T-Mobile customers are facing higher monthly bills as the carrier announces an increase in its Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery Fee starting April 23, 2025.
The company began notifying customers via text messages about the upcoming changes. Voice line fees will rise from $3.49 to $3.99 per line, while data-only lines will see an increase from $0.50 to $0.70.
According to T-Mobile's support documentation, this fee is not a government-mandated tax. Instead, the company collects and keeps these charges to offset various operational costs, including compliance with government programs and charges from other carriers for call delivery.
This price adjustment places T-Mobile's recovery fees above its main competitors. Verizon currently charges $3.50 per voice line for its Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge, while AT&T maintains a $3.49 per line Administrative & Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee.
The increase means most T-Mobile subscribers will pay at least an additional $0.20 per line monthly. This price hike comes at a time when consumers are already dealing with rising costs across various services.
The mobile carrier industry's practice of passing such operational costs to customers through separate fees, rather than incorporating them into advertised plan prices, continues to raise questions among consumers.