Data caps on AT&T, Comcast, T-Mobile will return June 30

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Data caps on AT&T, Comcast, T-Mobile will return June 30

Major Internet service providers are scheduled to end their quarantine benefits soon, once again subjecting Americans to data caps and removing protections if they are unable to pay their bills. 

The FCC’s Keep Americans Connected Pledge is set to expire on June 30. Companies initially agreed to the pledge and rushed to add benefits. ISPs like CenturyLink, T-Mobile, Verizon, and many others said they would not discontinue service or charge late fees for those unable to pay because of the coronavirus. They also agreed to open their Wi-Fi access points for free. So far, the FCC has not publicly said that it would extend the pledge.

In some ways, ISPs face the same decision as governors in Florida and Texas: end their benefits, which encouraged users to stay home, or continue them for an indeterminate period of time. This could be the last weekend of unlimited data for Comcast Xfinity subscribers and other major ISPs. For many of those who are out of work, ISPs could begin demanding payment for outstanding broadband bills on June 30. 

Consumers who have been riding out the quarantine by streaming may also find that their unlimited data expires June 30. On that day AT&T, Comcast Xfinity, Mediacom, and T-Mobile are scheduled to resume normal service, and once again impose data caps. Some ISPs, like Cox, have already terminated some benefits, as its temporary unlimited data program expired in May.

When asked whether Comcast would extend its unlimited data offer, a Comcast spokesman demurred. “Nothing to announce yet,” he said via email. “We’ll keep you posted.”

Editor’s Note: The information below has been adapted from our earlier story, “Which Internet providers are lifting data caps during the coronavirus, and which aren’t.”

AT&T

All AT&T consumer home Internet customers, as well as Fixed Wireless Internet, can use unlimited data through June 30.

An automatic 10GB of data per month was temporarily added to customers’ capped phone plans, though that appears to have expired on June 24. Mobile hotspot data was  increased by 15GB per month for those on unlimited cellular plans, through June 30. Navy personnel on select ships may make free calls to military bases, also through June 30. 

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