Comcast to Shift From Broadband Caps to Usage-Based Pricing

MSO to increase monthly usage limit to at least 300 GB as it tests different usage models

By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/17/2012 2:06:46 PM

Comcast will eliminate the 250-Gigabyte monthly broadband-usage limit on Xfinity Internet, moving over time instead to a usage-based pricing model that will provide at least 300 GB of data usage before customers incur additional charges, the operator said Thursday.

The cable operator is making the change after it was criticized by competitors and public-interest groups for allowing unlimited usage of its IP video-on-demand service on Xbox 360, while applying usage of other Internet-video services to the cap.

"[I]n recent weeks, some of the conversation around our new product introductions focused on our data usage threshold, rather than on the exciting opportunities we are offering our customers," Cathy Avgiris, Comcast's executive vice president and general manager of Communications and Data Services, wrote blog post.

Comcast will "replace our static 250 GB usage threshold with more flexible data usage management approaches that benefit consumers and support innovation and that will continue to ensure that all of our customers enjoy the best possible Internet experience over our high-speed data service," Avgiris said.

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