older cell phone plans by $5 and increased regulatory plan and telecom restoration fees that customers pay each month.
It also officially retired its Go5G plans in June and began removing taxes and fees from plan pricing. By August, T-Mobile was even removing some customers from their old phone plans and putting them on Go5G Plus plans.
After the changes took effect, T-Mobile revealed in its third-quarter 2025 earnings report that its postpaid phone churn rate (the number of customers who canceled their phone service) increased 3 basis points year over year.
The loss of loyal customers is not surprising, as many Americans have drawn a line in the sand when it comes to the price of their monthly phone bills. This has led to more consumers exploring cheaper, non-traditional phone service options such as mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), a WhistleOut survey last year showed.
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The average cost of a single line phone plan is $76 per month.
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about 42% of T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T customers have checked their phone bills Increase In the past year, that is 7% high Above average.
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return, 58% T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T customers Consider switching As prices increase, move to a different phone carrier.
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also, 34% of these customers said they wouldBystander switch to a virtual network operator Within next year.
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T-Mobile risk losing a combined 75.9 million customers Because mobile plans are priced higher.
Source: WhistleOut
“In the wake of economic uncertainty and rising prices, many people are realizing they can save money by switching their phone service to smaller carriers called MVNOs,” WhistleOut senior writer Max McCaskill wrote in the survey. “These carriers use the major carrier networks but at a much lower cost.”
Despite the risk of suffering more customer churn, T-Mobile decided to start the new year by raising monthly bills and increasing fees again.
In an update on its website, the phone operator warned customers it would once again increase its regulatory schedule and telecommunications recovery fees. T-Mobile said the fee helps “recover certain costs it incurs,” such as fees from other carriers and the cost of financing and complying with government directives.
Starting Jan. 21, the cost per voice line for phone customers will increase from $3.99 to $4.49. For mobile Internet lines, the cost per line will rise from $1.60 to $2.10.
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The rate adjustment will only affect customers on plans whose prices do not include taxes. Customers on older plans that already include taxes will not see changes to their bills.
The last time T-Mobile raised regulatory plans and telecom recovery fees last April, voice line rates rose from $3.49 to $3.99 and mobile internet line rates rose from $1.40 to $1.60.
The fee has been criticized by customers in the past, with some questioning its legality. In 2024, T-Mobile was hit with a class-action lawsuit in which customers claimed they had been “unlawfully” charged the fee for decades, claiming the fee’s description was “unfair and deceptive” because the fee was “not subject to any benchmark” and could be changed “at will.”
T-Mobile’s latest fee increase comes shortly after the company made several major billing changes affecting its customers in recent months.
In October, T-Mobile began notifying customers that they would lose their automatic payment discount if they paid early with a credit card. It also began requiring customers who want to set up payment arrangements for past-due balances to do so through the T-Life app, rather than at a T-Mobile store or the company’s automated phone system.
The following month, T-Mobile also increased late fees for customers who didn’t pay their bills on time, from $7 to $10 (or 5% of the past-due balance; T-Mobile will choose whichever is higher).
Most recently, on January 1, the phone carrier began charging $3 per month for its Apple TV “On Us” benefit, which since 2021 has been free for “Plus” tier phone plan customers.
The changes come as T-Mobile operates under new leadership. Srini Gopalan became the company’s CEO on November 1, about seven months after serving as chief operating officer.
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Under his leadership, Gopalan aims to introduce “digital transformation” at T-Mobile, which he hopes will address customer frustrations.
“I want everyone to know that I am not only committed to being a network leader today, but will also invest relentlessly to defend and expand our network leadership position tomorrow,” Gopalan said during an October earnings call.
“Let me talk about digital transformation. Today, we create tremendous friction and frustration for our customers because of our processes and the state of the industry. We have a tremendous opportunity to change that through digital transformation,” he continued.
T-Mobile changed course after a recent JD Power survey found it trailed MVNOs in consumer satisfaction.
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T-Mobile has one consumer satisfaction score of Chapter 636 (on a 1,000-point scale) Its postpaid plans outperform Verizon and AT&T, which scored Chapter 583 Chapter 573 respectively.
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However, virtual network operator The average satisfaction score is Chapter 641.
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Specifically, consumer mobile phone The score is Chapter 726although Google Fi wireless The score is Chapter 671.
Source: JD Power
“The survey results show that value is the most important driver of the overall experience, followed by service quality,” Carl Lepper, senior director of technology, media and telecommunications at JD Power, said in a press release.
“These two dimensions are at the heart of our new model – and for good reason,” he added. “As the market continues to expand, with brands aiming to meet different customer needs, expectations continue to rise – not just for strong network performance, but also for service plans that reflect individual preferences.”
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This article was originally published by TheStreet on January 12, 2026, and first appeared in the Retail section. Click here to add TheStreet as your preferred source.