Huffington Post: Broadband Data Caps Could Get Review from U.S. Lawmakers

The US Justice Department is investigating whether cable operators are improperly suppressing competition through data caps (or metered billing). The data caps are being labeled as 'anticompetitive', suggesting that their motives could be to dissuade consumers from cheaper Internet-based viewing options instead of pricier content distributed through cable.

Here in Canada we stopped metered billing from being imposed on indie ISPs and every Canadian (http://bit.ly/wTkiuq), but data caps are still in place and seem to be getting worse. We're continuing to push the CRTC to fix this (more on this soon), but do you think our government should also investigate whether metered billing is anti-competitive? Do you think big telecom are imposing data caps as a way of making online video more expensive so we continue to subscribe to uneccessary TV services?

Article by Jasmin Melvin

Two Democratic lawmakers said Congress should examine whether major wireless carriers and cable companies are stifling the growth of online video services like Netflix Inc and Hulu by limiting the amount of content Internet subscribers can download each month.

Online video providers have argued that data caps are keeping more Americans from accessing their programming as they worry bandwidth-heavy shows and movies could interrupt their Internet service.

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