But those who lack access to these better types of plan service (or can't afford them) can subscribe to DSL or satellite-based internet service, where data caps are often much lower, from just 10GB up to 500GB per month.
A 1TB cap can seem like a lot of data: You'd have to stream 5 hours of 4K movies every day for a month to hit that amount of usage each month, and more than double that number if you're watching HD-quality videos.
The downside to even a generous data cap, though, is that while it might be sufficient for current usage, all evidence points to U.S. consumers using more broadband data every year. With more of us spending a lot of time at home these days—Zooming into meetings, engaged in remote learning, and streaming more higher-quality entertainment than ever—it's possible to reach that level of data use. (Check the illustrations above for more details.) So what seems like a huge amount of data now could feel restrictive a few years down the line.
Consumer groups including Consumer Reports say that data caps aren't good for consumers, especially while the U.S. is still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
"At a time when families are working and learning from home, and using their home internet connection more than ever—and consuming much more data—the timing of Comcast's decision is awful," says Jonathan Schwantes, senior policy counsel in CR's Washington, D.C., office. "The company has not demonstrated a technical need for data caps. Consumers deserve better than this, and Comcast's behavior demonstrates the need for more oversight of internet service providers."
Here's a breakdown of data caps from some of the country's largest internet providers.
AT&T
AT&T has data caps on some of its internet plans. Customers can get unlimited data in several ways, including if they bundle multiple products or have a high-speed fiber plan. In an emailed statement to Consumer Reports, an AT&T spokesperson said the company may stop waiving overage fees for consumer AT&T Fiber and AT&T Internet customers on plans that have data caps starting in the new year.
The company also said it would continue to provide unlimited data for limited-income households that are eligible for its Access From AT&T service through June 30, 2021.
While most of AT&T’s plans that are subject to a data cap have a limit of just over 1TB, its DSL and fixed wireless plans have much smaller allowances; these have not been covered by the data cap waiver. For example, there's a 150GB monthly data cap for DSL customers. The monthly data allowance for fixed wireless Internet, as set by the FCC, is currently 250GB, but it will be increasing to 350GB in January.
Customers who opt for a 1TB plan or those who have a bundle with DirecTV television service can qualify for unlimited add-on data plans, which cost $30 per month.
In October the company debuted three new fiber-based internet plans, starting at $35 per month for the first year, that come with unlimited data. All have a $10-per-month equipment fee.
When data caps are reinstated, those who exceed their monthly limit will be charged $10 for each extra 50GB of data, up to a maximum of $100 in overage charges if you’re on a regular AT&T Internet plan. DSL and fixed wireless internet customers could pay as much as $200 in overages.
CenturyLink
CenturyLink, which recently changed its name to Lumen Technologies, has a 1TB monthly cap on most plans, except for people subscribing to high-speed fiber. If you go over your data cap, you won’t get hit with overage fees but you'll be asked to either reduce your usage, subscribe to a higher-speed internet plan, or switch to a business plan. The company said in a statement: "We talk with our customers about their options. If they are exceeding 1TB, which is hard to do, it is clear they don’t have the service that matches their usage."
Charter/Spectrum
The country's second-largest cable operator, Spectrum, doesn't have data caps. This was one of the conditions imposed on the company when it acquired Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks back in 2016.
However, this summer Charter asked the FCC to consider dropping that condition—plus one that bans Charter from striking paid interconnection deals—on May 18, 2021, rather than in May 2023 when the conditions were set to expire.
A Charter spokesperson says the company isn't actually planning to introduce data caps, but filed the petition just in case it wants to get out of its commitments to the FCC early. The deadline for the petition was August 18, 2020. “We have never had data caps. All our home broadband products are unlimited and we intend to stay unlimited,” he wrote in an email.
But he also said that the move would give Charter "the flexibility to operate differently two years from now," which seems to leave the door open for the company to reconsider imposing data caps.
Comcast/Xfinity
Comcast recently announced that it will be rolling out its 1.2TB monthly data cap throughout its entire 39-state territory starting Jan. 1. Currently, Comcast enforces the cap in 27 states.
The caps don't apply to customers who get the Xfinity Gigabit Pro tier of service, those with Prepaid Internet or who have Bulk Internet agreements, or business customers.
While the data caps go into effect in January, Comcast says it won't start charging overage fees until March to give customers time to see if they'll be affected by them. Then those who exceed their data cap will be charged $10 for each 50GB of excess usage, up to a maximum of $100 per month. That full $10 fee will be charged even if you only use a small amount of data over your cap—say, even 1GB—and you won't get credit or be able to rollover unused data from that 50GB block.
“Most customers already have these data plans, and those in the Northeast that are being notified now will not see any impact until at least April," a company spokesperson told us via email, adding that 95 percent of its customers won't be affected by the cap. "This very small percentage of our customers drives a disproportionately large volume of traffic on our network, which we’ve invested $12B in since 2017 alone.”
Comcast does extend a one-time courtesy credit for people who exceed their allotted data. Customers can also pay an additional $30 per month to get an unlimited add-on plan. Those who sign up for xFi Complete, which includes unlimited data and rental of the Comcast gateway modem/router, pay an extra $25 per month.
The company also noted that in July, after pausing data caps for four months, it reintroduced them with a higher 1.2TB limit, lowered pricing for Unlimited Data from $50 to $30, and cut its maximum for overage charges from $200 to $100.
Cox
Cox now has a 1.25TB data cap for its internet plans. If you go over, you'll be charged $10 for each additional 50GB block of data. You have the option of upgrading to an additional 500GB each month for $30 per month or an unlimited plan for $50 per month. In an email to CR, a Cox spokesperson noted that the company had increased data allowances to accommodate families now learning and working from home, and had connected low-income families for free or at a significantly reduced rate.
SuddenLink
SuddenLink, now owned by Altice, has a 250GB data cap on its basic Internet 100 plan. There's no option to add an unlimited plan to this service, and you'll be charged $15 for each 50GB block of extra data. SuddenLink's Internet 400 and Internet 1 Gig plans have unlimited data.
Mediacom
Mediacom has four plans with varying data caps, depending on the level of service.
The most basic plan, called Access 60 Internet, has a 60GB data cap, but the company is upping it to 200GB in 2021 while keeping its $30-per-month price. Others start at 1TB and go all the way up to the 1-Gig internet plan with a 6TB allowance. Because each plan offers a successively higher data cap than the one before it, it probably makes the most sense to just upgrade the plan if you need more data.
As part of a COVID-19 relief plan, Mediacom—the fifth largest cable operator in the U.S.—has been providing up to 100GB of additional data to any broadband customer who exceeds their monthly data allowance for free through the end of 2020.
In 2021, if you exceed your data cap, expect to pay $10 for each additional block of 50GB data.
"TV" - Google News
December 22, 2020 at 03:41AM
https://ift.tt/3mDY4eZ
Get Ready for Cable TV and Internet Price Hikes and Data Caps in the New Year - ConsumerReports.org
"TV" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2T73uUP
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Get Ready for Cable TV and Internet Price Hikes and Data Caps in the New Year - ConsumerReports.org"
Post a Comment