Cable One said Monday that it will eliminate data plans with overage fees as of June 10 as it launches two new higher speed cable modem tiers and raises the ceiling on monthly consumption limits.
In 2011, Cable One introduced a policy that charged 50 cents per Gigabyte when customers used more than their monthly allotment of 100 GB per month for the MSO's 50 Mbps DOCSIS 3.0 high-speed Internet That fee-based policy goes away next week as Cable One expands its monthly usage cap to 300GB for its 50 Meg service.
In tandem, the MSO is also launching two new tiers that offer downstream speeds up to 60 Mbps and 70 Mbps and are paired with higher monthly usage ceilings. The 60 Mbps comes with a monthly ceiling of 400 GB, while cusomters who sign up for the 70 Mbps service get a monthly limit of 500 GB, a company spokeswoman said.
Under the new, fee-free policy, if a customer exceeds the monthly usage ceiling “they will receive multiple notices letting them know they’ve gone over as well as tools and tips to monitor their usage,” the Cable One spokeswoman said via email. “If they continue to go over, we’ll invite them to move to a plan with a bigger data guideline.”
"We are very excited to launch these new, more flexible Internet plans. Our customers are spending more time online than ever before and have voiced the need for faster service and no overage charges,” said Joe Felbab, Cable One vice president of marketing, in a statement. "We’re committed to listening to our customers and delivering the latest products and technical advancements while maintaining the highest level of reliability and customer care. We’re confident that these new plans will enhance our customers’ internet experience in an environment of increased streaming and online gaming.”
