Story by
Bryan Clark
Former Managing Editor, TNWBryan is a freelance journalist. Bryan is a freelance journalist.
Broadband caps are a thorn in the side for internet power users and cord cutters everywhere. Netflix wants them to disappear — for good.
In a comment to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Netflix called data caps “an unnecessary constraint on advanced telecommunications capability.” The company also takes issue with so-called zero-rating, a scheme providers use to offer free content that doesn’t count against the data cap, but only from some services. Dozens of internet companies wrote a letter to the FCC earlier this year in an attempt to start a discussion about zero-rating and the effect it has on the health of net neutrality.
Netflix stands to benefit a great deal from decisions like Comcast’s to up its previous data cap from 300GB to 1TB, a move CEO Reed Hastings applauded.
Huge for me as a Comcast customer. Now I'll never be able to watch enough to hit my cap. https://t.co/euhZy9jJhT
— Reed Hastings (@reedhastings) April 27, 2016
While obviously thrilled with the decision, it’s but one of many internet providers — most of whom still have fairly-limiting caps. As pleased as Hastings is with the decision to increase the cap, he’d be altogether thrilled if Comcast (and others) would drop it entirely.
via Gizmodo