T-Mobile USA will stop throttling data speeds for customers on 200 MB plans and will instead begin charging overage fees beginning Aug. 14.
The move, first reported by TmoNews, is departure from T-Mobile’s strategy of offering unlimited data plans that come with reduced speeds after a certain limit. The pricing plans are a hybrid approach to tiered pricing, allowing T-Mobile to charge more for higher data consumption while still offering popular unlimited plans.
Starting Sunday, customers on the 200 MB plan will be charged 10 cents per megabyte once they pass their monthly limit.
T-Mobile’s move follows a broader shift in the wireless industry away from unlimited data plans. Verizon Wireless ended its unlimited plans in July in favor of three tiered options beginning at $30 for 2GB, following AT&T’s move to cut unlimited plans last summer.
This week, U.S. Cellular announced in its earnings call that it would eventually come out with tiered data plans to address its customers’ rising data use.