Looking for information on internet Data Caps

[RicHaj]

Hi there everyone!

 

So, i would like to call out a bit of help from this community. In short, i'm from Brazil, and right now we are going through somewhat of a big change in the way Internet services are being provided in country. In essence, up to now most internet plans had Unlimited Data caps, while some had Data caps options. Now, there is a collective move by all the major internet service providers to band together and normalize Data caps for everyone. In such they are making moves to change contracts so that ALL internet service contracts will now start having data cap limits, and there will be extra charges for additional usage over that limit.

 

Of course, this has enraged the public specially since we already deal with an overall low quality broadband service in most metropolitam areas.

 

However, i am aware that Data caps are common in the USA and Canada (and UK i believe?). But i don't have enough data to understand how that works.

 

So here is what i want you guys to help me out with... just some information.

 

1) Do you or people you know of have the option to unlimited data plans for internet access? Has this always been a thing?

 

2) If you have Data caps on your access plan, has it always been like that for you? 

 

3) If you have had unlimited access and had to go into a Limited data cap plan Have you noticed any improvement to quality or service because of it? (more stable connection, better customer service, anything at all.) 

 

i would really appreciate any insight, to broaden my view of this issue.

 

Thanks!

[jslowik]

In our area here in the states there aren't data caps (Time Warner). I would be furious if they tried.

 

I cannot imagine a world where there would be any improvement to the service with a data cap. The infrastructure exists as is, and most of the actual connections take place outside of the direct control of your ISP. Where I am right now I'm off my ISP's network and onto AT&T and other peering partners within 4-5 hops.

 

I've always viewed a data cap implementation as a way for service providers to attempt to put off infrastructure upgrades in an effort to milk every last bit of cash out of aging hardware. Maybe I'm wrong, but it'd take a really great argument to change my opinion on the matter.

[Benergy]

5 minutes ago, RicHaj said:

Hi there everyone!

 

So, i would like to call out a bit of help from this community. In short, i'm from Brazil, and right now we are going through somewhat of a big change in the way Internet services are being provided in country. In essence, up to now most internet plans had Unlimited Data caps, while some had Data caps options. Now, there is a collective move by all the major internet service providers to band together and normalize Data caps for everyone. In such they are making moves to change contracts so that ALL internet service contracts will now start having data cap limits, and there will be extra charges for additional usage over that limit.

 

Of course, this has enraged the public specially since we already deal with an overall low quality broadband service in most metropolitam areas.

 

However, i am aware that Data caps are common in the USA and Canada (and UK i believe?). But i don't have enough data to understand how that works.

 

So here is what i want you guys to help me out with... just some information.

 

1) Do you or people you know of have the option to unlimited data plans for internet access? Has this always been a thing?

 

2) If you have Data caps on your access plan, has it always been like that for you? 

 

3) If you have had unlimited access and had to go into a Limited data cap plan Have you noticed any improvement to quality or service because of it? (more stable connection, better customer service, anything at all.) 

 

i would really appreciate any insight, to broaden my view of this issue.

 

Thanks!

I'm in Northern Ireland and until about 8 years ago all ISPs here had strict data caps (e.g 30GB). If you surpassed this, the internet still worked but was basically unusable (could barely load Google), and you were charged a fee per GB you went over the limit (£1 per GB I think?).

 

With improving infrastructure, the broadband got faster and there were Unlimited packages available - though quite expensive.

Customer service has always been pretty bad with ISPs here, but the internet has been getting steadily faster, cheaper and more reliable (partly due to better routers etc).

 

To be honest I'm very surprised they are moving away from Unlimited packages for you in Brazil, it makes no sense from a consumer's standpoint and can only be a bad thing for you - where the ISP gets more money while providing fewer services (perhaps this is a response to the ISP losing money elsewhere). Especially since the infrastructure must already be in place.

 

Nowadays I don't think there are any data capped packages being sold by ISPs here, all are unlimited with the only difference being the speed offered. Mobile networks also all have unlimited data options.

[HPWebcamAble]

In Los Angeles, California (USA), I've got Verizon FIOS, and I don't even think the OFFER plans with data caps in my area.

[RicHaj]

Oh believe me, it gets worst... but only if we step into rumor territory, that's why im staying just on the facts for now. But the wording being put out there is that services like Netflix, Youtube, Whatsapp and similar ones would be made to cost extra.  But again... that's rumor territory (strong rumor, but rumor nonetheless )

 

The logic being used is asinine at best. By keeping everyone under the same cap, they claim they would be able to better distribute their aging network so provide a more stable service across all regions... 

 

Just for a quick reference, i live in a town next to the town where Petrobras headquarter is (it's a 30 minute drive from main street to main street between cities). This is the Offshore Oil capital in the country, Needless to say, there is a LOT of high profile companies nearby, international companies, and a LOT of internet usage going on.

 

Still, in my neighborhood i have access to one internet provider, and the best plan i can pay for is 10mb download and 0.5mb upload ( yes... 500kbps) and it has been that way for just about 10 years now...

 

So, Aging infrastructure with no investment? You can bet on it... 

[migeo]

We've changed a few times between Rogers Bell and Videotron, depending which company had the best offer but now we're with videotron and we stuck with Bell only for a few moonths because they were too expensive

1) We have the option here in Montreal to have data caps or unlimited. Obviously data caps contracts cheaper. I've been in Canada for 6 years now and we always had the option of having unlimited or not (i think).

2) When we first moved to montreal, my dad signed up a contract of 30gb per month. it was definitely not enough since I doubled the cap all by myself . As a result, he pushed the cap to 100gb per month but it was still not enough because at the same period we did a netflix account and we almost everytime went over the cap. Finally we upgraded to the unlimited plan which is great since I had a raid failure recently and I have to redownload everything I had. Just my anime folder is at 1tb and I'm still not done. How much would we pay if we had a data cap lol?

3) I can't answer this question but I have a feeling that if internet provider companies are doing this, I wouldn't expect better customer service. It really sucks for you guys in Brazil. 

[leadeater]

1 hour ago, RicHaj said:

1) Do you or people you know of have the option to unlimited data plans for internet access? Has this always been a thing?

 

2) If you have Data caps on your access plan, has it always been like that for you? 

 

3) If you have had unlimited access and had to go into a Limited data cap plan Have you noticed any improvement to quality or service because of it? (more stable connection, better customer service, anything at all.)

New Zealand:

1. We previously had data caps with unlimited plans available, in the last 3 years all plans have started to remove data caps. This is due to the Gov putting in a ton of money in to a national Fibre To The Home (FTTH) upgrade initiative.

 

2. Caps have been increased over the years due to demand and upgraded infrastructure, there are still capped plans here but only the cheapest possible options or on the older ADSL2+ network.

 

3. Capped plans used to generally have better consistent speeds but this is no longer true. What used to happen is that the unlimited plans came with a fair use policy and an agreement that under high network demand these plans would be throttled first and by the most.

 

Sounds like you are going to get a really crap deal, no country should be looking at putting in data caps if this was never a common practice previously. Everyone is working on removing them. The 10/0.5 speed you mentioned isn't actually that bad for ADS2+ but that technology is old as hell and has been superseded by VDSL/VDSL2 which offers usable speeds of 30/10 and does not require your phone line to be upgraded.

 

The other problem to consider is the data links to your country. These may be near capacity and depending on who owns them they may have no incentive to upgrade them so the only choice Brazil has is to slow or reduce demand, giving faster access to homes could be very bad in this case. In suspect it has a little bit to do with this and a lot to do with unwillingness to spend any money on network upgrades.

[skywake]

As an Australian I've been on a data-cap for a long while and it's pretty standard. Though charging extra when people go over their quota isn't a thing AFAIK. It used to be but now it only exists on mobile plans. What generally happens is that once you hit your data cap your speed is slowed. That said I'm currently on a 1TB plan which is only one tier above the cheapest 100GB/mo option from my ISP. On my ADSL2+ connection there's no way I can ever come close to 1TB anyways so it has never been an issue. 

 

In terms of unlimited plans that are available here? Generally the cheaper ISPs are the ones who offer unlimited plans. I think it's fair to assume that they can make their plans cheaper simply by not buying as much capacity and reducing the levels of customer service. I have heard quite a few stories about people's connections grinding to a halt on those plans. Though in Australia that's not unusual on any connection so, it's hard to say who is at fault. All I know is that I have never really have any issues with my connection slowing down.... other than the times when there has been a physical fault in the line...