Some Internet customers running into data caps

As broadband providers continue to expand and upgrade their networks throughout West Virginia, some Internet customers in the state are finding barriers to their existing service.

In recent months, some customers with Suddenlink in West Virginia — and other companies nationwide — have run into new policies, known as data allowances or data caps, that limit the number of emails, photos, songs and videos they can download in a given month. The policies also limit customers’ streaming capabilities from on-demand Internet media streaming services like Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime. “We have introduced data plans in virtually all markets and are in the process of rolling them out to the remaining few,” said Pete Abel, a spokesman for Suddenlink, one of the biggest cable and broadband providers in the country. Abel said the data plans, which limit the number of gigabytes a customer can download without being charged an additional fee, are meant to improve Suddenlink’s system and ensure that customers who use their Internet service less are not negatively affected by customers who use more than their allotted amount of data.