Streaming giant Netflix is now among the dozens of internet companies that have publicly spoken out against broadband data caps.
In a filing to the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), the company referred to caps like those enforced by Comcast and other internet service providers as “an unnecessary constraint on advanced telecommunications capability.”
Quite simply: If there are data caps on our internet use the way there are on our phones, people are going to stream less TV and movies. If there’s unlimited data, companies like Netflix get to keep thriving.
Per the statement:
A data cap or allotment of 300 GB of data per month or higher is required just to meet the internet television needs of an average American. This does not account for the other things that consumers typically do with their broadband connections, such as web-browsing or downloading games or apps from the internet. An above average television watcher, a multi-occupant household, or a consumer wishing to watch in 4K requires a much higher cap or allotment. In this way, today’s ‘above-average’ internet consumer is tomorrow’s average internet consumer.
The filing is also critical of other internet service provider tricks, like zero rating, which privileges specific services by allowing their content to stream free of data charges.
The filing itself doesn’t change anything, but it does mark one of the biggest companies in the game finally taking a stand against data capping.
H/T Gizmodo