Getty Images | Steven Ferdmann
Jessica Rosenworcel, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, wants the FCC to open a formal investigation into how data caps harm internet users and why broadband providers still enforce the caps. The investigation could eventually lead to the FCC regulating how internet service providers like Comcast enforce limits on data usage.
Rosenworcel announced yesterday that she had asked fellow commissioners to support an investigative report on the subject. Among other things, the notice seeks public comment “to better understand why usage of data caps persists despite increased consumer broadband needs and providers’ proven technical ability to offer unlimited data plans.”
The survey would also seek comment on “trends in consumer data usage…about the impact of data caps on consumers, consumers’ experience of data caps, how consumers are informed about data caps on service offerings, and how data caps affect competition.” Finally, Rosenworcel would like comment on the FCC’s “legal authority to take action regarding data caps.”
In particular, the agency would like to gain more insight into the current state of data caps, their impact on consumers, and whether the Commission should consider taking action to ensure that data caps do not harm competition or consumers’ ability to access data. access to broadband Internet services,” the press release said.
Tell FCC about your experience with data caps
While the proposed Notice of Investigation requires a committee vote before it can be issued, the FCC has already created a “Data Caps Experience Form” and is encouraging Internet users to use that form to “share their unique experiences and challenges with data caps.” The FCC said it wants to hear from fixed service users (eg., home internet) and wireless broadband, “including people with disabilities, low-income consumers and historically underserved communities.” The FCC also wants details about how data caps affect “access to online education, telehealth and remote work.”
The President’s Office noted in its press release that “many broadband ISPs have temporarily or permanently refrained from enforcing or imposing data caps in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Access to the Internet is no longer a ‘nice to have’, but a ‘need to have’ for everyone and everywhere,” says Rosenworcel. “As we come out of the pandemic, there are many lessons to be learned about what worked and what didn’t, especially about what it takes to keep us all connected. When we need access to the internet, we don’t think about how there it takes a lot of data to do a job, we just know it has to be done. It’s time the FCC re-examined the impact of data caps on consumers and competition.”
