What are data overages and how can I limit them?

Let’s Talk About Content Delivery and Data Usage!

WellcomeMat pays Akamai, a content delivery network (CDN), per gigabyte to quickly deliver video files to end users not matter where in the world they reside. Each WellcomeMat customer is allotted a certain amount of data each month for all accounts that they own. For most users, this allotment is more than sufficient to cover all data used throughout the month. However, with the continued success your video program and the growth of the consumer reach provided to you via WellcomeMat, data overages may be incurred.

What are data overages?

Data overages are fees incurred when a user surpasses that monthly data limit outlined within their contract. Again, it’s important to note that, if you do incur data overage fees, your videos are highly effective and are performing well.


We understand that data usage can be tricky to understand and we want to make sure you fully understand this process as well as what WellcomeMat is doing to maximize your savings on content delivery.

What exactly is data?

Data, or bandwidth, is the information that is passed from the WellcomeMat servers to a viewer whenever they watch a video that you uploaded. A small amount of data is also expended when a viewer loads a page where your videos, playlists, or channels are embedded. This data translates to the loading of the player and thumbnail images and ensures that, when a user clicks play, the video starts quickly.

Also, more data may be used depending on the quality of video playback. For example, a video that is watched in 1080p is going to use more data than a video watched in 480p. WellcomeMat auto detects the best playback quality based on the viewer's connection speed and delivers the video that will look best and play smoothly.

Finally, downloading a video also uses data.

So if you are set to go over your monthly data allotment that means that you are receiving a very large number of page loads and video views for the videos you have uploaded, embedded, and distributed.

So how do data overages work in WellcomeMat?

WellcomeMat reviews data transfer rates and retains the right to pass on content delivery charges to our customers above the amount allotted in each of our contracts. However, we do a lot of work behind the scenes to make sure that you are given the very best rates on these overages. In fact, we have chosen to pool all customers together to get an exceptional rate via the content delivery network that WellcomeMat uses. Instead of charging overages at the $.18/gigabyte rate stated in our contracts we are able to charge $.098/GB because of the amount of data that all our customers are using as a whole. The more we grow, the lower the rates will become!

At any time, you can login and see what your usage is for past and current months in the analytics section of your WellcomeMat account. And don’t worry, we will be sending out email alerts when you reach 50%, 75%, and 90% of your data allotment each month.

We will continue to optimize our system to use less data + provide you with controls to limit your exposure. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to our support team with questions or concerns.

What can I do to minimize my data overages?

Generally, high data usage means your videos are gaining great views and exposure! But we understand the need to cut down costs. So we have made it easy for you to determine a maximum default resolution which will reduce your data expenditure. Meaning that in order for a viewer to watch a higher resolution video than you select they will need to intentionally change that resolution. We will never automatically display a resolution higher than you select.

To set your maximum default resolution visit your Global Video Settings.