From the beginning, OEC Fiber knew we wouldn’t have data caps. Industry-standard or not. The reasoning behind their inception is not a concern for us. Offering them would only cause our subscribers more stress. So why do other companies even have them?
Data caps emerged in 2012 when an ISP (internet service provider) decided to cap usage at 300GB per month with the logic that restricting usage would result in more speed for everybody. It was designed to keep from overloading a system not built for the kind of traffic we see today.
Everything you do online uses data. Stream a movie on Netflix? That uses data. Check your email? That uses it too. Data caps are artificial restrictions on how much data you can use. Going over your data allotment can require paying additional fees or seeing your network slowed to a crawl. You may even hear them referred to as fair access or fair usage policy.
Think of it in the same way electric companies charge peak hour rates. Raising the cost during certain times of the day encourages people to shift their usage patterns. Data caps are designed to work the same way. They encourage internet users to use less data to avoid additional charges and network slowdowns.
So what do we do? How do we overcome the need for data caps? Easy. We build a better network.
That is precisely what OEC Fiber has done. By carefully designing our all-fiber network with growth in mind, we’ve eliminated the need for data caps. We carefully designed how we built our network for sustainability.
Upgrading out-of-date equipment and carefully planning how we build our network keeps OEC Fiber from having to worry about something as annoying as data caps. In return, our subscribers have a better experience without the added impact on their wallet.
