Capping the Nation’s Broadband Future?

A growing number of Americans are being forced to cap the amount of data they use, both on their cell phones and even at home, or face expensive overage charges. A new report from the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute [OTI] found these increasingly costly and restrictive data caps are serving little purpose other than to raise the already high profit margins of broadband providers.

Internet service providers argue data caps are necessary to manage growing traffic and maintain quality of service on their networks. But the report, “” explains the monthly caps rarely serve that purpose — instead, they are the product of an uncompetitive broadband marketplace where providers use data restrictions to increase revenues and protect legacy services such as cable television from online competition. More services are moving online and into mobile applications, but the report warns that Americans who are worried about their data usage may be hesitant to use them. Broadband data caps affect not only activities such as streaming TV shows or making video calls, but also limit the use of an increasing number of online education courses for both adults and children.