Some data providers, such as Comcast, have been experimenting with metering Internet that would provide plans with only 300 GB worth of Internet usage and for every few hundred GBs over the consumer would pay a fee. Putting a limit to the usage of Internet is called the “Bandwidth Cap” and its purpose is to persuade consumers to buy cable services that will prevent online television or movie streaming or downloading.
This can affect the online marketing area because the bandwidth being provided after someone goes over to 300GB cap will immediately decrease. High definition and large picture advertisements require more bandwidth and if the customer goes over the cap it will take longer for those websites and ads that require more data. Websites that we reach out to on a daily basis like Yahoo and Google would load more slowly after the 300 GB cap. Traffic for these sites could decrease with the bandwidth cap.
Today people do not like to sit and wait for things such as images or ads to load. The world of today is more fast-paced than ever. We have to-go drive-thrus, text-to-order restaurants, apps that send our pictures for printing – everything is fast-paced and doesn’t have time to slow down. A bandwidth cap could have the potential to put our society back a few years and that is one thing that nobody can afford.
You may be wondering how anybody can go over 300 GB? We answer that with this – think about how much you do on your computer or phone using your Internet. People download movies, stream videos, make purchases, save photos, download GIFs… the list can go on forever.
Despite all that we do there are a few ways to deal with the cap which include using sites that determine the most efficient use of bandwidth for you, restricting browser bandwidth usage and scheduling downloads. These caps haven’t hit us hard yet, but it’s never too late to start preparing to save a few GB.
