Why Do ISPs Have Data Caps?

Why Do ISPs Have Data Caps?

Why Do ISPs Have Data Caps? Data caps are one of the biggest hassles an Internet user will face. You pay for access but your ISP may limit that access for a number of reasons.

Bandwidth, Data, Your ISP And You

Data caps are one of the biggest hassles an Internet user will face. These caps limit the amount of data you can transfer in a month, or the amount of bandwidth you can use at one time, or both. Whichever the case it often means slower connection speeds, bottlenecking and in the worst cases additional fees. Of course, the ISPs claim there are good reasons for the caps and in theory there are. What they really mean is that your ISP would rather charge you more to use the infrastructure in place than to spend money improving the Internet.

Why do ISPs have data caps? To control the amount and rate of flow of data across the network. This is important in the sense that the network needs to be monitored and controlled to prevent overloads and outages. As our use of streaming content slowly increases, the need for such controls increases as well. This issue is also at the heart of Net Neutrality. Just what right do the ISPs have to block your use?

Data Caps: Why do ISPs limit data and bandwidth? | Le VPN

Why Are ISPs Capping Data?

The reality of the situation is so that they can charge you more money. More and more ISPs are rolling out data caps in order to limit the amount of access we have to the net. Not so they can altruistically manage the Internet for the good of us all, it’s so they can offer premium and add/on services to their customer base. Comcast in the US rolled out a nationwide data cap in 2016 that limits is customers to a single terabyte.

Granted, a terabyte is a lot of data and equal to roughly 500 hours of streaming movies, a lot more than most people will use in a single month, but the fact remains that if you go over, your connection will be blocked and/or you will be charged more money. AT&T in the US took it to the next level and simply offers an unlimited plan for an additional $30 a month. What’s funny is that Comcast’s own internal reports show that those who actually do use more than 1 terabyte per month aren’t really harming anyone. Their response is that, if someone is using more they should pay for more.

Why Do ISPs Cap Bandwidth?

For basically the same reason as they cap data. To control the flow of traffic across the network. In the broad sense this is to protect the network, especially during high traffic times of day, but in the end is really just so they can make more money. If you want a faster connection, i.e. more bandwidth, you will have to pay for it. Companies like Netflix and other streaming media businesses have a big problem with this because it directly impacts their ability to deliver high quality services, and your ability to watch movies and play games without infernal buffering issues, herky jerky playback and dropped connections. Think about it, you pay for Internet and you pay for Netflix but you still can’t use it. That’s not right.

Why do ISPs limit data? Why do ISPs limit bandwidth ? Because they can. Because they know we will pay up for more, if they limit our use. They know they are in control but they want to keep it that way. That’s why none of them are offering VPN services or even educate the public about them and the tremendous advantage they give to Internet users.

How To Bypass Data Caps And Bandwidth Caps?

A VPN, virtual private network, is a means of securing your connections in a way that prevents your ISP from even knowing you are on the net. This means they can’t track you, log your data, cap your data usage or your bandwidth. The best part is that VPN like the one from Le VPN will also mask your IP address and allow you to stream geo-restricted content from around the world with no limit on bandwidth or data usage. When you use a VPN your ISP can impose whatever kind of cap it wants, but it just won’t matter. If you want to stream movies, if you want to avoid data restrictions, you need to get Le VPN now.

*Article Updated On December 19th, 2018.*

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Written by Vuk Mujović @VukMujovic

Vuk Mujović is the founder of MacTíre Consulting, an analyst, data management expert, and a long-term writer on all things business & tech. He authored blogs, articles, and opinion pieces aimed to help both companies and individuals achieve growth without compromising their security. Vuk is a regular guest author to Le VPN Blog since January 2018, where he gives his expert opinion on the topics related to cybersecurity, privacy, online freedom, and personal data protection. He also often shares his tips and best practices in relation to internet security and digital safety of private individuals and small businesses, including some additional applications of using a VPN service.

Comments (3)

  • Ben

    I don’t think VPNs bypass data caps. You still have to send data through you’re ISP’s infrastructure, even if it is encrypted. Using a VPN means they can’t read the content of the data, but they still know the data is there and is being transferred. A vpn can even increase the amount of data being sent, which means you’d hit your data cap faster. The only scenario I can think of that a vpn would help you avoid a data cap is if the ISP was capping your data to specific websites, which is not the general case right now.

  • sonny

    yeah i agree with ben, i used ssh but still they detect and block my sim

  • Anonymous

    The Internet Service Provider industry is highly competitive and most consumers look at price as the selling point. The presence of data caps affects the subscription’s price. The lack of data caps might be compensated through a higher monthly fee or slower speed, while the presence of data caps will be compensated by low installation or equipment fees or high download or upload speeds. You have to remember, internet is a business and companies will always look to get the most money out of their customers as possible while delivering quality performance

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