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| Received this in the mail a few days back |
What exactly is a 50GB data plan? Why isn't it called a "data cap" or "data restriction"? Should I care?
It has become very common for providers to place new customers on a "data plan" or to issue "data caps". These are both restrictions that limit how much data you can access. The theory behind this is quite simple. Users who continually use or waste bandwidth will be throttled so that everyone else has fair and equal access. Data caps, which was unheard of 10 years ago are now common among major ISPs and cell phone providers.
But surely the data restrictions are reasonable, right??? Actually, for my local ISP pictured above, you can use your 50Mbps to burn through 50GBs in about 2 hours and 20 minutes. That is a problem because it's a monthly plan. Granted, not very many people download a 50GB file but here's a snap shot of my monthly usage.
The issue that arises out of this is Content limitation and control from unrealistic expectations set by the ISP. This gives the ISP control over what services I have and chose to use. Data limits are not created to limit how much I access, but what I can access. It's not a mystery that watching Video over the internet consumes a considerable amount of bandwidth. So if an ISP places data caps, then you're not able to watch TV shows or Movies over the internet. It's also not surprising that the same company that places the restrictions also offer another service to watch TV. I believe data caps are placed for no other reason than to limit what content I access and who I access it from.
It's also unfair to the business that rely on the internet to deliver their service. How can a provider like Netflix reach customers on this ISP's plan when they are limited to 20 hours of viewing of Netflix? The consumer is cheated out of full use of the service because they can't access it, and the provider is directly impacted because they can't deliver the service(which would surely lead to a lost of customers).
The internet, last time I check, was a public forum. Any one can access it. But we're letting businesses place restrictions on that forum. We don't let the asphalt company determine who can drive on the road, so why do we let ISPs control what internet services we use? As we obtain more and more Internet connected devices, and as the speed we can access the content increases, it becomes clear that no limitations can be acceptable.