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Terabyte-Using Cable Customers Double, Increasing Risk of Data Cap Fees (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: U.S. cable Internet customers are using an average of 268.7GB per month, and 4.1 percent of households use at least 1TB, according to new research by the vendor OpenVault. Households that use at least 1TB a month are at risk of paying overage fees because of the 1TB data caps imposed by Comcast and other ISPs. Terabyte users nearly doubled year over year, as just 2.1 percent of households hit the 1TB mark last year, according to OpenVault. OpenVault found that households that face data caps use 8.5-percent less data than un-capped users, suggesting that cable customers limit their Internet usage when they face the prospect of overage fees. According to OpenVault, the caps can help cable companies avoid major network upgrades.
Specifically, "OpenVault's 2018 data also shows that average usage for households with flat-rate pricing was 282.1GB/HH, more than 9 percent higher than the 258.2GB/HH average usage for households on usage-based billing (UBB) plans," OpenVault wrote. Stated another way, customers facing caps and overage fees use 8.5-percent less data than un-capped customers. Un-capped customers are, naturally, more likely to exceed a terabyte. "The percentage of flat-rate (non-UBB) households exceeding 1TB of usage was 4.82 percent, a full percentage point higher than the 3.81 percent of UBB households who exceeded the 1TB threshold," OpenVault said. The 268.7GB average household data used in December 2018 was "up from 226.4GB/HH [household] at the end of June 2018 and a 33.3 percent increase over the YE 2017 average of 201.6GB/HH," OpenVault said. Median usage was 145.2GB in December 2018, "up from 116.4GB/HH in June 2018 and a 40 percent increase over the YE 2017 median of 103.6GB/HH," the company also said.
Specifically, "OpenVault's 2018 data also shows that average usage for households with flat-rate pricing was 282.1GB/HH, more than 9 percent higher than the 258.2GB/HH average usage for households on usage-based billing (UBB) plans," OpenVault wrote. Stated another way, customers facing caps and overage fees use 8.5-percent less data than un-capped customers. Un-capped customers are, naturally, more likely to exceed a terabyte. "The percentage of flat-rate (non-UBB) households exceeding 1TB of usage was 4.82 percent, a full percentage point higher than the 3.81 percent of UBB households who exceeded the 1TB threshold," OpenVault said. The 268.7GB average household data used in December 2018 was "up from 226.4GB/HH [household] at the end of June 2018 and a 33.3 percent increase over the YE 2017 average of 201.6GB/HH," OpenVault said. Median usage was 145.2GB in December 2018, "up from 116.4GB/HH in June 2018 and a 40 percent increase over the YE 2017 median of 103.6GB/HH," the company also said.
Data caps are simply made up fiction to charge you more. They are similar to the made up fees like "HD access" and "multiroom DVR". They are charging a lot of money for things that cost nothing to implement. Only oligopoly suppliers can get away with fictional charges like these. If you don't pay those fees then they purposely break their service to make things worse for you.
The only true number that matters is aggregate peak demand. If aggregate peak demand exceeds network capacity then packets are going to drop. So if the ISPs were being truthful and selling real services instead of fictional ones, they would sell plans with bandwidth caps that kick in only during times of congestion.
I am 100% in favor of last mile ISP regulation back to POPs which allow free interconnect to any ISP provider. It is silly to run multiple sets of wires to each house. Instead there should be regulated wiring back to a POP supporting 25K homes. This model would allow you to subscribe to any ISP with a presence at the POP.
I have 3Mb/s DSL, which doesn't quite allow 1TB/month (0.003 Tb / 8) * 365 days / 12 months * 24 hours * 3600 seconds.
So, a high speed customer should expect to able to pull a lot more than that.
This is is being framed as 1TB being excessive, when really it isn't.