Comcast Data Cap: Cable ISP Denies Using Internet Limits, But They Still Exist

The Comcast data cap was supposed to be abolished, and the ISP claims it has been. Somehow they seem to be forgetting exactly what a data cap is, because they’re still using them.

Add to this the fact that Comcast is now trying to convince the U.S. government that they’re not really using said internet limits. The debate has already existed for at least two years now, with consumers and even news sources being given the same line. The cable ISP thinks that convincing the government will change the definition of the Comcast data cap.

Verizon does the same thing, but the wireless ISP at least calls it what it is. They have a tiered plan for 4G LTE users with limits chosen by the consumers themselves, and every gigabyte over the limit incurs additional charges. They tell you right up front what they’re doing, and we forgive them because their service is the best and most usable across the United States. Comcast is simply the only option a lot of us have, and sometimes their service is questionable.

It’s still a data cap & a racket RT @Comcast tells @FCC that data caps aren’t actually “data caps” http://t.co/tzNOPkddVr by @JBrodkin

— Omar Cruz (@Omar_Cruz) August 26, 2014

Comcast isn’t being honest and has given several customers issues, three of which were recorded recently. Add this to the fact that the Comcast and Time Warner Cable merger is the equivalent of creating a monopoly directly in front of us, and the Comcast data cap (or as they insist on calling it, a “data threshold”) just seems like another example of them not listening.

Previously it was revealed that Comcast would cut off customers’ internet if their usage exceeded a certain amount. Now they allow customers to pay extra for internet usage over a threshold. The following is their statement released this week:

“Comcast does not have ‘data caps’ today. Comcast announced almost two years ago that it was suspending enforcement of its prior 250GB excessive usage cap and that it would instead be trialing different pricing and packaging options to evaluate options for subscribers – options that reflect evolving Internet usage and that are based on the desire to provide flexible consumption plans, including a plan that enables customers who want to use more data the option to pay more to do so as well as a plan for those who use less data the option to save some money … Some of these trials include a data usage plan that allows customers who use very little Internet each month to receive a discount on their service fee, and variations on a plan that provide customers with the ability to buy additional increments of usage if they exceed a base amount (starting at 300GB) that is included with their service.”

That is exactly what Verizon is doing, but Comcast’s data cap definition is different. It doesn’t cease to be a data cap just because they give the option to pay for more. A chair doesn’t stop being a chair just because you’re standing on it to reach the top shelf.

Comcast isn’t fooling anyone, and we doubt the government will see it their way either.

[image via Slash Gear]