Comcast is testing out an extra fee that will help Internet customers avoid paying out excess bandwidth-related charges on their monthly bill, in areas where a cap is enforced. The cable company is allowing customers in areas of Florida to pay $30 extra per month for unlimited data through the fiber network, letting subscribers go above their monthly usage allowance without worrying about receiving a higher than expected bill the following month.
In a number of states, customers are forced to abide by a 300GB per month data cap, reports Ars Technica, with customers exceeding the cap for three months being charged an extra $10 per 50GB block of excess usage. Customers in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and the Keys have the option of bypassing this cap by paying the $30 on top of their regular bill, chargeable regardless of whether or not they use more than 300GB in the month.
Ultimately, the fee is useful for only those who use the service excessively, namely more than 450GB of data transfers in the month. Those using between 400 and 450GB will effectively see no difference on their bill, while customers typically using between the 300GB limit and 400GB per month will end up paying more for the unlimited data option than in penalty charges.
So far, the $30 fee has not been offered in other states where a cap is being tested. It is unknown whether Comcast will spread the bandwidth caps to the rest of its network, and if it does, whether or not it will also offer the cap-waiving charge at the same time.
