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Comcast’s planned data caps went into effect on Jan. 1, in 12 states - including Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania - plus Washington, D.C.
The internet service and cable provider has said that it will not charge customers for going over the new 1.2 terabytes per month limit in January and February. After that, it will cost $10 per 50 gigabytes up to a maximum of $100 for more data.
To get an idea of how much that is, with 1.2TB of data, you could listen to 21,600 hours of streaming music or watch 500 hours of HD TV, according to Comcast. The company also says that 95 percent of its customers don’t use anywhere near 1.2TB of data each month.
To get out from under the cap, customers can pay $25-$30 more per month for an unlimited plan.
During the week of Jan. 10, local Facebook community groups have hosted long chats about whether anyone else is experiencing slow or “throttled” service mid-month.
Comcast said in November when news of the cap broke, that it would not throttle customers who went over the limit. The internet and cable giant used to throttle customers but said it gave that up in 2018.
Comcast has not said much about why the cap is necessary, but industry analysts speculate it has something to do with fewer people buying cable, opting instead for streaming services like Netflix and Hulu or watching Youtube.
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