Data download caps to remain under NBN

Internet data plans under the new National Broadband Network are now expected to still include download restrictions despite faster access, equivalent of up to 100 megabytes per second.

As reported in ITWire.com.au, despite opposition from internet users and advocates it is now believed the NBN Co will continue to impose download restrictions due to the belief other countries will follow a similar pattern.

Currently, Australia is one of the few developed countries with ISPs which places data caps on their customers.

The revelation comes as the NBN Co. reportedly described its management as “technology conservatives”, and warned it “doesn’t want anything to do with the bleeding edge”.

But David Kennedy, research analyst at Ovum, says the inclusion of data caps into the National Broadband Network’s construction isn’t a surprising move.

“These sorts of caps are standard practices in the Australian market. They are why the “net neutrality” debate hasn’t taken off here, as these caps make it possible for operators to manage their cost base a lot more effectively than other countries can.”

“We’re increasingly seeing problems with a minority of customers doing lots of downloads, and clearly some of these are illegal. The other side of this is that Australian users hardly ever reach their cap limits. Caps, in practice, aren’t a problem for most people, they only cause problems for… a vocal minority.”

Kennedy says data caps are important for ISPs as they help support various costs. Additionally, the NBN Co reportedly believes abandoning caps is an “unsustainable” move.

But he also says as the NBN is completed, the price of data plans will remain the same as the amount of bandwidth included in data caps continues to increase.

“The trend we’re seeing is that prices will remain fixed, but caps are rising all the time. I expect that trend to continue into the NBN world, as it will benchmark prices against existing ADSL prices but will see available download caps increase over time.”

The NBN Co. has reportedly said a number of overseas telecommunications companies are investigating download caps in Australia to determine whether a similar model could work in their own markets.