Comcast will expand monthly data caps from 300 GB to 1 TB on 18 more locations within the United States next month.
The internet service provider has been fiddling with its Terabyte Internet Data Usage Plan for quite some time now. And beginning Nov. 1, Xfinity internet service subscribers on 18 more locations within the U.S. will have their data caps raised from 300 GB to 1 TB.
The list includes Dothan in Alabama, California, Colorado, parts of Florida (North Florida, Southwest Florida and West Palm), Southeastern Georgia, Idaho, parts of Indiana (Indianapolis and Central Indiana; Fort Wayne and Eastern Indiana), Kansas, Michigan (Grand Rapids/Lansing, Detroit and Eastern Michigan), Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Western Ohio, Oregon, Texas (Houston),Utah, Washington, Wisconsin.
The 1 TB data cap is already in effect in 16 locations, which includes Alabama (excluding the Dothan market), Arizona, Arkansas, Florida (Fort Lauderdale, the Keys and Miami), Georgia (excluding Southeastern Georgia), Illinois, Northern Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Southwestern Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, Eastern Texas, South Carolina and Southwest Virginia.
"[We] have created a new data plan that is so high that most of our customers will never have to think about how much data they use," says Comcast executive VP of consumer services Marcien Jenckes.
How To Consume 1 TB Of Data
According to Comcast, to consume 1 TB of data, users will need to stream 600 to 700 hours of HD videos and 15,000 hours for music, go through 60,000 high-resolution images or burn 12,000 hours on online games, which will need 17 people to play non-stop for a whole month.
Bear in mind that according to eMarketer, the average adult only spends 5.5 hours per day on video consumption. It would be possible to consume 600 hours of HD video within a month if a person sleeps for 6 hours and does nothing else but watch videos for the remaining 18 hours.
Out of the ISP's 23 million subscribers, only 1 percent exceeded the previous 300-GB data cap. The average user consumes roughly 60 GB of data monthly. Hence, 99 percent of Xfinity internet service subscribers will not be impacted by this increase in data cap.
What Happens If You Exceed The 1 TB Data Cap
If an account exceeds the 1 TB monthly data cap, Comcast will automatically add a 50 GB to the data cap for $10. However, Comcast assures that the accumulated charges for excess data will not exceed $200 per month. Moreover, accounts will not be billed for the first two instances wherein the user exceeds the 1 TB cap.
"Those who use more Internet data, pay more. And those who use less Internet data, pay less," Comcast reminds its subscribers.
Note that the Xfinity Terabyte Internet Data Usage Plan does not apply to Comcast customers who have are enrolled in the Unlimited Data Option.
