Whenever you sign up for a new Internet service provider (ISP) or cell service plan, you might encounter something called a “data cap.” At first, data caps might seem like an unavoidable element of Internet service. But they can sneak up on you if you aren’t careful. Let’s take a closer look at what data caps are, how they work, and how you can avoid hitting them.

 

Data Caps Explained

In a nutshell, a data cap is a monthly data usage limit imposed by an ISP or cell carrier, which can prevent or slow down data consumption past a certain amount.

Every time you surf the Internet, download a file, watch a video, or stream music, you use data – whether you’re on a computer, like a PC or laptop, or a mobile device, like a phone or tablet. Your ISP tracks that data usage, tallying it up against your monthly “data allowance”: how much data you’re allowed to use each billing cycle before seeing penalties. The data cap is the limit or total of your data allowance.

But why do penalties exist in the first place? Put simply, because it costs money for ISPs to transfer data from the Internet to your device of choice. The more people use the same service, the harder this gets, and the more money the company has to use to deliver data from the Web to your computer or smartphone.

So, to stop individual users from downloading or using too much data compared to everyone else, ISPs usually use data caps or charge extra fees for going over one’s data allowance. Shentel takes the latter approach – we charge $10 per 50 GB over your monthly allowance, but we never discontinue web use completely.

Though they are common, data caps are not ubiquitous; not every ISP or cell carrier imposes them. On top of that, plenty of ISPs offer “unlimited” plans, which don’t carry data caps or limits in exchange for being a little pricier than other Internet plans.

 

The Purpose of Data Caps

Internet service providers may use data caps for a variety of reasons, including:

• Minimizing or preventing traffic congestion
• Regulating Internet network traffic
• Reducing data transfer fees

By using data caps, many ISPs enable all of their customers to have equal Internet access and speed, as well as streamline performance to reduce latency and network hiccups.

What Happens After You Go Over Your Data Usage Cap?

Depending on your ISP and their policies, your Internet service may have a “hard” or “soft” data cap. A hard data cap marks your account for an “overage fee” each time you go over your monthly data limit or prevents you from downloading further data completely.

In contrast, a soft cap leverages “speed throttling” to slow down your Internet speeds after you hit and exceed your data allowance for the current billing cycle. Though soft caps aren’t as expensive, many people find them highly restrictive – nothing’s quite as jarring as being cut off from the Internet in the middle of a session, after all.

 

What Does “No Data Cap” Mean?

Some ISPs, as mentioned above, don’t have data caps at all. This could be due to company policy or through the inclusion of unlimited Internet service plans. In either case, if a service provider doesn’t impose data caps, you can surf, browse, and download to your heart’s content without worrying about surcharges or slow speeds later in the month.

 

How to Avoid Hitting Your Data Cap

Internet service without any sort of data cap or throttling policy is rare since most Americans use a large amount of data (and most ISPs have them). But while it isn’t typically possible to escape data caps completely, you can avoid hitting your plan’s data cap in a few different ways.

Upgrade to an Unlimited Plan

The simplest way is to upgrade to an unlimited plan. If your current ISP doesn’t offer unlimited data plans, you might consider switching. Unlimited plans are a little more expensive compared to other Internet service plans on average, but they are often worthwhile if your household uses a lot of data every month.

For instance, if you know that your household has eight different devices connected to its WiFi network, including smartphones and computers, and you and your family members collectively use more than 50 GB of data per month, it might be economically worthwhile to upgrade to an unlimited plan. You may find you save money paying for a whole-home unlimited WiFi plan compared to constantly exceeding your monthly data allowance and footing the bill for regular overage charges.

Download Content Instead of Streaming It

You can alternatively reduce your data usage and avoid the likelihood of hitting the cap by downloading content and media rather than streaming it. Streaming content takes up more data than downloading it once and saving a copy to your computer. This tip is most helpful if you like to listen to music online or watch TV shows – downloading your favorite songs or episodes is a surefire way to enjoy your media (in perpetuity, too) while using as little data as possible.

Turn Off Apps and Streaming Services

Many of us are used to letting apps and streaming services run in the background of our devices. But those apps keep passively consuming data as long as they’re active. Think of apps running in the background as leaks from a faucet – given enough time, that data usage can add up to a flood of wasted bits! Get in the habit of turning off any apps or streaming platforms you aren't actively using. It's better for your data budget and the battery life of mobile devices.

Lower the Quality of Streamed Media

Streaming your favorite shows and movies can quickly eat into your data budget! Let’s be honest: you don’t always need to watch a TV show at 4K resolution. Lowering the quality of the media you stream can help you avoid your data cap.

For example, 4K resolution media (twice as detailed as 1080 P resolution media) can demand up to 164 GB of uncompressed data for just an hour of streaming. In contrast, keeping things at a reasonable and still great-looking 1080 P resolution will only take up about 41 GB of uncompressed data per hour. That’s a huge difference!

Use a VPN with Data Compression

“Compressed” data is carefully packaged and organized data so that it takes up less space when streamed to or from a device. If you set your Internet browser to only download compressed data, you’ll use up less data each day.

You can go even further with this data cap avoidance tip by using a VPN or virtual private network with compression enabled. Many mobile VPNs offer data compression tools to limit how much data you consume as you surf the web, download work files, or do anything else. All told, this could be one of the most effective ways to passively keep data usage down if you’re a heavy Internet user.

Check Your Data Usage Periodically

Perhaps most importantly, be sure to monitor your online activity and data usage every so often to make sure you aren’t coming up on your ISP’s data cap.

Depending on your device, you can find out how much data you’ve used by examining your network settings. If you’re on a mobile device, your phone’s settings app should also have a record of just how much data you’ve downloaded and uploaded over the last few weeks or months. To go the extra mile and really be sure you never hit your data cap, set your phone or PC to alert you when you have only 50% or 25% of your data allowance remaining.

Make Sure Your Network is Password Protected

Keeping track of your data usage could help you avoid another stealthy data depletion cause: unauthorized network usage.

If you have an unsecured network, like home WiFi without a password, anyone around can jump on the network and start dipping into your data pool. Neighbors, friends, or even people passing by could all use your personal data without you knowing it – and sooner than you think, you hit your data cap. The same thing can happen if you have a very weak password that can easily be guessed by people who know you, like the name of your dog.

The fix? Secure your WiFi network with a strong password that only you know. Don’t hand out the password to just anyone, either! This basic step will ensure only you and your family get to use your data.

 

Conclusion

Data caps might be common, but they can also be anticipated and avoided if you read through your ISP contract carefully and monitor your data usage. You can also avoid restrictive data throttling by partnering with providers like Shentel.

Instead of cutting off Internet access, many of our plans have data allowances. To help you keep track of your data and prevent accidental overages, we even send out emails when you get close to your allowance limit or trigger in-browser popups. It’s important to note that when an ISP is tracking your data usage for data cap purposes, it does not track specific activity like sites visited. Your privacy is important, so only the volume of data being used is tracked. And, if your household needs as much data as it can get, we offer high-speed unlimited plans for affordable prices. Check them out today!