Comcast Expands Data Caps into New Markets

While at least now we’re talking about data caps at 1TB per household, it’s still a disturbing trend to see Comcast expanding their data caps into more and more cities.

Chicago is the latest city to be hit with these new caps, and as DSL Reports writes, “the usage caps will take effect starting August 1 — after which users will face a 1 terabyte cap, with users either forced to pay $10 per each 50 GB should they go over the fee — or pay an additional $50 every month if they want to enjoy the unlimited broadband connections they used to have.”

Originally, these data caps were set at 300GB per household, recent backlash and a spike in FCC complaints has caused Comcast to expand the amount of data used before charging consumers fees.

Comcast was dealing with a massive spike in FCC complaints several months leading up to the increase in data caps, and this is where things get a little tricky. Sure, it seems like a good-faith gesture to increase the caps so much, but it’s only a matter of time before 1TB is commonplace consumption for most households. And there Comcast will be, ready to profit off of increased internet usage. At that point, the concept of data caps will feel normal, and the FCC complaints will likely taper way off.

1TB likely only hits a very, very small % of current cable internet subscribers now, but with increasing reliance on streaming, improved video quality and impending technology developments towards all day data consumption, it doesn’t seem far off to a time where such usage will become the norm.