Comcast Is About To Slap More Internet Customers With 1.2TB Data Cap

Comcast plans to expand its Internet data cap to customers in states that were previously excluded. The service provider has already implemented the data cap across the majority of states it operates in, but many customers in a dozen states were still given unlimited access to data without extra charges. This change will kick off in January.

In 2016, Comcast expanded its Internet data caps to 27 out of the 39 states in which it operates, mostly excluding the northeast region for reasons assumed to be competition with Verizon's data cap-free FiOS offering. Fast-forward a few years and things are changing.

The Comcast Xfinity website added an update last week that revealed its 1.2TB data cap will be coming to subscribers in the Northeast, as well as West Virginia, North Carolina, Washington DC, and parts of select other states like Ohio and Virginia where they weren't previously enforced.

The notice about this change appeared on an Xfinity Internet web page about data — it states:

Starting in March 2021, customers not on an unlimited data plan who exceed 1.2 TB in a month will have a one-time courtesy month credit under the plan applied to their accounts, and will be responsible for any data overage changes after that. Blocks of 50 GB will automatically be added to customers' accounts for an additional fee of $10 each plus tax. Charges will not exceed $100 each month, no matter how much data a customer uses. *Includes the states of CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, parts of NC, NY, parts of OH, PA, VA, VT, WV, and the District of Columbia.

Though the change goes into effect on January 2021, subscribers who go over the limit won't actually be billed the extra charges until March, giving them a chance to get familiar with the change. Likewise, Comcast Internet customers get a single courtesy month every year, meaning if you accidentally go over your limit, you won't have to pay that initial time — but you will be charged for any other months that go over.

Comcast told Ars Technica that the data cap will only impact 'a very small number' of its subscriber and that around 95-percent of its residential Internet customers don't reach 1.2TB/month. Customers who exceed this limit — through, say, heavy streaming and game downloads — have the option of signing up for unlimited data for an extra $30/month.