Commentary

Comcast Imposes Data Caps On More Customers

Comcast is bringing its controversial data caps to yet more markets. As of Nov. 1, additional Comcast customers in at least 18 states will face overages if they consume more than 1 TB of data per month.

People who exceed the cap will be charged $10 per each 50 GB, up to a maximum of $200. Subscribers can also pay an extra $50 a month for unlimited data.

Comcast says that fewer than 1% of its customers use more than 1 TB a month, which is enough to stream 600-700 hours of high-definition video. But even though most people stay under Comcast's data caps now, broadband usage tends to increase as more material and services become available through the Web.

The cable giant is justifying its pay-per-byte pricing plans by arguing they're "based on a principle of fairness."

"Those who use more Internet data, pay more," Comcast writes in a blog post. "And those who use less Internet data, pay less."

But consumer advocates have rightly questioned why it's "fair" for Comcast to charge based on consumption, when the cost of providing broadband doesn't vary based on how much people use. "The broadband provider’s expense comes from installing the wire in the first place, not from customers merely using the internet access service for which they’ve already paid," Free Press policy director Matt Wood recently told MediaPost.

Advocates also point out that Internet service providers may not be able to impose caps at will if customers had the option to change carriers. In fact, Comcast itself hasn't yet implemented caps in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic where, according to BroadbandReports, the company faces "slightly more competition."

Comcast's move comes just several weeks after Netflix asked the Federal Communications Commission to crack down on data caps. The online video distributor wrote that data caps "discourage a consumer’s consumption of broadband, and may impede the ability of some households to watch Internet television in a manner and amount that they would like."

The FCC doesn't currently have any rules prohibiting Internet service providers from capping data, and hasn't ever suggested that pay-per-byte billing is illegal. When the agency passed net neutrality rules last year, it declined to prohibit broadband providers from imposing data caps, or billing on a pay-per-byte basis. Instead, the FCC said it would examine data caps on a case-by-case basis to determine whether they were hindering consumers' ability to use the Web.

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