Skip to content

Policy

Data caps are mostly gone

The copper-era cap is a museum piece. Radio and satellite still have paragraphs. Read the paragraphs if that is your last mile.

11 min read · Policy

OneTouchSwitch editorialIssue 01 · Autumn 2026 · Double3 min read629 wordsReviewed 10 September 2026

There was a time when British households counted gigabytes like air miles. Full fibre mostly ended that, quietly, while the adverts kept shouting unlimited as if it were still a dare. The dare moved. It now lives on 5G home, on some FWA, on satellite, on the spare SIM in the drawer. People then copy a terabyte overnight onto a radio tariff and feel betrayed by a word. The word was never the contract. The paragraph was.

In fibre-world

A household FTTP that meters you like 2011 is an outlier. If you see a cap on a fibre SKU, stop and read. It may be a business clause, a reseller oddity, or a mis-scrape.

Unlimited on fibre still allows them to act on abuse. Your children’s Netflix is not abuse. A mini-DC might be. Know which you are.

In radio-world

Fair use, busy-hour slowdowns, a number after which video looks like 2014. Measure if you can; read if you cannot.

A backup SIM is a cap waiting to happen if the household treats failover as a second WAN for films. Label the SSID.

The word

ASA has spent years on ‘unlimited’. It can still appear next to a paragraph that limits you. Shop the paragraph. Complain about the word if they diverge in the way rulings describe.

Do not pick a worse FTTP because a 5G poster shouted unlimited louder.

Where caps still hide
PlantTypical 2026Read
FTTPUnlimited householdAbuse clause only
5G / FWAFair use / busy hourThe number and the slowdown
SatellitePolicy-dependentThe whole page, not the hero
Unlimited is a slogan. A paragraph is a cap. Radio still writes paragraphs.

Celebrate that FTTP mostly stopped counting your films. Then read the radio contract if that is what you actually bought. Museums do not carry masts.

Questions

Does Openreach FTTP cap me?
The plant does not. A weird retailer tariff might. Read it. Most do not.
They slowed me at 1TB on 5G home.
That is a fair-use. It may still have been advertised as unlimited. The paragraph is the product.
Can a FTTP ISP cut me off for usage?
Abuse, servers, a business-on-consumer clause — maybe. Ordinary 4K is not abuse on a modern FTTP. If they try, that is a complaint.
Is a cap a reason to stay on copper?
No. Copper’s problem is usually speed, not a GB counter, in 2026.
Work backups overnight?
On FTTP, usually fine. On radio/satellite, they are how you meet the paragraph. Schedule or buy a line that can.

Sources

  • ASA rulings on unlimited claims
  • Typical 5G home fair-use policies, 2026
  • FTTP retailer contract examples

Figures move. Prices, coverage and eligibility must be confirmed with the provider. OneTouchSwitch is not Ofcom, TOTSCo or a broadband network. Last fact-checked 10 September 2026.