Have you heard of bandwidth caps on your Internet access? If not, you probably will at some point.

We’ve explained what bandwidth is before, but the short version is that it is the amount of data that you can transfer between computers.  While Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have usually offered you “unlimited” bandwidth (within reason), companies like Comcast and Time Warner Cable are starting to to use bandwidth caps on your usage.

Essentially they are setting up rules that say you can use amounts of bandwidth such as 250 GBs a month.  That should be enough for most people, but with more and more of our computing and entertaining involving streaming information, will it continue to be?

Sure there are certain things you can mesaure how much bandwidth you are using, but do you know how much bandwidth youa re using when you work in a cloud computing environment?  How about when you’re playing your favorite game online?  Using Skype?  Streaming a movie?  You can see how your usage might start adding up quickly, and if you exceed your limits they can charge you more or they may suspend your account if you do it repeatedly.

Seeing as users in the United States already suffer from some of the highest prices in the world for Internet access, and enjoy some of the worst speeds, this just adds insult to injury.  With more and more services telling you how you can enjoy them thanks to the wonders of streaming Internet technology, just remember that each one you add will eat away that much more of your bandwidth cap.