Anyone who has used the Internet has heard of the term bandwidth. Bandwidth is, in its simplest terms, the amount of data a service has the capacity to deliver. The more users on a system, the slower the bandwidth, especially when they are engaging in a lot of data transfer. Uploading web site pages, streaming live video, downloading music or even playing your favorite console or online games can increase the amount of bandwidth used in a household.

As of October 1, 2008, Comcast will begin capping customer accounts at a 250 GB bandwidth limit. Customers that go over this amount in one month will be warned. If their account does it again within a six month period, their service will be terminated for up to a year. While most consumers will never even come close to hitting that limit, for households with multiple Internet users, it is possible that service will be interrupted by this limit.

Limiting bandwidth is nothing new. Providers all over the world, most notably in Australia, have been limiting bandwidth for years. This limit allows all users in a service, or particular area, have a faster connection by limiting households to a certain percentage of bandwidth. Once they reach this limit, they are cut off in a way that decreases their overall connection speed to encourage them to step away from the Internet for awhile.

While limiting one household seems futile, when it comes to bandwidth, limiting a high-usage household can mean higher connection speeds for the rest of the server cluster they belong to. Comcast has said that close to 99% of their subscribers do not reach even half the 250 GB threshold limit they are setting. However, they are setting the limit regardless so that the minority of users that do use more than the limit are not significantly affecting the area of service they reside in.

Comcast subscribers should receive a new set of terms and conditions in the coming month before the changes take effect. If you are worried about your bandwidth usage, especially if you engage in online game play or download, it may be time to limit your own usage. If you are worried about reaching the cap, you can call Comcast's customer service at any time to find out what your bandwidth usage is for the month. Comcast's customer service number is: 1 (800) COMCAST.