Comcast VP: 300 GB data cap is “business policy,” not technical necessity

Why does Comcast Internet service have a 300GB monthly data cap? When asked that question, Comcast's vice president of Internet services, Jason Livingood, said that he doesn't know, because setting the monthly data limit is a business decision, not one driven by technical necessity. "Cable Cares," a parody account on Twitter, asked Livingood, "Serious question, why are Comcast's caps set so low compared to the speeds they're being sold at? 100mbps can hit 300GB in 6hr~." "No idea -- I'm involved on the engineering side to manage the measurement systems but don't weigh in on the business policies," Livingood responded. We've asked Comcast officials if there are any technology benefits from imposing the caps or technology reasons for the specific limits chosen but haven't heard back yet. Livingood's statement probably won't come as any surprise to critics of data caps who argue that the limits raise prices and prevent people from making full use of the Internet without actually preventing congestion.

Comcast, the nation's largest cable and broadband provider, has claimed that its data caps are not actually "data caps," because customers can use as much data as they want. They just get charged extra when they exceed the monthly limit. This is the same setup used by wireless carriers; pretty much everyone calls them data caps, and that's what we call them, too For now, Comcast only imposes the caps in parts of its territory and doesn't charge the overage penalty until the fourth time in each 12-month period that customers exceed the cap. This is to help customers "get accustomed to the new data usage plan," Comcast says. The overage penalties are $10 for each additional 50GB.