Chances are that you current Internet plan charges you a flat free for unlimited access to the Internet and services like Netflix and HBO Go.  That kind of plan could soon become a thing of the past.  Comcast is quietly expanding a new plan that will charge customers for using more than 300 gigabytes of data. Households that want to avoid the cap can do so for a $30 surcharge.  Comcast, which has been testing this kind of plan for at least two years, is expanding its use of this plan in a number of areas in Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee and Virginia, according to DSLReport.com.  The plan, which resembles smartphone data billing, has customers pay the usual amount for 300 gigabytes of data. Once that is hit, users will be charged an additional $10 for every additional 50 GBs used. There is also an option of paying an additional $30 for no cap whatsoever.  The expansion gained more attention last week after a variety of internal Comcast documents were leaked online. They show that Comcast has been coaching its customer service representatives on how to handle complaints about the caps. The company bills this as promoting "fairness," which many have pointed out is an interesting departure from previous claims about network congestion.  Right now, 300 GB is probably enough for an individual with a relatively healthy Internet habit, but there are widespread concerns that this amount is already insufficient for households with multiple Internet users. Over at Gizmodo, one commenter said her family of four uses around 600 GB a month between streaming movies and YouTube. Household Internet data consumption is only expected to rise as people stream new formats such as 4K video.  Data caps on Internet usage have gained steam in the past couple of years. Comcast has been testing them out since at least 2013. Time Warner Cable, which Comcast tried to buy, has also been testing them out.  Cable companies have been under pressure to make more money from its customers that have stopped subscribing to cable and now consume content entirely over the Internet. Recent earnings reports, however, have shown that cord cutting is not happening quite as fast as had been feared.  Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Comcast is expanding its new billing plan that charges users for going over a certain amount of Internet data.