Just when you think cable companies can’t get any greedier, they do. Comcast is experimenting with cell-phone-like data charges so it can charge overage fees, says GeekWire. Wait, what?!! Yes, you heard us right. Comcast wants even more of your hard-earned dollars for doing exactly what you’re doing now – using the Internet.

According to GeekWire, Comcast made the announcement to a targeted group last week, telling them that, as of October 1, they’d get stuck with overage fees at $10 per 50 GB tier if they exceeded 300 GB a month. Don’t want to chance it? No problem. Comcast’s got that covered. For an extra $30 a month, you can get the same service you currently have without a cap.

Though the program begins October 1, Comcast is softening the blow with a “three-month courtesy program,” essentially giving customers a pass for the first three times they exceed the 300 GB monthly data limit. Customers who participate in the flexible data option – with caps – will receive email alerts and in-browser notifications like the sample below to let them know when they meet data usage thresholds ranging between 90 and 125%.

If you exceed the data usage the second month, Comcast will make an automated phone call to let you know you’ve hit 100%. Users will also receive emails or text messages, depending on their alert preferences. The bottom line: Comcast wants your money, and they’ll do whatever they can to get it. Comcast’s Q&A page identifies the markets where they are testing the data usage program:

Alabama: Huntsville and Mobile
Arizona: Tucson
Florida: Fort Lauderdale, the Keys, Miami
Georgia: Atlanta, Augusta and Savannah
Central Kentucky
Maine
Mississippi: Jackson and Tupelo
Tennessee: Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville
South Carolina: Charleston

Insider Take:

We understand that the cable TV model is changing, particularly as more OTT TV options become available. Cable companies like Comcast and Time-Warner need to adjust their business model to remain viable long-term, but we don’t think this is the way to go about it. Even for customers who keep their cable company’s Internet service, but opt for OTT packages like Hulu, Netflix, Sling TV, CBS All Access or HBO Now, Comcast wants its pound of flesh.

Up until now, we’ve given Comcast the benefit of the doubt, first with its version of OTT TV, Stream, and its soon-to-launch digital video platform Watchable. But this is too much, and it makes Comcast look desperate. Following its trial with its data usage plans, we hope Comcast abandons this idea. If it doesn’t, we anticipate its customers will cut the cord sooner rather than later.