The United States has some of the most expensive cell phone coverage in the world.
A 2018 study from Finnish research firm Rewheel noted that the United States was “the 5th most expensive market among EU28 and OECD countries.” This means that, at the time of the study, the median price per gigabyte of American mobile data was around $6.70; in contrast, a gigabyte of data costs just $2.16 in the E.U.
Despite these high prices, Americans do not get substantially better service. In fact, some have even claimed that cell phone service in the United States is getting worse.
“On average, between April and June of 2023, U.S. cellphone users reported that out of every 100 times they tried to use data, text, or make a call, they had problems 11 times,” writes Alana Semuels for TIME. “That’s up from about nine problems per 100 connections in most of 2020 and 2021, according to a report from J.D. Power.”
However, that hasn’t stopped mobile service providers from trying to increase their prices, as one TikTok user recently learned.
Is T-Mobile increasing prices?
TikTok user @explain_this recently shared an image that has sparked discussion on TikTok. In the image, the user shows a text they received from T-Mobile telling them that their pricing will increase by $5 per line “for the first time in nearly a decade.”
“For the first time in nearly a decade I’m ready to switch mobile providers,” the TikToker wrote in response.
The user captions the piece with a note that they have six lines; as a result, this would mean a $30 per month increase, or $360 per year hike, in their bills.
In a post to X (formerly Twitter), T-Mobile confirmed that it would be increasing its prices, writing that the company was “adjusting prices to respond to rising costs.” According to the company, this change would only impact a “small fraction of customers,” notes The Verge.
Customers share their thoughts
In the comments section, many questioned why the user was given a $5 increase when they had only received a $2 increase.
“Mine says $2 a line. why are they charging you 5?” a user asked.
“I got the same text and they told me that mine is increasing by two dollars a line,” echoed another.
Other users simply lamented these price increases.
“LIKE WHY IS EVERYTHING GOING UP!! THEYRE LITERALLY TRYING TO KILL US,” exclaimed a user. “I cannot.”
“Yup! I got that too! Not sure what I’m going to do. Personally. I’m sick and tired of being gouged by big corporations!” offered a second.
The Daily Dot reached out to T-Mobile via email and @explain_this via TikTok direct message.
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
