Comcast's 'data meter' sparks questions about broadband caps

Comcast is rolling out a new tool so you can measure how much bandwidth you're consuming each month. The catch: If you repeatedly go over the limit, Comcast could kick you off for a year.

Comcast has been working on its "data meter" since 2008, when it began limiting residential broadband customers to 250 gigabytes of data usage per month. Before that, Comcast hadn't specified a usage cap but periodically cut of service to those who exceeded the cap, prompting complaints that it was throttling users. The "data meter" has been rolled out in Oregon and Washington state and will eventually be available nationwide, just as telecom providers are getting more interested in bandwidth limits and usage-based pricing plans to better manage traffic on their congested networks.