AT&T Tests Data Caps
Comcast has gotten a lot of flack for its bandwidth limits, but PC World is reporting that AT&T, America's largest Internet service provider, is testing monthly broadband caps in Reno, Nev.
According to PCWorld:
Beginning this month, AT&T will restrict new customers in the affected areas based on their Internet plans. Users with the slowest speed DSL service will be limited to 20GB of bandwidth per month, while users of the fastest plan will receive a cap of 150GB a month. Any data transferred above the limit will be billed at a rate of $1 per gigabyte following a one-month grace period. Existing AT&T customers will not yet be affected but will be added into the test later this year. All existing users will automatically receive the highest cap of 150GB a month.
What does this mean for users? The story quotes published estimates that "the lower-end 20GB/month limit would allow you to download about four HD movies a month before hitting your cap. The higher-end 150GB/month limit, in comparison, would allow for approximately 30 HD movie downloads, while a middle-of-the-road limit such as a 60GB/month scenario would provide bandwidth for 12 such streams."
In comparison, Comcast allows users 250 GB a month. Time Warner tested a 40 GB for $55 a month limit in Texas earlier this year.
While those numbers might seem sufficient for the average user's needs for now, many experts say that bandwidth needs will likely grow in the future. All that talk we've been having about cutting the cable or satellite and watching much of our TV and movie needs through our computers? Data limits could curb your ability to do that.
Is AT&T being stingy with its cap on bandwidth? Have these limits affected your Internet use? Are caps inevitable?
Categories: Cellular/Landline/Voice over Internet, Computers, Technology
