CEO of Streaming TV Service Layer3 Says 1 Terabyte Caps Too Low The CEO of new premium streaming TV service Layer3 says that terabyte caps still aren't high enough. Both AT&T and Comcast raised their caps to one terabyte this year -- in large part out of worry that regulators were considering cracking down on the practice. But the CEO of premium over the top streaming provider Layer3 says these higher limits still aren't high enough as streaming consumers increasingly turn their gaze toward higher-definition 4K video.

"I think that the 1-terabyte caps are too low," noted Layer3 TV CEO Jeff Binder at an investor conference in New York Binder was quick to highlight that 1 terabyte is roughly equivalent to between 15 and 20 hours of streaming video at 4K resolutions. "I think there may be some sort of truth in lending [issue] around how operators cap things, and whether they can actually sell these services that have fairly high bitrates, but yet fundamentally you could never use them for anything remotely approaching even a week [of normal activity]," said the CEO. Back in September we noted how Layer3 intends to be a premium, "concierge" grade TV service. Currently only being tested in a few markets, Layer3 bucks the trend of lower-cost streaming service and will instead offer high-end content and support, starting at $75 per month and up. Binder told attendees a more reasonable cap sits somewhere between 1 terabyte and 10 terabytes, and that "ultimately service providers will get it right." Not mentioned by Binder is the fact that usage caps on fixed-line networks aren't financially or technically necessary in the first place. Usage caps and overage fees are a glorified price hike imposed on uncompetitive markets. Worse, they create a scenario whereby an incumbent TV provider can give its own content cap-exempt status, tilting the competitive playing field (aka zero rating). As such the debate in the heads of many capped broadband users isn't whether allotments are fair -- but whether or not they should exist at all. As such the debate in the heads of many capped broadband users isn't whether allotments are fair -- but whether or not they should exist at all.







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Most recommended from 38 comments



Anon0c654

@ccsd.net 8 recommendations Anon0c654 Anon 4k streaming will kill caps As 4k steaming becomes more available families are going to burn through their caps quickly. ohreally

join:2014-11-21 3 recommendations ohreally Member Interesting how the tables turn. I'm in the UK.



10 years ago I couldn't get a service that didn't have a cap, without paying an extortionate amount per month. We had issues with network congestion due to under investment.



Today, every ISP, big or small, is scrambling to tell me about how they offer a "truly unlimited" service with no caps or traffic shaping, and you can get it at a reasonable price. Caps do still exist at the ultra low end, but for not much more you can avoid them.



The power of competition, I guess. elbertdavis

join:2016-02-08

Crown City, OH 3 recommendations elbertdavis Member Even worse... If he thinks a terabyte cap is low, he should try living under Armstrong Cable's 200 gigabyte data cap, which is 1/5 of what he thinks is too low. Yeah, it's the only ISP that serves our area.