Adding to the financial misery this week, T-Mobile has just alerted customers that their monthly bills are about to go up. As shared on Reddit (via Android Police), T-Mobile started sending out texts this week to let customers know that the Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery Fee will be increasing next month, impacting voice and data lines.
As of April 23, 2025, T-Mobile will increase the fee from $3.49 to $3.99 per line on voice lines of service and from $0.50 to $0.70 on data-only lines. As a result, most T-Mobile customers will be paying at least $0.20 more for service later this month.
T-Mobile explains in a support document on its website that the fee “is not a government tax or imposed by the government.” The carrier notes the fee is “collected and retained by T-Mobile to help recover certain costs we have already incurred and continue to incur.” These costs include funding and compliance with government mandates, programs, and obligations, plus costs and charges imposed on T-Mobile by other carriers for the delivery of calls.
Why it falls on customers to cover these costs with unexpected price hikes is a question none of the mobile carriers seem interested in answering.
It’s worth noting that Verizon also charges $3.50 per month on every voice line for its mysterious “Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge,” while AT&T charges $3.49 per line every month for an “Administrative & Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee.”
T-Mobile’s latest price hike gives it the distinction of being the priciest of the three.
