Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration is canceling the T-Mobile internet service portion of a Chromebook and connectivity contract signed under former Mayor Eric Adams. Chalkbeat reported that the deal carries a flat fee of about $3.5 million a month and that the internet component was expected to cost around $200 million over its term. Principals were told Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, that T-Mobile data plans for students end Aug. 31, and were asked to identify students who still need internet and to order service through an existing Verizon program at $10 per student per month before school starts Sept. 10.
The canceled contract
The program dates to Sept. 8, 2025, when the Mayor's Office announced 350,000 LTE- and 5G-connected Chromebooks with no-cost T-Mobile internet for students across roughly 1,700 schools, at a four-year cost of nearly $330 million. That figure included about $129 million in capital spending and $198 million in operating costs.
The public figures did not match the contract that followed. New York Focus reviewed contract documents showing a flat monthly rate of $3.5 million for 60 months, or about $210 million, and reported that the city described the deal as a four-year, $198 million contract without explaining the difference. The same outlet reported that the Adams administration approached T-Mobile directly rather than seeking competing bids from Verizon or AT&T, both existing city vendors, and that staff at the Office of Technology and Innovation raised concerns about the flat-fee structure.
Chalkbeat reported that the contract was approved by the Panel for Educational Policy but held by the Office of Technology and Innovation rather than the Department of Education. By December 2025, roughly 220,000 Chromebooks had been shipped to 1,200 schools and 71,000 had been handed to students, according to New York Focus, which cited comptroller records showing the city had paid close to $25 million for the laptops. Department officials now say all 350,000 Chromebooks have been purchased and distributed to schools, but Chalkbeat reported they did not say how many students received one or how many used the T-Mobile internet service.
A Department of Education spokesperson, Nicole Brownstein, said the arrangement repeated what the city already had available at an added cost, and that ending it would preserve connectivity while saving taxpayer money.
A targeted replacement
The replacement depends on a pre-existing Department of Education program in which principals buy Verizon LTE service at $10 per student per month and add it to any school-issued Chromebook or iPad. Chalkbeat reported that this program predated the T-Mobile contract. The cancellation notice gives schools until Sept. 10 to assemble lists of students who need service and to place orders.
How other districts approached connectivity
Chicago's Chicago Connected program offers a large-scale example of a targeted model. Started in June 2020, the $50 million, four-year initiative provided free internet to eligible public school students through Comcast and RCN wired broadband and through T-Mobile hotspots. Kids First Chicago reported that the program connected more than 100,000 students, nearly one in three in the district, and cut the number of disconnected school-age children from about 110,000 in 2018 to about 40,000 by the end of 2022. The program was later cited as a model for the federal Affordable Connectivity Program, which ended in June 2024 after Congress did not provide new funding.
Los Angeles Unified took a different approach, contracting with Charter Communications and AT&T for a $50 million program intended to give every student high-speed internet. An EdSource survey found that 85 percent of LAUSD students still struggled to access reliable internet at home, and nearly half of district families said the district should provide free home internet.
What research found
A UChicago Consortium on School Research study found that economic factors were the main drivers of participation in Chicago Connected. Students in temporary housing took up the service at roughly double the rate of other students, 57 percent versus 27 percent. Participation varied by school, and stronger family engagement was associated with a three-percentage-point higher take-up rate. Large shares of eligible students did not enroll, including 43 percent of students in temporary housing and 71 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
A separate peer-reviewed study published through the University of Chicago focused on Chicago students who were unable to join remote learning at the start of pandemic closures. After accounting for student characteristics and prior performance, the study found that enrolling in Chicago Connected had no statistically significant effect on attendance or grades in the following fall semester. The authors suggested that strategies aimed only at the physical digital divide may be insufficient without also addressing underlying social problems.
What remains unclear
The Department of Education has not released figures on how many students were actively using the T-Mobile service, so the financial effect of the cancellation is not independently measurable. The notice also arrives before the school year, leaving schools about two weeks to identify students and buy the Verizon plans. Officials say all 350,000 Chromebooks went to schools, but how many are in students' hands has not been disclosed.