AT&T Announces Broadband Limits

AT&T has become the second service to impose Internet data limits on users, following the lead of Comcast.

First came Comcast, and now AT&T has announced plans to impose limits on the data use of its customers. In a filing with the FCC the company said:

“AT&T plans to initiate a broadband Internet access usage trial in Reno, Nevada beginning in November.”

“AT&T will be providing written notice to customers involved in the trial explaining that their broadband service will be subject to a certain monthly usage tier for the total amount of data they may send and receive, as well as a per gigabyte charge in the event they exceed the usage tier.”

There will be a sliding scale on caps, Vnunet reports. Customers with the slowest 768 kilobits per second DSL service will be allowed 20Gb per month. At the top end, those at the 10 megabits-per-second level will be allowed 150Gb a month.

According to AT&T, 5% of its users are responsible for 50% of the traffic on its networks. The company will assess the Reno trial before rolling out the caps across the nation. Users can track their usage on the company’s website. They’ll receive a warning when they pass 80% of their monthly limit, and have to pay $1 per Gb for all data past their allowance.

It’s reported that a number of other ISPs – although not Verizon – are also considering data caps.