Google Stadia is looking to break new ground in the video game industry with its streaming service. Stadia's plans are ambitious and look to provide instant game streaming to users at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second. Understandably, streaming at such a high quality will be very demanding on one's Internet, with some estimates reporting that Stadia will use 1TB of data in 110 hours in 1080p resolution. With millions of Internet users in the United States subjected to data caps that can be just 250GB or even lower per month in some cases, it seems like Internet Service Providers (ISPs) could be a major obstacle for Stadia's success. However, vice president and general manager of Google Phil Harrison doesn't think data caps will be a big problem.
Speaking to GameSpot, Harrison expressed his faith that ISPs will raise data caps in order to keep customers happy so that they can use Stadia. "ISPs are smart [and] they understand that they're in the business of keeping customers happy and keeping customers with them for a long time," Harrison said. He also pointed to ISPs "staying ahead of consumer trend" and said that there is only a small number of markets with data caps.
According to BroadbandNow, there are about 200 Internet providers in the United States that enforce data caps. These caps vary by region, but they are in place nevertheless, especially in the midwest and rural areas, where Internet quality may be lacking in general.
Harrison's suggestion that ISPs are in the business of "keeping customers happy" may seem a bit odd to some, as there are many areas where ISPs have a de facto monopoly on Internet and have notoriously poor customer service. There was even a South Park episode about the issue, which pointed out that many cable companies (who are the ISPs for millions of people in the US) don't really have competition and therefore have no reason to improve or keep their customers "happy."
Harrison may be right that ISPs will raise data caps over time, but it's unlikely to be something that happens right out of the gate. After all, it's possible consumer adoption of Stadia will be slow, especially since it's a relatively new concept. It's also possible Google is underestimating how many people deal with data caps and how strict those data caps can be, which may hinder Stadia's momentum right out of the gate.
Concern over Stadia data usage has been at the forefront of the conversation since the ambitious streaming service was announced. Many people may simply be unable to use Stadia because of problems like this, so it will be interesting to see if Google comes up with a reasonable solution.
Source: GameSpot, BroadbandNow