Nervous About Regulatory Action, Comcast Bumps Usage Caps To One Terabyte Per Month

from the giving-you-a-little-more-rope dept

After taking a PR beating for several years on the matter, Comcast has announced that it's significantly bumping the company's usage caps. Since 2013 Comcast has been conducting a "trial" in many of the company's less competitive markets, capping usage at 300 GB per month, then charging users either $10 per each additional 50 gigabytes, or providing users the option of paying $30 to $35 per month extra to avoid the cap entirely. But according to a new blog post by the cable giant, the company will be bumping that usage allotment to one terabyte per month starting June 1.

Users will still need to pay $10 per each additional 50 gigabytes of data consumed should they go over the cap. And they still have the option of paying a penalty should they want to avoid usage caps entirely, though Comcast has bumped the price of such an option to an additional $50 per month. Comcast's quick to insist that the terabyte cap is so generous, few consumers will ever find themselves running into the limit:

"A terabyte is an enormous amount of data. It’s far more than most of our customers will ever use in a month. Today, more than 99 percent of our customers do not come close to using a terabyte. Our typical customer uses only about 60 gigabytes of data in a month – that’s far less than a terabyte (in fact, 940 gigabytes less), or less than six percent of a terabyte."

Of course, while that's true today, that doesn't mean it will be true tomorrow. And while the increase is certainly welcome, that doesn't change the fact that usage caps on fixed-line networks still aren't necessary. As we've repeatedly noted, Comcast's cost to provide broadband service remain fixed or in decline, and the company's own support documents and engineers have suggested the caps have nothing to do with congestion or network necessity. That's because they have everything to do with protecting TV revenues from Internet video competitors.

While Comcast's announcement implies Comcast is graciously responding to consumer feedback, the origins of the company's decision lie elsewhere.

With the FCC imposing a seven year ban on usage caps as a Charter merger condition this week, many believe the FCC is signaling it intends to finally crack down on usage caps. The agency has tap-danced around the issue for years, but with a growing number of companies exploring the option -- and a growing number of companies (including Comcast and Verizon) exempting their own content from such caps, pressure has mounted steadily on the FCC to wake up from its regulatory coma on the subject. If that's to happen, it will likely happen after the industry's lawsuit against the agency over net neutrality is settled.

Comcast's also responding to the fact that AT&T is planning to impose its own usage caps starting May 23. AT&T plans to begin imposing usage caps ranging from 300 GB to 1 terabyte, and, like Comcast, charge $10 per each additional 50 GB consumed. Also, like Comcast, AT&T intends to begin charging customers a $30 premium should they want to avoid the charges, effectively charging customers significantly more money for the same service they had yesterday. Comcast bumping its cap to more closely match AT&T's is the U.S. broadband market's rather twisted version of competition.

It seems likely that some news outlets will frame what Comcast's doing as "generous." And while a definite improvement, it shouldn't overshadow the fact that these caps are little more than glorified price hikes on uncompetitive broadband markets, and an anti-competitive weapon against the threat of Internet video disruption.

Filed Under: 1 terabyte, broadband, cable, data cap, fcc, usage cap
Companies: comcast