My question: Does it really cost Comcast for how many gigs I use?
Yes, but not as much as they claim. When their customers use more bandwith ISPs have to upgrade their infrastructure to accommodate it.
Since Comcast has a competing product, the only cost is opportunity cost.
Between Netflix and the ocasional pay-movie on Amazon... I’m not about go anywhere near some pricey HBO, Cinemax, etc. subscription. Seems like we’re getting closer to just buying access (i.e. internet connection) and getting the a la carte content (vs. tons of channels I could totally care less about).
Well - DUH! Comcast is definitely doing this. It isn’t even a “hidden” thing. You have a cap that you exceed they charge you. They DO NOT charge you for using their Xfinity streaming product.
There - what more “proof” do you need?
Of course not, silly. There's no marginal cost to serve the next customer. All the routers, switches, HFC equipment, headends, STBs, servers, building space, power, space conditioning, service trucks, help desk personnel, techs, etc are all free.
Yes, if they have to put in more capacity.
Think of your internet service like a road. Whether 1, 5, 10, or 20 cars are on a two lane road doesn’t make much difference. But, at some point you get so many cars on the road that they only way to maintain the speed is to add another lane.
With more and more people using streaming internet services, internet provides have had to expand their network to handle the extra demand.
I don’t have a problem with my internet provider charging me more for heavier usage. I do have a problem with them charging some people extra, but not others.
Look into what COMCAST calls “XFINITY”.
That is one conspiracy.
Yes. You share bandwidth with other subscribers. Assumption is each will use maybe a half dozen gigs per month. Then you come along and soak up a hundred times that. Yeah, upgrading the infrastructure to accommodate you is going to cost them.