Key Points:
- The T-Mobile AWAY plans, announced back in April, are finally live and available for customer signups.
- The AWAY plans are aimed explicitly at RVers, frequent travelers, and digital nomads – priced at $160/month (with autopay) for unlimited data, or $110/month for 200GB of data.
- With a new official AWAY plan now live, we expect that T-Mobile may begin address/location enforcement on the $50/month Home Internet so that it can only be used at its registered service address.
T-Mobile has finally launched the AWAY plans, which are aimed explicitly at RVers, nomads, and other frequent travelers. The AWAY plans were originally announced in late April 2024, but were delayed due to what T-Mobile said was a technical glitch.
The plans appeared on T-Mobile’s website in mid-June in a “coming soon status” and now, over a month later, they are finally live for sign-ups.
The plans are intended for mobile users, many of whom have been using the fixed-location T-Mobile Home Internet (TMHI) service for years. T-Mobile has not enforced the location restrictions for T-Mobile Home Internet, but with a mobile option now available, it’s likely the company will begin address validation to enforce the fixed-location terms of the Home Internet plans.
T-Mobile AWAY Launch Video
The T-Mobile AWAY Plans
The new AWAY plans are very similar to T-Mobile’s popular Home Internet plans for fixed locations at eligible addresses and are in the same family of plans on T-Mobile’s website.
Like TMHI plans, the AWAY plan is required to be used in the included T-Mobile Gateway device.
Here is a recap of the AWAY Plan options and terms of service:
The AWAY plan comes in two flavors:
- Unlimited data for $160/month (with autopay)
- 200GB of data for $110/month (with autopay)
Without autopay, prices are $5 higher.
Like Home Internet, these plans are always deprioritized, and on the unlimited version, there is additional deprioritization after 1.2TB of use in a billing cycle.
On the 200GB plan, once the 200GB is used in a billing cycle, speeds are reduced to 2G (128kbps). Customers can purchase additional high-speed data passes – 10 GB for $10 or 25GB for $20.
There is no domestic or international roaming on these plans and no video streaming throttles, indicating that 4k video is possible when in an area that supports the required bandwidth.
Also, like Home Internet plans, the AWAY plans are not compatible with some live streaming services – these are streaming services that operate similarly to cable TV by providing live channel streams.
Overall, the terms are almost identical, but there are two major differences.
The first and most significant difference between the AWAY and Home Internet plans is that mobile use is authorized on the AWAY plan – not only authorized but also required. The fine print for the AWAY plan states: “For use at multiple locations on T-Mobile network; not for extended use in the same location.”
We reached out to T-Mobile Corporate PR about how they will define “extended use” since many nomads are seasonal and may spend months at a single location, and they gave us the following clarification:
The Away [terms and conditions] language around extended use in one location is to ensure people aren’t using the plan as their primary solution in one location indefinitely. A situation like someone traveling and using the service in one location over the duration of winter or summer months would be within the terms of Away.
This is good news for seasonal nomads.
The second difference is that the AWAY plans can be paused for up to 90 days, twice a year, for $10 a month. This makes the AWAY plans more flexible for part-time nomads.
When Is Address Validation Coming for TMHI?
When the Away plan was announced, internal T-Mobile customer support documents were leaked, which indicated that “Home Internet Service Address Validation” was also coming. Address Validation is T-Mobile’s term for location enforcement for the TMHI plans.
After the 5G version of T-Mobile Home Internet launched, it was quickly discovered that T-Mobile was not enforcing the fixed-location terms of service. At $50 (or even less), this was a tremendous value for an unlimited data plan, and many in the RV, cruising, and nomad communities signed up.
Many T-Mobile reps actively sold this plan as suitable for RV use, including using a store’s or other address to get past the eligibility requirement. And some T-Mobile resellers actively sold the plan at various RV rallies across the country.
T-Mobile hasn’t provided details of how this will work exactly, but a T-Mobile PR rep provided this statement to us for this story:
We’ve always said Home Internet should only be used at the address a customer signs up with to make sure we deliver a great network experience to all our customers in the area. We began notifying customers using Home Internet at a different address than the one they signed up at and asked that they either call care or visit a store to confirm their address eligibility.
While – just like the AWAY Plan launch – it’s not clear when enforcement will come, it does appear that it is coming. Those using TMHI as a mobile option or in a location away from the registered service address should have a plan B in mind when enforcement comes.
Comparing AWAY to Alternatives
Those looking for alternatives to TMHI and/or the AWAY plan have several alternatives with various tradeoffs.
T-Mobile compares the AWAY plan to several other options in this chart on the website:
T-Mobile’s comparison chart – note that the price for Starlink equipment doesn’t reflect the $499 hardware price reduction from June for the Standard Dish.
However, there are other options to consider.
We hosted a live video event on May 8, 2024 that included recommended alternative options to T-Mobile Home Internet. These options are also included on our Top Pick Data Plans page, where we keep our constantly updated list of the best data plans for RVers, boaters and nomads.
Notable T-Mobile alternatives include:
- T-Mobile Business Internet – These plans are similar to TMHI, except sold directly to businesses for $60/mo. Their marketing has always been targeted to temporary work sites and pop-up locations. Members, see our exclusive notes below for more.
- Non-profit plans – These are obtained by purchasing a membership with a non-profit organization that offers T-Mobile service as a benefit. Data is unlimited but use is restricted to a provided mobile hotspot device. Typically requires paying for service as much as a year in advance, which works out to $50-63/month for the first year of service.
- FMCA TechConnect+ MAX – A T-Mobile no-contract rental plan offered to members of the Family Motor Coach Association, an RV-focused membership organization. $59.99/month provides an unlimited data plan either BYOD or with a mobile hotspot device. Requires FMCA membership to access, which is $50/year.
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Concluding Thoughts
When the AWAY plan was first announced back in late April, along with leaks about address validation for T-Mobile Home Internet, the news shook the mobile connectivity community. T-Mobile looked intent on forcing mobile users off of TMHI and onto the much more expensive AWAY plans.
Whether due to a technical glitch or customer backlash, the rollout of both the AWAY plans and TMHI location enforcement was delayed. But now, almost three months later, the AWAY plans are finally available. And that could well be a harbinger that TMHI location enforcement is coming soon.
From the beginning, we’ve consistently reiterated the location restrictions in the TMHI terms of service. We’ve seen all too often how carriers don’t enforce their terms…until they do.
The AWAY plan, as a mobile-friendly version of Home Internet, is finally here.
Still, many customers and potential customers will be turned off by the high price, especially compared to TMHI and other T-Mobile options available. As such, we are not considering AWAY a Top Pick and instead encourage our audience to look at other T-Mobile alternatives that are much more competitively priced.
But it is the first carrier-direct, mobile-friendly unlimited data plan we’ve seen come out in quite a while. We’re hopeful that competitors Verizon and AT&T will offer something similar.
Further Reading
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