AT&T Starts Capping Internet Use

MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) - The era of unlimited downloading at home is coming to an end. AT&T announced Monday it will begin implementing usage caps for its DSL & U-Verse broadband services, according to CNet.com.

AT&T DSL subscribers will be limited to 150 gigabytes of uploads and downloads per month for regular customers and 250 gigabytes of broadband usage per month for U-Verse customers.

If customers go over the monthly data caps for either service three times; they will be charged $10 for every 50 gigabytes above the cap.

AT&T and other broadband providers are considering usage-based billing as a way to control customers' data usage. AT&T said heavy users often use a disproportionate amount of network resources, thereby limiting the available capacity for other customers.

AT&T began applying data usage caps to wireless data networks last year. The company believes it will only impact roughly 2 percent of its subscribers. Customers will be notified when they are approaching the cap.