ISP Data Capping: Why Is It Done and What Can You Do About It

Data capping – Every Internet user’s worst nightmare! Many ISPs like Comcast, AT&T, as well as Verizon, are now imposing or planning to impose data caps on internet plans across all platforms. This means that pretty soon, you will have to face throttled speeds, extra charges, or even outright loss of internet connection once you reach a certain data usage limit. As if ISP spying wasn’t enough, there are caps to kill all the remaining fun too.

ISP Data Capping: Why Is It Done and What Can You Do About It

Is Data Capping Justified?

A furious debate is currently underway over the internet on this issue. People voice their discontent with capping policies. The day may not be far away when data capping is lifted for good and people across the world can enjoy free and limitless access to the internet.

However, as it stands for the moment, if you exceed the data cap set in place by your internet service provider, then you are going to come up against the brick wall of low internet speeds. This is how they make money. Do you need the same speed? Spend more. While this isn’t fair, it’s a common practice among ISPs that have a monopoly in the region and there’s nothing you can do about it. Or can you?

How They Justify It

Data capping is infuriating. There are just no two ways about it. But is there a valid reason for this practice? Most ISPs and mobile internet providers think so. Here’s what they have to say:

• Data capping helps cut down on the congestion experienced by dedicated servers.
• It also helps regulating data usage and indirectly help customers by automatically limiting their usage.
• Data capping is fair to low usage customers as it enables ISPs to provide them their service at lower prices.

While these reasons may seem legit at first glance, do a bit more research and you will see why they are misleading. Here’s what we found:

• Mobile carriers and even ISP carriers continue to provide data service even after the cap is reached if the client pays more for it. So clearly, there is no congestion problem if the user can pay for it.
• If you are willing to pay more for the same service, then the data cap seems to magically disappear. This seems like a dubious way to make people spend more money on availing the same service that they already paid for.
• Data capping has no impact whatsoever on the prices of lower-end data plans. In fact, lower end plans usually charge more for lesser service.

From our investigations, it seems clear that data capping is a ploy to make people spend more to receive less. So instead of complaining about it, we thought of some ways you can manage this problem.

The Way Out

As with most things techy, people are already looking for ways to either bypass or simply accommodate data caps into their daily, weekly, and monthly data usage routines. But this is a work in progress and there is still no clear methodology for how to do this other than dubious, underhanded techniques like deleting the data cap file from your ISP provider.

We are not going to get into those here. Instead, we are going to talk about how you can use a number of techniques to cut down on your data usage and save yourself the trouble of reaching data caps near the end of every week/month.

How to Work with Your Data Cap

At present, there is no sure-shot way of getting rid of a data cap other than paying for it. But here are some things that you can do to give yourself some valuable data reserves to use when nearing the end of the month:

Use a Data Compressing VPN

We all know VPNs are great for protecting yourself online. But did you know that you can use certain VPNs to compress your data usage? While only some VPNs are providing this facility, others are catching on and it is likely that you will soon be able to use any VPN to not just compress your data but also monitor the usage.

Use Your Browser’s Data Compression Option

Both Chrome and Opera provide data compression facilities which can be used to cut down on your overall data usage. Although this might not actually end up making a big difference, it is still a viable option to consider along with other data compression techniques.

Use Application for Data Saving

With this rise in demand for data saving, there are a lot of app developers who are offering software to help you compress and manage your data usage. You can try some free tools and if they make a difference, then it’s worth investing in paid ones.

Change Your Browser’s Data Usage Protocol

Regulate your data usage by making all plugins click-to-play. That way, you only need to spend your data on the relevant stuff. This also applies to social media apps like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Make sure you turn off ‘Auto-Play’ in your Facebook app’s settings. Do the same thing for Youtube. Turning off Auto-Play in Youtube prevents the next video from playing once the one you’re watching ends.

ISP Data Capping: Why Is It Done and What Can You Do About It

These are some of the best data saving choices we have found. But as the market evolves, it is very likely that other options will come up soon enough. For the moment, you can use a good VPN and combine it with the low-tech tactics we have mentioned above. Doing this will ensure you get the best out of your data plan and save yourself the trouble of throttled connections, extra payments, and complete disconnection.