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Comcast’s plan to raise fees for a range of services, including high-speed Internet and pay-TV, in January sparked a wave of complaints from customers online.
As more sectors of business and society go fully online, the Philadelphia-based cable and broadband giant is also extending a 1.2 terabyte cap on home internet data to the 39 states where it is operating. operates. Comcast is the leading provider of broadband and cable, with 30.1 million total subscribers.
The new rates were reported by tech website Ars Technica and detailed in a document circulating on Reddit. Customers will pay an additional $ 4.50 per month as a “TV broadcast fee” and an additional $ 2 for distribution to regional sports networks. Most Xfinity Internet plans will increase by $ 3 per month. Home security and equipment offerings will also be more expensive, as will installation. Professional installations and home service visits are expected to drop from $ 70 to $ 100.
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The increases follow word that AT&T is also raising prices for certain services in the New Year.
The data cap has existed in various Comcast markets over the past few years. In 2021, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and a handful of other states will join the 39-state footprint.
Customers from the newly added markets will have January and February to adjust to the data cap. As of March 2021, any customer who does not have an unlimited data plan and who exceeds 1.2 terabytes per month will pay $ 10 plus tax for each additional 50 gigabytes they use, up to a maximum of 100 $ per month.
Greg Butz, president of Connectivity and Consumer Experience Services, wrote in a blog post that 95% of Comcast customers will not be affected by the change. “A very small percentage of our customers generate a disproportionate amount of traffic on our network,” he writes. “In fact, 5% of our residential customers account for over 20% of our network usage. For that small group of customers who use over 1.2TB of data in a month, we have a number of unlimited options for less money. “
The company will continue to offer extensive payment options and tailored services and plans. It also plans to continue offering its 1.5 million public Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspots for free to anyone who needs to use them, including non-customers, until the end of 2020.
For context, he added that 1.2 terabytes is a “massive amount of data”. Just stream around 500 hours of HD video, videoconferencing for nearly 3,500 hours per month, watch nearly 1,200 hours of distance learning videos on Seesaw or Google Classroom, play over 34,000 hours of online games. online or stream over 21,000 hours of music.
Stop the Cap, an activist group opposed to limits on internet use, criticized the move. “Comcast will certainly be criticized for extending data caps amid the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as the number of cases explodes in the United States, pushing more people than ever to work from home,” wrote the group. “One of Comcast’s most successful businesses is selling residential broadband, often without significant competition, and with customers unlikely to drop out of service, there is plenty of room to raise prices further. “
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