What is a data cap?
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Data cap is when the amount of data is limited in some way. For internet access for example that would mean that after you use that amount, either your internet turns off, becomes very slow or costs a lot more.
Think of your internet connection like a water hose. Your provider allows you to use water with good pressure. But, after you filled 10 buckets of water, the most you get is a drop an hour. Now it doesn’t matter if you filled the buckets using maximum pressure or if you only turned the water on ever so slightly, after 10 buckets it’s over.
Now a data cap might be a per month, billing cycle thing. Or you might buy a certain amount for once and need to pay again if you want more (Hotspots for example).
It’s a limit on how much data a service provider will allow a customer to transfer (usually downloads) during a billing cycle.
The cap can be implemented in different ways. A hard cap would completely stop data transfer until the next billing cycle begins. Soft caps will either throttle the transfer rate to much lower speeds to reduce the customer’s usage or begin charging extra fees for data transferred above the cap. Or a combination of both.
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