(Image courtesy of dslreports.com)

When Comcast (Gallop Forum) announced a 250GB per month cap on broadband usage, our analysis was twofold: First, most customers will never get close to the cap, and will therefore not be impacted by the limit in the foreseeable future.  Second, Comcast should provide a tool to monitor the entire home’s use of its broadband connection, rather than just on each individual PC.

It now appears that Comcast has stepped up to the plate and prepared a tool that will assist their customers with monitoring and controlling their home’s broadband usage.

According to Comcast insiders, customers will gain access to a web-based monitoring tool sometime in January.  This methodology will avoid the primary pitfall of PC-based monitoring tools: not every network-dependent device is a PC.  Many homes have voice-over-IP systems (like Vonage and Skype), gaming platforms (XBOX360, Playstation 3, Wii), and countless new streaming devices including Roku, Apple TV, and even the venerable TiVO.

Each of these growing number of devices rely on a broadband connection to enhance the consumer’s experiences with their services.  Bandwidth monitors that only report on a single device would complicate users’ ability to determine how much of their 250GB is used by a movie rental or video game.

Only time will tell whether broadband providers will increase their caps to keep pace with the growing reliance on broadband Internet.  However, a means to monitor usage at the account level is a good sign that Comcast sees the forest from the trees.  We’re anxious to see how long it takes for other providers to follow suit. Gallop will continue monitoring the changing landscape of the market to see how technology developments affect bandwidth caps placed on consumers.

©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.