Comcast Data limits on internet

[rjand6more]

Anyone else having issues with overages?

 

Our area is new to the 1 TB rule.  We have been ok UNTIL ds21 came home from college for the summer.  Last month we used 1/2 grace months. We went 300 GB over.  That would have been a $60 overage charge!!  I am watching closely this month and we are going to be dangerously close, if not in overage. :glare:  We have shut our phones off from downloading anything.  The kids get an hour each on devices a day.  No Netflix. No Amazon Prime.(All restrictions instituted last week.)

 

I did not know we even had limits until last month.  It is definitely oldest ds that is the issue.  He is a data hog. LOL  He is the only gamer.  DS9  plays Minecraft on his Kindle.  The girls stream a video a day(together).  The boys can watch 2-3 Netflix videos/day(together).  DH and I watch 1 show a night on Netflix/Amazon.  Really, that's it! When ds21 is not home, we average .5 TB/month.

 

Comcast claims 99% of their customers use less than 1TB. Are we really the 1%?

 

[catz]

Well if you are, we are too.  We upped our data with Comcast a few months ago.  We TRIED to stay under but to no avail.  Kids game but DH uses it for work too plus we back up to the cloud.  We don't pay for data plans on our phones though so we justify the extra data that way.

[kroe1]

I would be in big trouble without unlimited. I have a DH who downloads huge files all day and a kiddo who is uploading huge files all day. Even my car has to be unlimited. I have a hot spot that goes over 5G every month which we hardly even use. Does Comcast not have an unlimited option? We have Frontier, Verizon, and Onstar all providing unlimited plans.

[mamaraby]

We have Charter which due to its merger recently with Time Warner(?) can't put a data cap on for like 7 years. I just assume unlimited was a universal thing until I priced AT&T Uverse. AT&T seemed cheaper up until the data cap came up in the fine print. You have my sympathies. I have no idea how much we use at home, but I imagine we'd run into problems like you. Did you try calling Comcast to see if they had an unlimited plan or could get you a deal to keep your business?

[zoobie]

We switched for this reason.

[rjand6more]

Well if you are, we are too.  We upped our data with Comcast a few months ago.  We TRIED to stay under but to no avail.  Kids game but DH uses it for work too plus we back up to the cloud.  We don't pay for data plans on our phones though so we justify the extra data that way.

 

I guess you can pay $50/month for unlimited.  Thing is, they can change those terms anytime they chose.  In our area, Comcast has a monopoly.  The only "competition" is Frontier.  They are SO unreliable.  No one I know has stayed with them.

 

Comcast is just so shady.  I don't trust them!  We have had so many random charges that I have had to call and get adjusted in the 1 1/2 year we have been with them. I read that they were issued a fine last fall for doing just that so often.  The biggest fine the FCC has issued against a cable provider.

[JumpyTheFrog]

Clark Howard is starting to recommend people with data caps get cell plans with unlimited data and stream Netflix from their phone to their TVs.

[Tap]

Clark Howard is starting to recommend people with data caps get cell plans with unlimited data and stream Netflix from their phone to their TVs.

:iagree:  This is what we would do.  Aside from gaming, cell phone data speeds are perfect for most internet uses like streaming movies and such. 

[Mergath]

Wow. I didn't realize internet companies could charge you for exceeding the data cap- I thought they just throttled you when you get beyond a certain point. Which isn't too much better, but at least you don't end up owing them a small fortune.

 

I would pay for unlimited. Fifty bucks a month for internet isn't really that much, and it'll be worth the peace of mind.  My dh is a gamer, and if I had to monitor data usage for our computers the way I do for our cell phones when we're away from wifi I'd go insane.

 

In the meantime, have you gone into Netflix and changed the streaming quality? If you drop it down to the lowest setting it'll use less data.

[Carrie12345]

I don't know what my actual byte situation is (my brain refuses make sense of what a mega/giga/tera actually represents) but the whole thing is ridiculous.

 

Our cable/internet provider sent out tons of letters a couple of years ago, telling customers they would be dropped if they didn't reduce their usage to <whatever it was>. We have no other internet providers.  They offered commercial accounts, so everyone jumped on that.

 

Now, according to the service guy who came to figure out why our internet is stinking so bad, the company is annoyed that everyone has commercial accounts, and they're beginning to send out letters demanding tax ID numbers or lose internet!

 

(Tax ID numbers are ridiculously simple to get!)

 

[Mergath]

Also, just an fyi but while it varies depending on what you're playing, streaming video tends to use a lot more data than online gaming. Is your son watching tv while he games? I can't imagine how he could be using 500 gigs a month on just online gaming. He must be watching a lot of Netflix or something too.

[Lanny]

We had Cable Modem internet years ago, where we lived before, in a very rural section of Cali, Colombia. That was our first experience with Broadband Internet.  We went over the limit twice, paid a fine for the overage, and then I increased the bandwidth allowance for our house.  

 

Cable Modem Bandwidth is shared with your neighbors (or your neighborhood) so that is probably why Comcast is limiting you.

 

Here, also in a rural area, we had ADSL from the phone company until May 11th when we switched to a new provider, that has FTTH (Fiber to the Home) Internet service. Both, as far as I know, are "unlimited" in the amount of traffic one can have, but, I assume in the "Fine Print" there are limits if people are abusing.

 

1 TB is a LOT of traffic... Comcast is probably correct that 99% of their customers use less than that. 

 

Suggestion: If service is available to your home, switch to ADSL or FTTH.

 

ETA: With ADSL and FTTH, the Line Speed to your home is Dedicated to YOUR home. It is not shared with your neighbors.  

Edited June 23, 2017 by Lanny

[JeanM]

Our area went up to the 1 TB from 300 GB not that long ago (also Comcast). We have not had any trouble staying under 1 TB, but it was a huge struggle with the old cap. Look at what your settings are for Netflix, etc., if it doesn't bother you, watch on the lowest quality possible. It makes a huge difference in how much bandwidth you use. I will say that some games are very bad too. You can monitor usage on various devices to see where the biggest usage is. One of my dc was a particularly bad offender, and once we realized that, we could keep a closer eye on him.

 

 

[Lanny]

Follow-on: With our ADSL service, we had TV over IP, so the 2 were closely related. Now, with the FTTH service, the Internet and Landline phone come in on the Fiber Optic cable.  The TV service with them is totally unrelated to the Internet, coming in via Satellite, like when we had TV service from Directv Colombia.  This situation seems to be ideal. The TV service is not connected in any way to the Internet service, with the exception of it being in the same package from the same provider on the same monthly bill.    My wife gets Netflix on the SMART TVs, without any issue, but she can (and does) sometime Stream movies to her Laptop and then has them on the TV Screen. 

[Tess in the Burbs]

I have Comcast and I have never heard of a data cap. I have 3 gamers in the house. We use a lot of data. Never had an overage fee. I'm going to ask dh about it when I see him.

 

My first thought would be compare cell phone unlimited prices to your internet plan and figure out the cheapest way

[Arcadia]

We are on Comcast Xfinity unlimited. I can use Xfinity WiFi when not at home in most places. Every time our bill goes up after the promotion period is over, my husband would just call Comcast and negotiate a new reduced rate. After all the medical billing issues we had for my younger boy's bills with Blue Cross when he was a newborn, negotiating with Comcast was relatively easy.

[AmandaVT]

Just went down the Comcast rabbit hole for awhile, trying to figure out if we are capped. It looks like they have not put a cap on VT users yet. 

 

But, I wonder if we're really low users? We've never gone over 400gb and are usually under 300gb. We have multiple devices going every day and DH is a big gamer. He will regularly spend 3-4 hrs a night playing games on Xbox live with buddies. We mostly watch netflix or amazon video and I work from home, uploading and downloading files all day. 

 

I've been assuming we're average to high users.

[Tess in the Burbs]

ok it took us awhile to find it, but yes, there is a cap.  !?!?!??!?!

 

Dh says this month we have used way more than normal.  But usually we use about a 1/3rd of the allotted amount.  

 

So he said it's a LOT of data and even with the heavy internet usage in this household we aren't near the cap on a normal month...so I wonder what your household is using that is sucking it up like that?   One thought I had was someone is accessing your internet in the neighborhood or if a neighbor friend was told the password by your kids and is using it?  

[AmandaVT]

ok it took us awhile to find it, but yes, there is a cap.  !?!?!??!?!

 

Dh says this month we have used way more than normal.  But usually we use about a 1/3rd of the allotted amount.  

 

So he said it's a LOT of data and even with the heavy internet usage in this household we aren't near the cap on a normal month...so I wonder what your household is using that is sucking it up like that?   One thought I had was someone is accessing your internet in the neighborhood or if a neighbor friend was told the password by your kids and is using it?  

 

I was wondering if someone else was maybe using your internet. Even on a regular month, 500 Gb seems like a lot. A few Netflix shows a day won't bring you anywhere near that I don't think. A few years ago, DH watched all of Lost on Netflix in about a week. That was back when Comcast had a 250 Gb limit on data. We didn't go over that month either. 

[scoutingmom]

 

 

I don't know what my actual byte situation is (my brain refuses make sense of what a mega/giga/tera actually represents) but the whole thing is ridiculous.

 

 

 

The prefexes are similar to the metric system, except instead of multiples of 1000, they are multiples of 1024 because computers work on a binary system.

 

1 byte can hold the information for 1 simple character of the alphabet including symbols. Of course for pictures and video and other forms of data it isn't a letter being held in one byte but a very very small amount of information from the picture.

 

1 Kilobyte is 1024 bytes. Computers in the 70s might work with 4 to 8 kilobytes of memory.... (16kilobytes was huge) just to give you a historical view of data! When the first PC came out with a 640kb limit, that was thought of as much higher than would ever be needed.

 

1 Megabyte of data is 1024x1024 bytes. I know the number, but am tired and can't think of it and don't care to figure it out. It is over 1,000,000 bytes.

 

1 Gigabyte is 1024x1024x1024 bytes. It is over 1,000,000,000 bytes

 

1 Terabyte is 1024x1024x1024x1024 bytes. A lot over 1,000,000,000,000 bytes.

 

Just a quick guide.

[Carrie12345]

We had Cable Modem internet years ago, where we lived before, in a very rural section of Cali, Colombia. That was our first experience with Broadband Internet.  We went over the limit twice, paid a fine for the overage, and then I increased the bandwidth allowance for our house.  

 

Cable Modem Bandwidth is shared with your neighbors (or your neighborhood) so that is probably why Comcast is limiting you.

 

Here, also in a rural area, we had ADSL from the phone company until May 11th when we switched to a new provider, that has FTTH (Fiber to the Home) Internet service. Both, as far as I know, are "unlimited" in the amount of traffic one can have, but, I assume in the "Fine Print" there are limits if people are abusing.

 

1 TB is a LOT of traffic... Comcast is probably correct that 99% of their customers use less than that. 

 

Suggestion: If service is available to your home, switch to ADSL or FTTH.

 

ETA: With ADSL and FTTH, the Line Speed to your home is Dedicated to YOUR home. It is not shared with your neighbors.  

 

I'm a little suspicious that our company is toying with us right now, as they're supposedly offering FTTH in about a month or so.

Our internet has been going in and out for months, and we've been arguing with them to find and fix the problem. (After all, we're paying $100/mo for a commercial account!) Finally got someone out here who found a 90* crimp in wire to the house (he replaced that section) and said the whole line was deteriorated. They'd fix it over the following 5 days.

 

That was Monday.  Haven't seen a soul since, and our connection keep going in and out (though not as bad as before.)  I kind of feel like they don't want to do it, since we're obviously likely to get the new service.

 

In the meantime, we're a family of 7 that streams all television and movies, homeschools 4 kids with lots of internet stuff, plus they have their "fun" stuff, dh does a lot of work from home, and I'm in the midst of a non-profit start up.  WITH WONKY INTERNET!!!  :cursing:

[Carrie12345]

The prefexes are similar to the metric system, except instead of multiples of 1000, they are multiples of 1024 because computers work on a binary system.

 

 

 

I understand the basic gist of the math, my brain just doesn't find much meaning to it.  Someone could tell me they have 9,248 garblaue, while I have 624 stublaue and it would make just as much sense to me.

 

Honestly, I don't even care to learn at this point, lol.  Knowing I can do more with more is enough for me.  I happily put dh in charge of all things byte.  If he dies, I expect the kids to take over in that department.

[Lanny]

I'm a little suspicious that our company is toying with us right now, as they're supposedly offering FTTH in about a month or so.

Our internet has been going in and out for months, and we've been arguing with them to find and fix the problem. (After all, we're paying $100/mo for a commercial account!) Finally got someone out here who found a 90* crimp in wire to the house (he replaced that section) and said the whole line was deteriorated. They'd fix it over the following 5 days.

 

That was Monday.  Haven't seen a soul since, and our connection keep going in and out (though not as bad as before.)  I kind of feel like they don't want to do it, since we're obviously likely to get the new service.

 

In the meantime, we're a family of 7 that streams all television and movies, homeschools 4 kids with lots of internet stuff, plus they have their "fun" stuff, dh does a lot of work from home, and I'm in the midst of a non-profit start up.  WITH WONKY INTERNET!!!  :cursing:

 

If you have the option of FTTH   and you are having problems with your current provider, based on our experience (they installed FTTH on 11 May 2017 and it is perfect)  I  recommend it  highly. 

 

The contract I signed is for 20 Mbps service, but when they finished the installation they told us that for the first 2 months it would be (double?) that.  In the chart of available Line Speeds, the one after 20 Mbps is 50 Mbps.  We have 50 Mbps until approximately 11 July 2017.  On SpeedTest.Net the fastest I saw was 49.59 Mbps from a server in Bogota. We are in the city of Cali.  Usually from Bogota it is 46+

 

The HGU (Home Gateway Unit) is a little larger than the ADSL Modem we had before and it has 2 WiFi bands. On my old phone I have seen 26 Mbps.  I think on DDs phone she saw about 36 or so, when they installed it.  

 

We live in a huge rural subdivision and the old phone company would not upgrade their infrastructure here (I know that would be very expensive for them to do) so we are extremely thankful this other company s pent the money to install a brand new Fiber Optic Infrastructure here.

 

Colombia is connected to Florida by an Undersea Cable.   I just tested to a Comcast server in Miami FL USA.   46.31 Mbps Download...  1 minute ago...

[Carrie12345]

If you have the option of FTTH   and you are having problems with your current provider, based on our experience (they installed FTTH on 11 May 2017 and it is perfect)  I  recommend it  highly. 

 

The contract I signed is for 20 Mbps service, but when they finished the installation they told us that for the first 2 months it would be (double?) that.  In the chart of available Line Speeds, the one after 20 Mbps is 50 Mbps.  We have 50 Mbps until approximately 11 July 2017.  On SpeedTest.Net the fastest I saw was 49.59 Mbps from a server in Bogota. We are in the city of Cali.  Usually from Bogota it is 46+

 

The HGU (Home Gateway Unit) is a little larger than the ADSL Modem we had before and it has 2 WiFi bands. On my old phone I have seen 26 Mbps.  I think on DDs phone she saw about 36 or so, when they installed it.  

 

We live in a huge rural subdivision and the old phone company would not upgrade their infrastructure here (I know that would be very expensive for them to do) so we are extremely thankful this other company s pent the money to install a brand new Fiber Optic Infrastructure here.

 

Colombia is connected to Florida by an Undersea Cable.   I just tested to a Comcast server in Miami FL USA.   46.31 Mbps Download...  1 minute ago...

 

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:

I just got 8.66 down, 1.79 up.

[Lanny]

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:

I just got 8.66 down, 1.79 up.

 

What general area are you in? You do not need to mention the exact place... What state are you in?

 

What Line Speed are you supposed to have for Downloads?

 

Go to SpeedTest.Net    it will come up with the nearest server to you (or the one with the fastest Ping time when they check) and then just click on "Go"   

 

You can also select a different Server to test against, which is what I did earlier this morning, when I selected the Comcast server in Miami FL USA.

 

If your Download Line Speed is much lower than what you are supposed to get, make a Screenshot of the SpeedTest.Net results and email that to Tech Support at your ISP.  

 

We had a lot of issues with our ADSL, probably because of the antiquated infrastructure that phone company has in our rural subdivision.   Sometimes I would test and we were getting about 50% of what we were supposed to get for Download speed. Sometimes it would almost stop, it was so slow... When I called them on those occasions, they would remotely access our ADSL Modem and clean things up, although I remember possibly the last time I called them for something like that, there was also an issue in their Central Office and they changed something there too.  

 

A lot of times, we had trouble getting an IP Address and would cut the power to the ADSL modem for about 30 seconds and then we got an IP address.  Also, frequently, we would Restart the ADSL Modem to try to clear up issues and frequently that did solve the issue.

 

We are approximately 6 weeks into being Fiber to the Home customers.  I have never called the Tech Support of the new company.  I have never restarted the HGU (Home Gateway Unit).

 

ETA: I just tested again, from the Comcast server in Miami FL USA to Cali, Colombia (via Submarine Cable) the Download Line Speed was 45.76 at 1056 A.M., E.S.T.

Edited June 24, 2017 by Lanny

[Carrie12345]

What general area are you in? You do not need to mention the exact place... What state are you in?

 

What Line Speed are you supposed to have for Downloads?

 

Go to SpeedTest.Net    it will come up with the nearest server to you (or the one with the fastest Ping time when they check) and then just click on "Go"   

 

 

 

Yup, that's what I used!

 

This time I got 11.47 download, 1.83 up.  I did not know what I was "supposed to" be getting, so I went and looked it up.  

 

BUSINESS INTERNET

Downstream / Upstream

8 Mbps / 2 Mbps

12 Mbps / 2 Mbps

So I guess I actually am getting what I pay for! (Well, at the moment.  It could cut out at any time.)

I live in a semi-rural area of NE Pennsylvania. 

[ondreeuh]

I had the same thought as a PP that maybe someone else is tapping into your internet. It doesn't hurt to change the password.

 

1TB is an obscene amount of data. In Alaska there was no such thing as unlimited internet, and we paid like $150/month for 300 GB. And I thought we were heavy users. We stream movies frequently, and that is a large amount of our usage. I also download audiobooks and textbook components.

 

Is your son maybe pirating a lot of stuff? Is there possibly a virus that is using your computer to send/receive data? Can you look in his browser history to see what on earth is using up so much data?

[Lanny]

Yup, that's what I used!

 

This time I got 11.47 download, 1.83 up.  I did not know what I was "supposed to" be getting, so I went and looked it up.  

 

BUSINESS INTERNET

Downstream / Upstream

8 Mbps / 2 Mbps

12 Mbps / 2 Mbps

So I guess I actually am getting what I pay for! (Well, at the moment.  It could cut out at any time.)

I live in a semi-rural area of NE Pennsylvania. 

 

You are getting what you are paying for. No problem with those Line Speeds, but you said they were supposed to replace a cable that is in bad condition this week and they did not do that. That would (hopefully) eliminate a lot of the issues you are having.

 

If the same provider is planning to replace their antiquated infrastructure with FTTH, as you wrote upthread they may not be in a hurry to replace your current cable (for our house I think the cable is approximately 200 meters (yards) long which is a PITA)

Edited June 24, 2017 by Lanny

[Lanny]

I had the same thought as a PP that maybe someone else is tapping into your internet. It doesn't hurt to change the password.

 

1TB is an obscene amount of data. In Alaska there was no such thing as unlimited internet, and we paid like $150/month for 300 GB. And I thought we were heavy users. We stream movies frequently, and that is a large amount of our usage. I also download audiobooks and textbook components.

 

Is your son maybe pirating a lot of stuff? Is there possibly a virus that is using your computer to send/receive data? Can you look in his browser history to see what on earth is using up so much data?

 

Or a Malware or something. Possibly the computer he is using has been taken over by a Bot.

 

Or, possibly he is running a web server, which would probably cause your provider to cancel your service and file a lawsuit against you if they discovered that.  

 

Or, he may just be using a humongous amount of Traffic.    I hope it is this case.

 

Run a Malware Scanner on the PC he uses and always have the Definitions for that Utility updated and update the Definitions for your Anti Virus program every day and do a Full Scan of the drive, every day.  

 

Did he bring that computer home with him?

 

Change the Password for your WiFi, in case you have neighbors who are close and it has been compromised.  

[rjand6more]

Also, just an fyi but while it varies depending on what you're playing, streaming video tends to use a lot more data than online gaming. Is your son watching tv while he games? I can't imagine how he could be using 500 gigs a month on just online gaming. He must be watching a lot of Netflix or something too.

 

Oh, he streams Netflix too. lol  He has high def games that update constantly.

[rjand6more]

Our area went up to the 1 TB from 300 GB not that long ago (also Comcast). We have not had any trouble staying under 1 TB, but it was a huge struggle with the old cap. Look at what your settings are for Netflix, etc., if it doesn't bother you, watch on the lowest quality possible. It makes a huge difference in how much bandwidth you use. I will say that some games are very bad too. You can monitor usage on various devices to see where the biggest usage is. One of my dc was a particularly bad offender, and once we realized that, we could keep a closer eye on him.

 

I changed the settings on streaming last month when the first offense happened.  We all know ds21 is the offender. Even he admits it.  I will likely have to unplug the whole thing on Wednesday and leave it off until Saturday. 

[rjand6more]

I have Comcast and I have never heard of a data cap. I have 3 gamers in the house. We use a lot of data. Never had an overage fee. I'm going to ask dh about it when I see him.

 

My first thought would be compare cell phone unlimited prices to your internet plan and figure out the cheapest way

 

Our area stinks with coverage for cell.  AT&T and Verizon are really our only options and neither work well at our house. :glare:

[rjand6more]

I was wondering if someone else was maybe using your internet. Even on a regular month, 500 Gb seems like a lot. A few Netflix shows a day won't bring you anywhere near that I don't think. A few years ago, DH watched all of Lost on Netflix in about a week. That was back when Comcast had a 250 Gb limit on data. We didn't go over that month either. 

 

We have a secured system.  So, no unauthorized users.  And we are pretty isolated.  We don't have Xfinity WiFi because we are nervous about being on an unsecured system.  DS plays very high def games on his gaming PC.  We average 300 GB/mo for a family of 7 when he is at school.

[rjand6more]

If you have the option of FTTH   and you are having problems with your current provider, based on our experience (they installed FTTH on 11 May 2017 and it is perfect)  I  recommend it  highly. 

 

The contract I signed is for 20 Mbps service, but when they finished the installation they told us that for the first 2 months it would be (double?) that.  In the chart of available Line Speeds, the one after 20 Mbps is 50 Mbps.  We have 50 Mbps until approximately 11 July 2017.  On SpeedTest.Net the fastest I saw was 49.59 Mbps from a server in Bogota. We are in the city of Cali.  Usually from Bogota it is 46+

 

The HGU (Home Gateway Unit) is a little larger than the ADSL Modem we had before and it has 2 WiFi bands. On my old phone I have seen 26 Mbps.  I think on DDs phone she saw about 36 or so, when they installed it.  

 

We live in a huge rural subdivision and the old phone company would not upgrade their infrastructure here (I know that would be very expensive for them to do) so we are extremely thankful this other company s pent the money to install a brand new Fiber Optic Infrastructure here.

 

Colombia is connected to Florida by an Undersea Cable.   I just tested to a Comcast server in Miami FL USA.   46.31 Mbps Download...  1 minute ago...

We do not currently have FTTH options in our area unfortunately.

[rjand6more]

I had the same thought as a PP that maybe someone else is tapping into your internet. It doesn't hurt to change the password.

 

1TB is an obscene amount of data. In Alaska there was no such thing as unlimited internet, and we paid like $150/month for 300 GB. And I thought we were heavy users. We stream movies frequently, and that is a large amount of our usage. I also download audiobooks and textbook components.

 

Is your son maybe pirating a lot of stuff? Is there possibly a virus that is using your computer to send/receive data? Can you look in his browser history to see what on earth is using up so much data?

 

We do probably steam music and movies more often than most.  And ds21 streams movies AND has a gaming PC that updates 100's of games.  We noticed the change right after he got home from school.  I guess it is possible that there is a virus somewhere.  I hadn't really considered it.  I will look into that.

[Lanny]

If you are lucky in the future a Provider will spend the money to install the infrastructure where you live

 

Sent from my SM-G355M using Tapatalk

[ondreeuh]

My dh and ds game on PCs, but we don't go anywhere near that amount of data. My guys mostly play on the Steam network, but they play offline unless they are specifically playing against/with other people. Their games don't auto-update either. Maybe they play a lot more single-player games?

 

I would decide what you are comfortable paying for the family and charge your ds for the overage. Or he can buy his own separate line. He needs to learn how to tone his usage down; moderation is a life skill.

[rjand6more]

My dh and ds game on PCs, but we don't go anywhere near that amount of data. My guys mostly play on the Steam network, but they play offline unless they are specifically playing against/with other people. Their games don't auto-update either. Maybe they play a lot more single-player games?

 

I would decide what you are comfortable paying for the family and charge your ds for the overage. Or he can buy his own separate line. He needs to learn how to tone his usage down; moderation is a life skill.

 

HA!  I agree that moderation is a life skill.  

 

I called Comcast.  They said it was really a common problem. The rep said that they are having a lot of people just pay the additional $50/month for unlimited.  Seems odd if  our house is in the 1%, why is it such a widespread problem.  

[Lanny]

1% of millions of customers is a lot of homes.  You are in the 1% group now.

 

ETA: Where we lived before, we had Cable Modem. Because Cable Modem shares the bandwidth with the neighbors, we were limited in how much traffic we could use in a month. A tiny amount compared to what you have now.  I think two months, we went over the limit and paid a lot of extra money.  That is when I had them increase the amount of traffic we could have in one month and after that we did not go over our limit.  

Edited June 27, 2017 by Lanny