Two Senators Call for a Ban on ‘Predatory’ Data Caps

Monthly bandwidth caps are common among internet service providers (ISPs) in the US, but two US Senators want to stop that practice. Ben Ray Luján and Cory Booker have introduced the Uncap America Act, which would ban most ISP data caps. Naturally, there are some carve-outs for network management, but the real problem is the low likelihood of passage.

The bill filed by Booker and Luján (both Democrats) takes aim at the bandwidth caps ISPs use as a way to increase revenues. So, almost all of them, despite what the telecom industry might claim. The legislation says arbitrary caps that force people to pay more money for their connections “limit participation in the digital economy and are contrary to the public interest.”

Today, it’s common for ISPs to limit monthly usage of home connections to 1TB or less. That might have seemed like a lot when caps became common, but new services are always gobbling up more data, and the pandemic has kept more people at home and online. Overages are just more money in the ISPs coffers. The primary caveat in the bill is that your cable company could still implement data caps “when tailored primarily for the purposes of reasonable network management.” The bill doesn’t spell out what that means, but it tasks the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with creating the necessary regulations.

The Uncap America Act would apply to home internet as well as mobile connections, and the latter is probably where you’d see more caps in place for network management. However, the FCC would be able to create different anti-cap rules for wired and wireless connections. However, the FCC is currently deadlocked with two Republicans and two Democrats, preventing any major changes in policy. The Senate has yet to confirm Biden’s choice for a fifth commissioner, and that’s not the only legislative issue.

The bill has support from advocacy groups, reports Ars Technica, but that may not be enough. The US Senate is currently split 50-50, and any Senator can put a hold on the legislation. It takes 60 votes to break the filibuster and bring non-budgetary bills up for a vote, and it’s unlikely this measure would get that kind of support. ISPs like Comcast spend millions on lobbying to ensure their interests are protected — Comcast alone has already spent more than $3 million in 2022, and the industry as a whole is at ten times that. In an average year, the telecom industry spends over $100 million on lobbying. You should expect plenty of opposition to this bill.

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