Comcast is setting a very interesting precedent when it comes to what will and won't count towards your monthly data cap. The company is getting their Xbox 360 video streaming app ready for wider release and with that comes the ruling that any videos streaming through that app will not count towards customers monthly data cap.
Comcast instituted a 250GB monthly data limit for all of their internet customers. Everything counts towards that 250GB, except video streaming through the company's soon to be released Xbox 360 video streaming app.
Comcast posted an FAQ for the soon to be released app which says the reason for that app getting special treatment is because video is "being delivered over our private IP network and not the public Internet." This makes that Xbox 360 app possibly the best choice for getting video on demand from Comcast or really almost anywhere. Netflix, Hulu, and even Comcast's On Demand content streamed through the website all count towards your data cap.
Aside from the strange precedent of not counting video through this app towards your data limit the FAQ also contained some other interesting details. Comcast notes that cable subscribers who don't use Comcast for their Internet service won't be able to get access to video through the Xbox 360 app. The FAQ states,
"Not at this time. We use a Comcast modem to verify that the customer is in the home and to deliver the content to the Xbox. The service travels in an IP format over our private IP network versus the public Internet. We are working on a solution that will enable customers to receive the content without an XFINITY Internet subscription, but can’t comment on timing yet."
The restriction of needing to use Comcast as your Internet provider to use the app seems to be temporary but there isn't any timeline on resolving the issue so for now you'll need to be an XFINITY Internet subscriber.
Some other tidbits from the FAQ include the necessity of having a Xbox Live Gold subscription to use the app and the need to have at least one cable box in your home. The FAQ also states that Comcast isn't interested in offering any live TV content through the app, something Verizon does with their app.
Having access to streaming content through these types of apps is nice but with all of these restrictions in place it seems to be more trouble than it's worth. Are any of you folks Comcast subscribers who intend to give this app a try? Let us know what you think of Comcast's rules in the comments.
