FCC Chairman supports broadband data caps amid Netflix protests

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said that he supports tiered broadband Internet plans, a growing trend that has drawn criticism from Netflix.

He said during a cable industry trade show in Boston that “usage-based pricing could be healthy and beneficial” for broadband and high-tech industries. Cable service providers and wireless carriers have changed billing practices to charge users by how much data they use. They say they are moving away from unlimited data plans as users — particularly on wireless networks — congest networks with their heavy use of Internet services. The issue was brought up by Michael Powell, a former FCC chairman and current chief executive of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. Powell said cable providers want to be able to experiment with pricing plans based on tiers.