abstract:A bandwidth cap, also known as a band cap, limits the transfer of a specified amount of data over a period of time. Internet service providers commonly apply a cap when a channel intended to be shared by many users becomes overloaded, or may be overloaded, by a few users.
Sure, there's Dish Anywhere, for realtime streaming of live TV and DVR content, but Hopper with Sling owners will soon be able to take their content offline, for viewing on trains, planes and anywhere else where you don't have a connection (or don't want to burst your monthly bandwidthcap with hours of video).
One great band-aid rarely explored by North American carriers is the concept of bandwidth throttling, whereby you don't have a hard cap that results in overage -- instead, you just get slapped with a lower data throughput if you blow past your quota.
Specifically referring to the Comcast 250GB limit that has recently come under fire from Netflix and others now that its Xfinity TV app on Xbox 360 skirts the cap entirely, Aragon noted cable companies have the pipe and the bandwidth and can restrict competing services.