T-Mobile is no longer the underdog it once was, with its business growing, and the brand constantly outcompeting its rivals in the cellular space. For the past few years, T-Mobile has been looking at ways to branch out and expand its business, and even moved on to a new CEO towards the end of last year in order to accomplish this.

New plans…

A T-Mobile coverage map on a smartphone.

If you weren’t aware, T-Mobile announced its new “Better Value” family plan that will go live starting on January 14, 2026. Now, at this point, it seems like the carrier is just rebranding its plans in order to keep things fresh. And while that might be the case for the most part, there are differences when compared to its older offerings.

Plans start at $140/month for three lines and include unlimited talk, text, and data. The plan will also include up to 250GB of hotspot connectivity, along with 30GB of international data use. This is great if you’re someone that frequently travels. All Better Value plans will also include satellite connectivity, along with a five-year price guarantee.

And also new fees

T-Mobile Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery Fee
Credit: T-Mobile

For the most part, not a bad way to start out there year if you’re looking to change plans or switch from a different carrier. However, things aren’t all that they appear to be, as the eagle-eyed folks at Droid Life were able to find some new fee increases that will impact subscribers starting on February 21, 2026.

The details can be found on a T-Mobile support page, with two different fees set to increase, with each voice line requiring subscribers to pay an additional $0.50. This same increase will also be applied to data lines as well. That means voice lines will pay the new fee of $4.49 and internet lines will pay $2.10 starting on January 21, 2026.

This is clearly just a way for T-Mobile to make a little extra money outside the usual cost of plans and services. And if you’re signing up for any new plans, there’s no way to escape this. T-Mobile’s older plans used to include all taxes and fees, which made them quite popular. What was advertised is what you actually ended up paying in the end.

But now, with any new plans, you’re at the mercy of the carrier to pay any and all taxes and fees applied. So, if you’re a T-Mobile customer, get ready to pay just a little more each month starting in just a few weeks.