Comcast’s slow but determined expansion of its plan to enact data caps and collect overage fees from subscribers has hit its biggest city yet, as the company has decided that Atlanta subscribers should now be hemmed in by these restrictions.

In most markets, Comcast still has a monthly data cap of 250GB/month for broadband subscribers [Correction: the cap was increased nationwide to 300GB, but only a few markets have tested the overage fees mentioned below]

In 2012, Comcast began testing a new system in Nashville where that limit was increased to 300GB but with the caveat that data use over that limit would be charged at $10 for every 50GB increment.

That test has since expanded to Savannah, GA, Jackson, MS, and part of Kentucky, and according to DSLreports, it’s now coming to Atlanta starting Dec. 1.

So at a time when everything from your gaming console to your thermostat to your fridge can be connected to the Internet, and when cable companies and broadcasters — Comcast is both — are encouraging the use of streaming services, and while the costs of storing and delivering data continues to decline, the folks at Kabletown want to penalize customers for taking full advantage of the services being offered.

This decision comes on the heels of comments from FCC Chair-turned-cable industry shill Michael “Yes, Colin is my dad but I swear I really earned this job” Powell, in which he called on the cable industry to move “with some urgency and purpose,” toward usage-based pricing models, and that it’s not too late for businesses to change consumers’ minds that tiered pricing is a good thing.

“Comcast has had the technology in place for years to implement metered billing,” points out DSLreports’ Karl Bode, “what they’re conducting now is effectively marketing and psychology experiments to identify the best way to get consumers to sign off on the idea.”

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