Comcast Usage Caps, Overages Arrive in Atlanta

Comcast's metered billing trials continue to expand, with users in Atlanta being told the new caps and overages are coming to town. In May of last year Comcast announced they would be experimenting with metered billing in several trial markets. Users in those markets face a usage cap of 300 GB a month. Users who consume more than the allotted bandwidth are charged $10 for each additional 50 GB.

The 300 GB has been in trials in Nashville for some time, but back in August Comcast expanded these trials into the Central Kentucky, Savannah, Georgia and Jackson, Mississippi markets.

In October, the cap trial expanded into Huntsville and Mobile, Alabama, as well as Charleston, South Carolina. Generally less competitive Southern markets have been targeted for the trial so Comcast can minimize the number of departing customers.

Now Reddit user -Gavin- has posted a notice Comcast is sending to Atlanta Comcast customers informing them that the 300 GB usage meter and overages will go live there on December 1. Comcast's usage cap website and FAQ confirms the trial's Atlanta expansion.

According to the Comcast website , Economy Plus users in the trial markets who don't volunteer for the 5GB plan automatically face the 300 GB cap.

Unlike other capping efforts where carriers add insult to injury by claiming that charging more money for the same product "improves the consumer experience," the Comcast FAQ doesn't bother to justify the new limits. The e-mail sent to users does however insist that having your previously unlimited connections capped creates "more choice and flexibility."

The cable industry for years claimed that such caps and overages were necessary due to network congestion, but in January admitted the congestion justification was false. Such usage caps are simply a way to protect TV revenues from Internet video while raising rates on already expensive broadband in uncompetitive markets. They won't pop up, for example, anywhere Comcast faces an uncapped competitor like Google Fiber (so far that's just Provo, Utah).

Comcast has had the technology in place for years to implement metered billing; what they're conducting now is effectively marketing and psychology experiments to identify the best way to get consumers to sign off on the idea. US consumers have generally been smart enough to know a rate hike when they see one, and their response to having metered billing foisted upon them has traditionally not been positive.

However, when users have no other broadband options available to them (or all of the available options also implement metered billing), voting with your wallet becomes impossible. Granted if you ask Comcast, U.S. broadband competition issues don't actually exist