Comcast to reinstate data caps

[Voyager6]

Comcast will have data caps for all customers within 5 years.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2155...caps-for-all-to-return-within-five-years.html

A Comcast executive expects that within five years all Comcast customers will once again have monthly bandwidth caps imposed on their home broadband usage. But, Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen said at the MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit in New York on Wednesday, most subscribers won't end up blasting through their bandwidth caps and paying more money every month.

From Comcast's point of view creating bandwidth caps is all about fairness. "People who use more should pay more and people who use less should pay less," Cohen said, as first reported by ArsTechnica. The alternative, from Cohen's point of view, is that prices for monthly Internet access rise for everyone, with light users subsidizing heavy users.

 

[klang]

The devil will be in the details but I don't really oppose paying more if I use more. We never got anywhere close to the 250 GB Comcast used to talk about. Unfortunately Comcast took away the ability to look at your usage so I'm not completely sure where we are today.

 

[Voyager6]

The devil will be in the details but I don't really oppose paying more if I use more. We never got anywhere close to the 250 GB Comcast used to talk about. Unfortunately Comcast took away the ability to look at your usage so I'm not completely sure where we are today.

Comcast is currently experimenting in several markets with caps as low as 5gb and up to 300gb. I predict a cap lower than their previous 250gb with a charge for going over.

 

[Bruce]

Comcast is currently experimenting in several markets with caps as low as 5gb and up to 300gb. I predict a cap lower than their previous 250gb with a charge for going over.

In some areas, those with Extreme 105 ( what I have) the cap is 600GBs.

If the limit is 300gb I will drop Cable and Phone just to be able to pay for going over the limit every month, we are always over 300gbs a month since most of our watching is Netflix and Vudu, if it was up to me I would of been a cord cutter a long time ago

 

[grantsa4]

Klang, I can see my usage. If I log in on the site and go to "my services" and then to "Manage", on the right it shows your usage and you can click on it to show you the past few months.


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[klang]

Klang, I can see my usage. If I log in on the site and go to "my services" and then to "Manage", on the right it shows your usage and you can click on it to show you the past few months.

Thanks, must be location dependent, I get 'We're sorry. We can't load your internet usage meter right now' . Wasn't too long ago that even that much was not there. They must be turning it back on.

 

[grantsa4]

Ok, cool. Hopefully it shows up at some point.


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[Bruce]

Just found this-

http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/133850/comcast-to-set-data-limit-for-users


The largest cable MSO in the U.S., Comcast Corporation (CMCSA - Analyst Report) plans to restrict data download limit to 500 GB per month, in the next five years. Initially, the company may announce a 350 GB data cap and eventually settle on a higher 500 GB plan, depending on customer requirement.

As per Sandvine (which deals in data management tools), nearly 1.5% U.S. broadband users consume over 250 GB data every month while only 1% exceeded the 300 GB data limit. However, it has been noticed that most customers use only 29 GB data per month. Thus, based on the report, Comcast is confident that a 500 GB data plan will satisfy customer requirements over the next few years.

On the flipside, data consumption is increasing in leaps and bounds. Moreover, Netflix, Inc.’s (NFLX - Analyst Report) new 4K standard video services are contributing substantially to Internet traffic at peak hours. With the progress in technology, high resolution videos are increasingly available which require considerable data usage. Thus, we remain doubtful whether a 500 GB plan will be enough in the days to come.

 

[pickone4me]

Surprise surprise, and the creeps want a merger. the FCC is going to create a monster monoply called comcast. What exactly is the issue with data anyways? It's not like it is crude oil traded on the futures market, as far as I know.

 

[radio]

...and, it's not "consumable" and non-renewable. But it IS the commodity people think they cannot live without.

The FCC rarely hears consumers make complaints on the things they NEED to complain about. I'm not defending them, they've made some BAD decisions in the broadcasting end of things, too. But...complaints and letters when solicited on topics are VERY important, and they still register as a consumer complaint when a comment session is not open. So....write and complain! To the FCC and to your federal legislators!


I firmly believe that "bigger is better" is the song of our government these days, however and if the trend continues in mergers, it's going to bite us all in the behind when some entity disrupts one or more large communications entities and leaves much of the country without what we now consider "basic communications needs."

 

[dishfan82]

The whole data cap is a joke. All it is set up for is to go after those who use Netflix, Hulu etc as their tv viewing. Comcast knows people are dropping their tv part of the bundle for tv streaming. So their response is to enforce the data cap to give those who cancelled no option but to come back and get tv. Plus they don't give you a grand price break when you bundle all 3. My in laws are paying close to 300.00 and they don't even have the highest package.

These data caps are a complete rip off. If you stream movies and shows daily then you'll reach the data cap really quick but if you don't stream a lot of stuff it won't have much of an impact.


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[osu1991]

I got a notice from Cox 2 months ago about topping my 250gb cap for 25/5 plan. I use 8-10gbs a day. I work from home, so I've started using my windstream business dsl line for some stuff. Wireless to roku, phones and tablets etc..

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[ts7]

Comcast is currently experimenting in several markets with caps as low as 5gb and up to 300gb. I predict a cap lower than their previous 250gb with a charge for going over.

From a Comcast FAQ posted in April

http://customer.comcast.com/help-an...usage-what-are-the-different-plans-launching/

 

[ts7]

The whole data cap is a joke. All it is set up for is to go after those who use Netflix, Hulu etc as their tv viewing. Comcast knows people are dropping their tv part of the bundle for tv streaming. So their response is to enforce the data cap to give those who cancelled no option but to come back and get tv. Plus they don't give you a grand price break when you bundle all 3. My in laws are paying close to 300.00 and they don't even have the highest package.

These data caps are a complete rip off. If you stream movies and shows daily then you'll reach the data cap really quick but if you don't stream a lot of stuff it won't have much of an impact.

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I doubt it is an attempt to get cord-cutters back as subscribers but I believe you are exactly right about it being in response to Netflix and similar services. Despite what some may think, bandwidth is not free nor unlimited. I'm not justifying *what* Comcast charges for service but I would support some kind of pay for what you use model.

While Comcast has made significant investment in their infrastructure, there is a significant part that is already nearing or beyond capacity. At home, the fastest level of service I can get is Blast! (50Mb) and there is so much congestion, I rarely can get close to that upper limit. I have dedicated Comcast EDI commercial service (Ethernet over fiber - the really expensive stuff) at work and have been told by Comcast network engineers that I could not add another location because they were at capacity.

As more people are opting to view movies or programming over the Internet, whether "cord cutting" or to supplement, demand for bandwidth will continue to increase forcing providers to upgrade their systems to keep up. This cost will be passed on to customers, many who have no other viable option for high-speed Internet. It is only fair that those who consume the most pay the most.

 

[Don in CT]

We are so far behind the broadband curve compared to other countries. 50 mb should be the low end at this point.

 

[kittyhas1000legs]

As far as I know, I've always had the 250GB cap here in New Britain, CT. I've never come close to it, though, even with torrenting, Netflix, and Hulu. I'll get to 150ish usually. That being said, I have a feeling Comcast will try different limits in different areas until they find one that's just low enough to get a fair amount of people to go over and pay more.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Funny timing on this one... I just got this one from COX a few minutes ago.

Dear Eva Greczkowski,

Thank you for choosing Cox, we appreciate your business!

Your Cox High Speed Internet package includes a data plan of 400 Gigabytes. As of June 25, 2014, your household has used 408 Gigabytes of usage data in the current billing cycle. Some common factors affecting data usage include the number of Internet-connected devices in the household, Wi-Fi network security, the amount of streaming video watched, and the presence of viruses and spyware on one or more home computers.

If you're interested in learning more about data usage and the factors affecting it please visit:
http://www.cox.com/DataUsage

You can view your data usage by logging into your account and checking your data usage meter in Internet Tools:
https://myaccount.cox.net/internettools/datausage/usage.cox

To learn more about how to prevent spyware and viruses and download a free copy of Cox Security Suite (a $199 value) please visit:
http://www.cox.com/security

We're happy you're getting so much value from your Cox High Speed Internet service. We have several Internet package options offering speed and data plans to meet a variety of needs. Based on your recent usage, your online experience would be improved by moving to a package featuring even faster download speeds and a larger data plan. To learn more about special offers for all Internet package levels and to find the one which best fits your needs, check out our current upgrade offers at:

http://www.cox.com/chsiupgrade
Or please call us at 1-877-840-2777 for assistance in selecting the option that best fits your household's needs.

The issue is both of my kids are watching YouTube videos (mostly Minecraft videos) 24 hours a day... (sure seams like it) and also I was watching the WWE Network one night... when I turned on the TV the next week... well it was still watching the WWE Network. (Oops!) So I am sure a big part of it was my fault.

The letter says I can upgrade my service, so I called and was told I already have the highest level service and to ignore the email warnings.

 

[osu1991]

I've hit the 250gb limit twice with COX in the last 5 months since they started sending the notices in Oklahoma. Hit it once in Las Vegas. Most of it is using Slingbox between Oklahoma and Nevada.

 

[Voyager6]

Comcast is currently experimenting in several markets with caps as low as 5gb and up to 300gb. I predict a cap lower than their previous 250gb with a charge for going over.

Well, I was close. Comcast seems to be holding to the 300gb cap but is imposing overage charges. You can also pay a surcharge for "uncapped" service.
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Dramatically-Expanding-Usage-Cap-Areas-December-1-135551

Comcast continues to ignore customer backlash, and continues to dramatically expand the company's broadband usage caps and overage fees. A close look at Comcast's usage cap "trial" FAQ indicates that the company plans to quietly expand caps into Little Rock, Arkansas; Houma, LaPlace and Shreveport, Louisiana; Chattanooga, Greenville, Johnson City/Gray, Tennessee; and Galax, Virginia starting December 1. In all of these markets users now face a 300 GB monthly usage cap, with $10 per 50 GB overage fees.

Last month Comcast added a new wrinkle: users can pay an even larger fee if they want to avoid usage caps altogether.
Originally the idea of paying a heavy premium to avoid caps was first launched in Florida October 1, where capped markets can now pay $30 (on top of Comcast's already high prices) to avoid caps. In Atlanta Comcast customers have to pay even more: $35.

 

[Rey]

Which I may end up doing for the extra $30 a month. It was only a matter of time I guess.........