Capped Broadband Services Generate 12% Less Usage, Study Finds

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While the strategy doesn’t necessarily result in universally happy customers, employing broadband usage caps does appear to be an effective tool for operators interested in controlling the expansion of network usage.

According to data released by OpenVault, second-quarter broadband usage by customers on plans with usage-based pricing averaged 215.6 gigabytes per household, 12.2% less than the 241.9 GB per home used by customers without capped services.

Related: WOW!: We’ll Stay Cap Free

Homes with usage-based pricing also experienced slower growth of network usage—27.3% year over year vs. 36.6% for non-capped homes.

Notable: 3.1% of customers for non-capped services exceeded the 1 terabyte monthly threshold, on average, vs. just 2% for services with caps. A number of operators in the cable industry have adopted a 1 TB usage limit.

Overall, OpenVault said average U.S. broadband usage growth in Q2 grew by 31.3% year over year to 226.4 GB.

OpenVault collects, manages and analyzes high-speed data usage from network operators.

Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!