GAO: Most Web providers use some data caps

Many fixed and wireless Internet service companies use some method to limit subscribers’ data speeds, according to analysis from Congress’s investigative arm.

A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that, to some extent, seven of the top 13 wired broadband providers offer varying prices for different speeds, change users’ speeds or take some other actions based on how much data subscribers use. 

The top four mobile Internet companies in the U.S. employ similar data caps, to some degree.

{mosads}The GAO said that the effects of the data caps are “uncertain,” but the report will serve as ammunition to supporters of strong net neutrality rules who would like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ban Web providers from interfering with people’s access to particular websites or Internet services.

The caps may give consumers more options to avoid a “one-size-fits-all unlimited plan,” the GAO noted, though at the same time many participants in focus groups seemed confused about how much data they were consuming across all of their devices.

“GAO found that some tools offered by fixed providers to educate consumers regarding data can be confusing,” it said.

“Participants exhibited confusion over data consumption,” it added, as well as “concern about difficulty tracking the wide range of devices accessing their fixed data allowance” and how the limits would affect students, poor people and those working from home.

In response, the GAO suggested that the fixed broadband industry work with the FCC to develop a voluntary framework to help with communication to the public. It also called for the FCC to do more to track the effect of data caps on Web users.

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House’s Communications subcommittee and the lawmaker who requested the study more than a year ago, said that companies should heed the office’s advice.

“This will improve consumer experience and ensure a more vibrant online marketplace,” she said in a statement. “The FCC should also make better use of the data it is collecting on data caps to understand how best to inform consumers and promote the public interest.”

Consumer interest advocates at Public Knowledge said that the new report is a clear sign that the data caps “work against the best interest of consumers and the growth of the Internet.”

“In fact, the only thing customers agree on is that [Internet service providers] are likely to use data caps to increase their bills,” group vice president Michael Weinberg said.

He called for the FCC to write tough net neutrality regulations that ban companies from using the caps to limit, slow or otherwise affect people’s service.