The source said users would get one free "slip-up" in a 12-month period, after which they would pay a $15 charge for every 10 GB over the cap they used.

The proposed plan would mark a departure for U.S. internet service providers, which have traditionally offered "unlimited" download plans to subscribers.

But the proposed cap is still significantly more than most Canadian internet customers can currently access.

Most Canadian ISPs, including the two biggest - Rogers Communications Inc. and Bell Canada Inc. - already have data caps for users much lower than the one Comcast is reportedly mulling.

The most popular plans for both Bell and Rogers cap monthly data at 60 GB. Bell's high-end offering has a cap of 100 GB a month while Rogers offers up to 95 GB a month. Bell says 60 GB is enough for 30 high-definition movies at 2 GB each.

Comcast's move would seem to go against the growing trend among content providers to offer more and better quality media, such as high-definition movies, over the internet - either through regular downloads or through file-sharing applications.

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Posted at 05:28AM May 08, 2008 by Kevin P McAuliffe in Inform  |  Comments[0]