Press Releases
02/03/2021
Attorney General Tong Urges Comcast to Scrap Data Cap, Urges Public to Report Usage Data
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today strongly objected to Comcast’s ill-timed plan to implement a new data cap and urged the company to abandon the plan in the midst of the ongoing public health and economic crisis.
Comcast has announced a plan to charge an additional $10 for each 50 GB increment of data customers use above the 1.2 TB cap, up to as much as $100 per month. While Comcast has publicly said that only 5 percent of customers will hit the new cap, anecdotal evidence seems to imply a broader impact. In a letter today to Comcast, Attorney General Tong requested records from the company detailing how many consumers will be impacted-- information the Office of the Attorney General has previously requested, but that Comcast has yet to provide. In the absence of clear data from the company, Attorney General Tong is urging Connecticut consumers to report to his office if they have exceeded, or may exceed, 1.2 Terabyte in data usage, and the types of household usage, including remote school and work.
Attorney General Tong had been engaged in discussions with Comcast leadership over the past several weeks in the hopes of convincing the company to reconsider the cap. As Comcast continues to push forward with the plan, Attorney General Tong promised in his letter to throw his support behind legislative efforts to suspend, delay, or mitigate the effects of the data plan, and to back efforts to expand competition and choice in broadband services.
“I have received a number of complaints from consumers who have reached out to my office to express their concern and opposition to this plan. I believe it is unconscionable to raise rates on Connecticut families when they both need broadband internet the most and they are least able to bear higher cost for that service. Connecticut families depend so much on broadband internet service at this very moment–to work at home, to enable their children to attend school remotely, to run small businesses. Connecticut families are at the same time suffering under extraordinary personal and economic pressure, as thousands across our state have lost family and loved ones to COVID, and many of our residents have lost their jobs and their small businesses are struggling or failing,” Attorney General Tong states in the letter.
“While Comcast claims that only a small fraction of their consumers will be impacted, we have received far too many complaints and seen too much anecdotal evidence to take that at face value. If you believe you have exceeded the cap, or are close to exceeding the cap, I want to hear from you. This information will be incredibly valuable as I continue explore every possible avenue to push back against this ill-timed cap,” said Attorney General Tong. “I have repeatedly urged Comcast to rescind this ill-timed policy, and had hoped that our discussions were leading in a productive direction. I am disappointed that Comcast continues to push forward with this plan. Connecticut families deserve choice in their broadband services, and that it is well past time to expand competition and local regulation in this industry. I intend to support legislative efforts to protect Connecticut consumers and their access to this now-essential utility.”
If you are a Comcast customer and believe you have exceeded the 1.2 TB data cap, the Office of the Attorney General would like to hear from you. Consumers are encouraged to submit detailed complaints here: https://www.dir.ct.gov/ag/complaint/
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Media Contact:
Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov
Consumer Inquiries:
860-808-5318
attorney.general@ct.gov