Comcast Delaying Plan To Charge Heavy Internet Users More Money Following Complaints
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A lot of people have been complaining about Comcast's plan to charge heavy internet users more money. Now, it looks like those complaints have been heard.
Comcast announced Wednesday it will delay the new fees until July.
The company initially announced it planned to charge more for customers who use more than 1.2 terabytes of data per month.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said his office negotiated with Comcast to delay the charges.
"As Pennsylvanians continue to navigate this pandemic, we know millions are relying on the internet for school and work more than ever. This is not the time to change the rules when it comes to internet data usage and increase costs," Shapiro said in a statement. "My office negotiated with Comcast to delay the implementation of these overage charges and waive any early termination fees for customers who opt out through December 2021. We also limited the impact of these changes on low-income households."
"We appreciate the productive, open dialogue with Attorney General Shapiro's office regarding the 1.2 TB data plan, and we understand that customers may need additional time to become familiar with the data plan. We are committed to evaluating and adapting our approach to best serve the needs of our customers, particularly in these challenging times," a spokesperson for Comcast said. "To that end, we are providing customers in our Northeast markets a total of over six months of notice before our data plan goes into effect so that they have ample time to understand their data usage and their service options, and plan accordingly. The earliest that the very small percentage of customers who exceed 1.2 TB of data could have any charges due under the plan is August 2021."
Internet use is surging as people are spending more and more time online at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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