Subscribers tend to truly hate the idea of data caps, even if they don’t get close to potential overages. They’re also getting more vocal about it as they merrily stream ever more choices from the likes of Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. As for future-minded consumers with visions of widespread virtual reality and 4K options, data caps are anathema.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that consumer complaints to the FCC about data caps rose to 7,904 in the second half of 2015 from 863 in the first half, according to records reviewed under the Freedom of Information Act. The WSJ also says that as of mid-April, this year’s total was 1,463.
Comcast is one of the latest service providers moving to address some of that consumer anxiety. Others that have made changes to their data cap policies recently are AT&T and Suddenlink.
Comcast used a new blog post to say it’s moving to a terabyte data plan in all of its trial markets. “A terabyte is an enormous amount of data. It’s far more than most of our customers will ever use in a month,” the operator reports. “Today, more than 99 percent of our customers do not come close to using a terabyte.”
A typical customer uses only about 60 gigabytes of data in a month, Marcien Jenckes, EVP, consumer services at Comcast says.
Comcast states that all of the data plans in its trial markets will move from a 300 gigabytes to a terabyte by June 1, regardless of the speed. For those who need more than a terabyte — which the operator reports as less than 1 percent of its customer base — there’s an unlimited plan for an additional $50 a month. Previously, unlimited data was being trialed at $30 or $35 more a month in different test locations.
Subscribers also have the option to buy additional buckets of 50 gigabytes of data for $10 each. Comcast will continue to offer a data usage meter for all customers.
Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, cheered the move on Twitter. His company has had its own run-ins with controversies about data caps recently, which you can read more about here.
