Data caps are a business decision—not a network necessity, Frontier says

Frontier Communications, newly expanded after purchasing Verizon wireline networks in three states, says it has no plans to impose Comcast-style data overage charges. "We have not really started or have any intent about initiatives around usage-based pricing," CEO Daniel McCarthy told investors at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference. "We want to make sure our product meets the needs of customers for what they want to do, and it doesn't inhibit them or force them to make different decisions about how they're going to use the product."

McCarthy noted that networks are facing fewer capacity constraints as technology improves and data transport costs decline. Therefore, Frontier isn't necessarily making pricing decisions based upon its own costs per megabit. Instead, the company prices Internet service based on what's competitive in the market, generally charging less than cable companies, he said. "There may be a time when usage-based pricing is absolutely the right solution for the market, but I don't see that as the path the market is taking at this point in time," he said.