Comcast gives up tight usage caps and increases broadband data limits.
According to ZDNet, the U.S. cable provider is tripling data limits in the aftermath of customer anger over surcharges and caps. The Internet service provider was facing severe backlash over surcharges and data limit caps on household use.
Now the U.S. cable giant has decided to remove 300GB monthly caps and increase the limit to 1TB by June 1. The measure will apply in those areas where broadband usage caps are currently being strictly enforced.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Comcast made this move after the publication exposed the broadband limitations customers have to accept in certain markets. For instance, households that replaced paid television contracts with online streaming are stranded by data usage caps.
Comcast's limit is technically the same for all customers. However, this rule has not been enforced since 2012. Around 2.8 million Comcast customers across the Southern states have been recently included in a trial experimenting with different subscription plans and different charges on homes based on usage.
Executive Vice President at Consumer Services Comcast Cable, Marcien Jenckes, stated on company's website that less than one percent of subscribers come close to 1TB usage and the average Comcast customer only uses approximately 60GB of data per month. But as the Internet evolves and the world changes, after customer feedback based on usage caps and surcharges, Comcast is willing to shift to a new data plan with fewer restrictions on data usage.
According to Tech Times, Comcast will also offer an "unlimited" plan for customers who wish to use more than 1TB a month. The unlimited plan costs $50 extra per month. For $10 are offered an additional 50GB of data.
Comcast's new cap equates to 12,000 online gaming hours per month, 700 hours of high-definition video and 60,000 high-resolution images. However, not all Comcast customers will have access to this new cap.
