Netflix Presses FCC To Condemn Data Caps

Netflix is calling for the government to crack down on broadband providers that impose data caps on their subscribers.

Data caps "discourage a consumer’s consumption of broadband, and may impede the ability of some households to watch Internet television in a manner and amount that they would like," Netflix says in a new filing with the Federal Communications Commission. Netflix is urging the FCC to rule that all data caps on wireline networks, as well as "low" data caps on mobile networks, may "unreasonably limit Internet television viewing." The company adds that data caps (as well as pay-per-byte billing) don't seem to have any purpose other than to make online video more expensive for consumers. Consumer advocates have made the same point, arguing that data caps don't help manage congestion on wireline networks, given that the caps aren't pegged to current network conditions.