Time Warner Cable is testing a broadband service in Texas markets that offers a $5-a-month discount to subscribers who use less than 5GB a month.
The plan could also charge users up to $25 a month extra if they use more than 5GB.
“While that amount of broadband would be plenty for a casual email user, it wouldn’t work for a voracious consumer of online video,” points out the Wall Street Journal. “Streaming just three high-definition movies over Netflix could push a consumer over the five gigabyte cap, according to Novarum, a wireless broadband consulting firm.”
TWC believes the option will be better received than a previous plan that required subscribers to pay based on consumption because users now have the choice of picking unlimited service or getting a discount.
“The move is a small but potentially significant step toward a sensitive subject in the U.S.: charging consumers for the amount of broadband they use,” reports WSJ.
“According to a study last year by Cisco Systems Inc., the average Internet household used 17.1 GB of data per month in 2010.”
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