Over the years, many national broadband providers have applied data caps on certain customer plans, resulting in additional charges based on internet usage. For a long time, these data caps were very common, making customers worry about getting charged more for internet service beyond those caps — and often curbing their internet use to avoid paying extra fees.

Today, instead of data caps, some internet companies employ a practice of deprioritization. This practice involves intentionally slowing down your internet speed if you use a lot of data in favor of other subscribers on the same network who have higher priced plans or who use less data, especially during peak usage times.

But not every internet service provider (ISP) uses this tactic. Northwest-based Ziply Fiber has avoided both data caps and deprioritization since it was founded in 2020 because deprioritization limits the use of the internet.

"It's counterintuitive that you'd want your customers to use your product less," said Harold Zeitz, CEO of Ziply Fiber.

How does deprioritization impact remote work?

Deprioritization can have negative effects for anyone working from home, and for families with multiple connected devices. Whether you frequently engage in Zoom meetings or share large files, having enough network capacity and reliable upload and download speeds is crucial.

Many cable service providers offer packages labeled like "250/25," meaning you can get up to 250 Mbps of download speed but only 25 Mbps of upload speed — so your ISP may be already deprioritizing your upload speeds (as opposed to a fiber optic internet connection, which gives symmetrical upload and download speeds). Then if you're doing many video calls and using a lot of data, you may get deprioritized further, leading to issues like lag, buffering, jitter and all-around poor performance.

How do you know if your internet provider uses deprioritization?

Does your internet seem slower during busy hours of the day? Deprioritization can cause internet issues that may interfere with video calls, streaming movies or even gaming with friends. You should also be able to locate language on your contract that explains how your ISP may use deprioritization (it may be in small print, toward the bottom).

Fiber networks are built to avoid deprioritization

Opting for internet service that uses a fiber network is one way to sidestep some issues customers have experienced with cable networks over the years. Cable and fiber networks are massively different — and that makes a big difference for consumers.

For example, while a typical cable network in a city has several hundred customers on each port, the Ziply Fiber network uses 32-way splitters, so there are never more than 32 customers per port. The company also provides a dedicated fiber to each of those 32 households, so there's no sharing a connection — or bandwidth — with your neighbors. In contrast, cable is generally a shared connection, so when you and your neighbors are all online sucking up bandwidth, everyone's experience suffers.

At Ziply Fiber, no part of the network is handling more than 40% of its capacity. This way, the company can prioritize providing reliable and fast internet service for everyone, rather than deprioritizing service for some.

Ziply is investing in the future

Ziply Fiber focuses on building infrastructure to support the needs of generations to come. The company became the first in the country to launch 10 Gig residential internet in November 2023. Earlier this year they introduced America's Fastest Home Internet, an ultra-fast 50 Gig connection.

While not everyone requires a 50 Gig connection at home, both their 50 Gig and 100 Mbps connections operate on the same 100% fiber-optic network infrastructure, so every customer's connection benefits from the same robust infrastructure, capacity and reliability used by those with higher-tier subscriptions. With this approach, customers can feel confident that any speed they choose includes best-in-class capacity and reliability for all their online activities.

Learn more about fiber technology and how it can benefit your home internet service at ZiplyFiber.com.