The technology is there for far greater bandwidth, but the big companies don't want to pay here in the US. Look at our cell phone tech, you are lucky to get 3G while overseas 5G is being tested.

What they really want is a piece of the streaming entertainment pie. You see, all TV and movie rentals will be internet sourced within 10 years max (probably 5) and the traditional cable will start fading away. So, if AT&T can cap downloads and then start charging more after a certain amount, then they have the potential to gain billions from overages when everyone gets on the internet TV bandwagon.

I don't have cable anymore, I just go to the networks and download their shows. My living room entertainment center is now just another monitor on a media PC. It seriously rocks and works great. I even stream shows like Lost in HD. I love it.

Of course, AT&T just wants me to pay them something for doing that (even known I am on Comcast at the moment as I wait for FIOS to drop here) because it is likely that some of that traffic crosses over their massive network.