It was recently announced that Comcast was testing a new 300GB limit to their Internet subscriptions. Whereas going over the 300GB data cap does not get your Internet turned off, it does mean you will face overage charges unless you are willing to pay an extra $35 a month for unlimited data or $10 for every 50GB over. That $35 a month will add up to $420 a year.
So the question now is will this effect cord cutters? The average hour of data used from Netflix streaming HD is about 3GB. So if you watch three hours of Netflix every day, you will use about 279GB of data every month, bringing you very close to the 300GB data cap Comcast is rolling out. This makes it very easy to go over your data cap without even trying.
So that fact may force many cord cutters to pay the extra $35 a month to get unlimited data because sadly it is becoming common for providers to have a data cap.
You can fight back by looking at ways to cut back on data usage. An antenna and DVR could greatly reduce your data consumption. Before you look at streaming a show on Hulu, first try to watch it for free over-the-air with an antenna.
Do you always rewatch Family Guy or other network shows as background noise? Using a DVR to replay them over watching them on Netflix could really add up.
No matter what you do, make sure to let your voice be heard at your ISP. Call them and tell them what you think about data caps.
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