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There are a lot of open questions about how consumers will be affected by the possible sale of most of Wisconsin's Time Warner Cable subscribers to Charter Communications.

Here are responses to some questions that came up among JSOnline commenters about Internet service under Charter.

Would Charter cap the amount of data I can use?

Internet service providers would like to cap the amount of data you use, just as most cap the data used in cellphone plans. The companies claim streaming video and other data-heavy services can strain their networks, and that those using a lot of data can slow the speed of services to other customers.

Cynics argue data caps give the companies another service for which they can charge. Most Time Warner Cable customers don't have data caps, according to a November survey by tech website Gigacom.

There are reports that Time Warner Cable has tested data caps in some cities and received a negative reaction. Some Internet providers like AT&T UVerse will charge customers additional fees if they exceed the cap several times. Comcast is trying this model in some markets. But Charter's policy is the harshest in Gigacom's survey. If you keep going over Charter's cap, the company shuts off your access. "You're cut off," the Gigacom survey says.

How fast is Charter's Internet service?

Charter's Internet service can be zippy for watching videos. Internet video service Netflix posts monthly reports of the speed of American Internet providers (likely in an effort to pressure those companies to speed up service for streaming video). In March's survey results, Charter ranked fourth among major service providers at an average of 2.61 Mbps, just ahead of Comcast and Time Warner Cable. AT&T's UVerse ranked 12th at 1.73 Mbps.

Will Charter's Internet service be more or less expensive?

As for which company provides the best prices, comparisons are nearly impossible. You can get different prices if you bundle services such as TV, phone and Internet, or if you have discount codes through your employer or if you live in an area with more competition.

Charter doesn't offer Internet service in Milwaukee, but the company's website has pricing for stand-alone service. By punching in a random residential address in downtown Madison, we were shown an offer of $39.99 a month for the first 12 months of service at a speed of 30 Mbps. There was an additional $5 a month charge for renting a wireless router from the company.

An address in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood yielded a $54.99 monthly charge from Time Warner Cable's website, plus $5.99 a month for that wireless router. AT&T U-Verse had an additional hurdle in comparing because its website yielded price offers for different speeds. A plan at 24 Mbps was $54.95 per month. It appeared the router would cost extra with AT&T as well.

Would Charter charge more in Milwaukee because the local competitors charge more? We don't know yet.

Will customers have to give up their old rr.com email addresses?

If the deal goes through, some hassles are likely for Time Warner Cable subscribers. For example, Barry Orton, a University of Wisconsin-Madison telecommunications professor, said it is likely that those who use "rr.com" email addresses provided by Time Warner eventually would have to switch to "@charter.net" addresses.

"It's a real pain to switch," Orton said. "So they're going to be aware of that. They're probably going to have to keep the 'rr' for some period of time, but I suspect sooner or later they are going to have to transition that."

Time Warner Cable has shifted customers from rr.com addressees to twc.com email addresses even though both brands are owned by the same company. Comcast has required customers of some of the cable companies it has purchased over the years to switch email addresses, though the company created tools to help customers make the transition.