ISP and their download caps - really necessary?

We have data caps in Canada. 100 gb bandwidth, 30 down, 5 up for $65 Canadian. I can't even turn Netflix to hd.

 

I have Cox Cable's Gigablast connection. It's 1 Gbps up/1 Gbps down, with a 2 TB soft cap. The whole Cox plan (TV + internet + phone) is $140/month, not sure how much the Internet part is.

Here's what they say about their caps, which are mostly soft. Seems to be a system setup in a way that can be used to slow folks down that they consider to be excessive users.

 

That is the way ATT does it. I think they just mention a cap in case they ever decide to cap people, but currently they are not capping/throttling speeds. I usually hit around 500 GB per month, and my cap is suppose to be 300 GB and $10 for every additional 50GB.

Like you, I may not be getting capped b.c I am on their 1 Gbps plan. I am probably 1 of a handful of people actually on that plan, so they just do not care about capping me.

 

No download caps, only upload.

Most companies in the UK have download caps though.

 

*drools*

 

I am not in the US. Cap limits is horrible here but its getting better. in 2008 I paid $105 monthly for 4mbps/12GB month. Yes that twelve. Its around 200GB now same price, connection is around 10mbps.

I never understood why there are cap limits. I knew speed is limited by technology, but now that there is fiber, why do we have cap limits? Does any one know? Is it just a way for ISPs to make you pay extra for the imaginary higher-limit they set?

 

So there is fiber optic where I am but its not that fast and the limit is like 200-300GB. Why?

 

Im on a Verizon FiOS Fiber connection and as far as I know I don't have any caps. If they do its really high because I used around 1.5TB last month of data. With everything going to streaming and all of the VOIP and Video chatting happening, I don't see how they can get away with only 200-300GB caps.

 

They do? I've genuinely not come across one since about 2010.

 

Canada for you. *sigh*

I just ordered a new Internet connection yesterday from TekSavvy. The prices are at least more reasonable than this crap shown here, but still got a 150GB cap limit (though it should be enough). On the bright side, I got a 30/10 speed now (soon, hopefully), no cap between 2AM and 6AM, and hopefully no piece of s*** customer support.

 

Why the hell would i wanna download cat videos ?

oh i get it (pun)

If landline, my ISP doesn't charge extra, they only slow down..

I'm a biggit for companies that charge extra for downlaod/uploads above a cap

If companies wanna pay for their network stuff, that's fine, but don't impede users in the process.

plus we all know forcing slow downs alone is much more effective, because users will more likely not download at a mere 256k compared to 10Mpbs. mobile carrier equivalent speeds.

 

My only guess is that they want to make you think that they offer Internet for cheap, so that there aren't too many scandals or ranting. Maybe also because they use the optimism of the customer thinking that it's cheap to lure them into getting a more expensive plan. What saddens me is that the cheapest cable Internet in my entire province starts at around 25-30$. But I'm glad that at least we have actual Fiber (even though you need to sell a body part each month), but hopefully the prices in the future will decrease. I believe such monopoly doesn't exist in other non-American countries.

 

This might be enough for one, but for a family its not. You can't do stuff like streaming (netflix), downloading tv shows, or even modern games with such low limit.

 

Virgin Media - Unlimited, 155mb down and 12mb up. With no far use policy.

Speed test is from a few months ago.

 

In my opinion, the caps are not necessary. It is mainly about creating more profit for the companies, as they create more data tiers, in attempts to build the customer base.

Smoke and mirrors.

Comcast in Atlanta, Georgia has instituted a data cap of 300 GB per month, which they do enforce. I don't like it at all.

 

Even myself, as a guy who stays pretty much all the time on the computer, I rarely use more than 50GB a month. My parents barely use the Internet at all. But still, it's pretty embarrassing when these companies charge double the price for unlimited Internet, while in reality, it costs them 0 to 2 cents each month.

 

Verizon FiOS didn't have caps when I had them. Now I have Comcast. They supposedly have them but don't enforce them. I use 400-500 GB of data every month.

 

I find many USA ISPs have data caps because they are scared of steaming boxes taking away their on demand services money and peope cancelling their TV service for just the cheaper over the air HD and a steaming box! The are terrified of loosing their cash cow!

 

I am now with Comcast in an area with no caps.

Previously, I had CenturyLink. Out of seven years with them, only got a warning once. They never told me how much I used that month.

 

On the brighter side, gigabit unlimited fibre for $149.99/month isn't the worst deal.

In the age of streaming media and 50gb video game downloads, a cap on traditional internet just makes no sense other than milking users for money.