Concerned about data overages from our new usage policy? Here are some frequently asked questions. As always, you can call us at 800-272-2191 and our staff will be happy to answer any questions you have as well as tell you how much you have used this month so far.
Q: Why are you implementing data limits?
A: Due to the increased data used by streaming video, torrents and the like, bandwidth costs and hardware to push that bandwidth to the end user have gone sky high. In order to keep our prices the same, we opted to implement a usage limit, and to set it to affect as few people as possible. We also believe this would help customers not waste bandwidth that they are not really using.
Q: Do your competitors have data limits?
A: Yes. Our latest study, we looked at every competitor we have. Because we want to give our customers more for their money, and really only make our customers more mindful of the bandwidth they are using, we made our data limits 15% higher than our highest competitor’s advertised data limit.
Q: How do I know how much data I’m using?
A: The easiest way as of right now is to call 800-272-2191, email support@ccc-cable.net or facebook message us. Our customer care reps and management staff are happy to assist you with your usage information. You will also see your usage on each month’s bill. Some customers have routers that can tell them as well. Check with the manufacturer of your hardware to see if it can meter usage for you.
Q: Will I be able to check online how much data I’m using?
A: At this time, no. However we plan to start development on a page where you can do this sometime later this year.
Q: Will this affect me?
A: Most customers will never see a charge. We ran 6 months of studies, and found that on average, 40 out of 1800 internet customers go over 300GB on a given month. A few hours a day of streaming video, video games, heavy social media, email, web surfing is unlikely to cause you to go over on your usage. Different applications will function differently. What we recommend is that you monitor your usage for 3 months, and if you don’t go within 90% you have little to worry about unless you add something to your internet usage practices.
Q: How much will it cost me if I go over?
A: Overages are charged in 50GB increments at $10 per 50GB.
Q: What are some things I can do to make sure I dont’ go over?
A: 1) Secure your wifi. Make sure your family in your home are the only ones using your internet connection. 2) When you aren’t actively watching streaming programs on Neflix, Hulu, Youtube, etc., turn it off so those services aren’t streaming programs you aren’t watching. 3) Check your computers for viruses, and check them often. Viruses can use your computer to share and stream without your knowledge. 4) Turn off your computers when they aren’t being used so the background applications aren’t using data that you are unaware of.
Q: Where can I see a copy of the letter you sent regarding data usage limits?
A: Here is a PDF of the letter we sent in February to every internet customer: internet-data-limits
We hope this brief FAQ will help. We did not implement this to create undue hardship on our customers or even to make money off of data usage. This was simply to prevent us from needing to increase charges for our internet services due to excessive usage.