All of us love the internet and all of us hate data caps at the same time. Most users consider download speeds as the only factor in seamless internet experience, but data caps can ruin your internet experience more than slow data speeds. Finding an internet plan without a data cap is almost like stumbling across a gold mine. Unlimited internet plans without data caps mean you won’t have to pay extra for any plan. You can use as much internet as you want and without worrying about additional costs.
What Are Data Caps?
Internet data caps are limits enforced by your ISP on how much data you can consume in a month. Every small activity that you do online contributes to consuming your monthly data allowance. Use your internet services too much and you may end up hitting the monthly data limit before the month ends. Most ISPs offer 1 TB (1024 GB) data every month which is more than enough for a small family, with 1 TB data you can watch Netflix for 5 Hours continuously every day and still won’t run out of data.
Different ISPs use different terms for Data caps, you should know the terms if you want to seek them out in your internet contract. You may come across terms like, “fair use policy” or “monthly usage allowance” and “bandwidth cap”. Your provider sends you a warning text when you reach close to consuming your monthly data.
What Happens When You Go Over Your Monthly Limit?
Only two things will happen when you go over your monthly data limit. Either you’ll have to pay overage fees. Or you must suffer through slow internet speed for the rest of the month. There are rare cases where your ISP will stop your internet connectivity completely. So, the better option is to choose high-speed internet with no data caps. Internet service providers also give you the option to purchase extra data once you go over your limit.
Why do ISP Use Data Caps?
Internet service providers can produce a limited amount of bandwidth, and they distribute it among millions of consumers. Internet service providers have their limits, that’s why they restrict users from consuming too much data in a short period. Once you go over the pre-set limit, your internet access provider reduces your speed.
What Consumes Most Data?
To save yourself from going over your data limit, you should know which activities consume most data. If you download large files regularly, then that could be the reason for your data consumption. If you love binge-watching TV shows, then Netflix’s data consumption chart may help you understand your data usage.
According to Netflix, full HD streaming consumes 3 GB per hour and 4K ultra HD consumes 7 GB per hour. So with your 1 TB data allotment, you can stream 333 hours of HD and 140 hours of 4K HD. That’s a huge amount of data if you don’t go through your day streaming stuff.
Do All Brands Have Data Caps?
Fortunately, not all brands have data caps. Most of the major internet brands have data caps of 1 TB, but some brands offer you unlimited data for every plan. Doesn’t matter whether you choose a 5 Mbps plan or 1 GBPS plan. With growing technology some providers are also raising their data limit, some providers now offer you 2 TB data instead of just 1 TB.
Here’s a list of all the providers with data caps.
- AT&T Internet
- Buckeye Broadband
- CenturyLink
- Cox Communications
- Frontier Communications
- HughesNet
- Viasat
- RCN
- Mediacom
Providers with unlimited data plans.
- Google Fiber
- Spectrum
- Verizon FiOS
Final Take
Most of us exhaust their data without even thinking about data caps until the day we go over the limit. If you have a lot of people in your home who stream TV shows, movies and play online games, then you are better off with an unlimited internet plan for the home. Now that you know about Internet provider data caps, you can keep an eye out for your monthly internet usage. Also, if you are worried about going over the limit and paying overage fees, then you can choose internet providers who offer you unlimited internet plans for home and businesses.