Netflix aims to abolish data limits
Data caps should be declared illegal and every home granted unlimited downloads to cope with the demands of streaming video, according to Netflix.
Home download limits don’t serve a ‘‘legitimate purpose’’ and are an ‘‘ineffective’’ tool for managing network congestion, argues the streaming video giant in a submission to the US communications watchdog.
‘‘A data cap or allotment of 300 GB of data per month or higher is required just to meet the internet television needs of an average American,’’ Netflix argues in a submission to the Federal Communications Commission.
‘‘This does not account for the other things that consumers typically do with their broadband connections, such as web browsing or downloading games or apps from the internet.
‘‘An above average television watcher, a multi-occupant household, or a consumer wishing to watch in 4K requires a much higher cap or allotment.’’
Netflix is also pushing to ban ‘‘low’’ data caps on mobile connections in the US which impede people’s ability to watch streaming video on the run.
The obvious self-interest aside, Netflix’s talk of abolishing monthly caps will soon become a hot topic as people use the internet for more data-hogging reasons.
Kiwis appear better off than Americans. We’ve had unlimited plans here for a while and there’s not too much difference between an 80GB and unlimited monthly plan.