The Breakdown: T-Mobile’s Home Internet Plan
What I really love about T-Mobile’s approach to home internet is how easy it is to understand. I’m not saying it’s the ideal plan for everyone; I’m saying that, with many internet providers, just trying to figure out the plan is a headache. We’ll get into all the details below.
The Basics
With T-Mobile’s 5G service, you get unlimited data for $50 per month (including taxes) with no data caps. There are no equipment rental fees or cancellation fees either, if you decide this isn’t the service for you.
There is a trade-off for that straightforward simplicity, however. T-Mobile’s 5G internet isn’t lightning-quick at this point in time. This will probably change, but currently, T-Mobile guarantees download speeds between 33 and 182 Mbps.
T-Mobile Speeds in Context
While 33 to 182 Mbps is a good deal faster than, say, an entry-level HughesNet satellite plan — and more than covers moderate browsing, emailing, and (standard-definition) streaming needs — T-Mobile can’t hit the heavy-duty speeds of some of our top-rated internet providers for seniors.
Did You Know? You don’t need blazing-fast downloads to do everything. According to Netflix, you don’t need much more than 5 Mbps to stream your favorite movies and series in HD.2 That’s only 4 Mbps more than you need to send emails.
For example, for about the same price as T-Mobile’s fixed $50 plan, you could be cruising the internet with AT&T’s Internet 1000 plan, which gives you super-fast downloads up to 940 Mbps. (Check out our AT&T Internet review for the whole story on that.) CenturyLink Gigabit Fiber Internet is another prime contender for older Americans who are still going full steam on the web, even if it’s a little more pricey at $65 per month.
The silver lining here for any T-Mobile holdouts is that T-Mobile has the best mobile 5G cell phone coverage in the nation to date. T-Mobile 5G internet is growing. In a few years’ time, you can probably expect some killer coverage and, with that coverage, much higher speeds.
Easy Setup
T-Mobile delivers their service via their own “5G Gateway” device that uses the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology. Wi-Fi 6 is a huge advance over previous generations of Wi-Fi technology, with double the channel width and much faster connections — fast enough, in fact, to stream 8K videos!
That Gateway device — which looks a little like a first-generation Amazon Alexa — serves as your router and should be able to cover your entire house. That means you won’t need to worry about rigging up access points in the den or bedroom when you want to connect, which will be a big relief for anyone who’s ever gone through that hassle.
Using the T-Mobile App
After setting up your 5G Gateway, you just download the T-Mobile app and connect. The T-Mobile app, available for iPhones and Android devices, is your command center. It will show you signal strength and speeds. If you’ve got grandkids around regularly, you can even set up “grandparental” controls to limit screen time.
Senior tip: While T-Mobile’s internet app doesn’t have a content filter to limit the websites and apps the little ones are allowed to visit, it does let you set the days and times they can go online.