It’s not often that Comcast makes headlines for changes to its services that might actually benefit consumers, but that currently appears to be the case. The much-maligned service provider confirmed Wednesday that any customers who are subject to data caps won’t be able to rack up overage charges of more than $200 per month after June 1.
As it stands, Comcast charges $10 for every 50GB of data customers use beyond the limits of their plan, according to a report from Ars Technica. These charges will still be in effect after June 1, but at least there’s now a limit to the overall amount that can be accrued.
June 1 will also see the company raise its monthly data cap from 300GB to 1TB. Customers will have to run through that terabyte, and then use up another terabyte within the span of a month to reach the limit on charges that is being implemented.
Comcast will also offer another payment option for data-hungry customers alongside these tweaks. An additional $50 a month on top of a standard rate will snag unlimited data, which is definitely a better proposition than paying the overage charges for anyone who regularly streams audio and video content on their phone.
This change is also set to have an effect of customers who are already paying for unlimited data. Their rates are set to remain unchanged until the end of the year, but at that point the service will be treated as a $50 add-on, just as it is for everyone else.
There will be some customers that benefit from these changes, but in truth the amount of people who save money will be minimal at best.