FCC Votes To Investigate Consumer Impact of Data Caps

Immediately, the Federal Communications Fee voted on circulation to approve a Discover of Inquiry to look at the affect of information caps imposed by web service suppliers on shoppers. Many broadband suppliers impose limits on the quantity of information subscribers can obtain a month – even subscribers to supposedly “limitless plans.” Subscribers who exceed their knowledge cap could incur important expenses, have their speeds throttled, and even lose entry solely till their new billing cycle begins.

The next will be attributed to Harold Feld, Senior Vice President at Public Information:

“Knowledge caps stay some of the mysterious – and abusable – limits for shoppers utilizing broadband. Suppliers provide a number of ‘limitless’ plans with completely different limits, and completely different punishments for exceeding these limits. However regardless of the widespread use of information caps for each cell and wireline broadband, we’ve got nearly no method to know the way these affect individuals. 

“As we are able to see within the hurricane devastation zones, individuals rely upon connectivity for his or her security. In our post-pandemic world, that features widespread use of video calling, streaming security directions from native officers, counting on real-time functions to achieve security, and different bandwidth-intensive makes use of. Even in our day by day lives, individuals more and more use video calling and video streaming as a part of their skilled and private lives. Are bandwidth caps stopping individuals from utilizing the functions they want? How widespread are bandwidth caps? How a lot additional do shoppers pay to make use of providers they already pay for? Proper now, we’ve got no method to know.

“The FCC has each the authority and the accountability to analyze these questions whether or not or not broadband is a Title II telecommunications service or Title I info service. We applaud Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s willpower to launch this necessary inquiry within the face of partisan and business opposition, and look ahead to the sunshine it should shed on how knowledge caps affect our digital lives.”

Members of the media could contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to affix the Public Information press listing at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.