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Not so fast, broadband providers tell big users
Boston Globe ^ | 12 March 2007 | Carolyn Y. Johnson

Posted on 03/12/2007 5:32:36 AM PDT by Fractal Trader

Amanda Lee of Cambridge received a call from Comcast Corp. in December ordering her to curtail her Web use or lose her high-speed Internet connection for a year.

Lee, who said she had been using the same broadband connection for years without a problem, was taken aback. But when she asked what the download limit was, she was told there was no limit, that she was just downloading too much.

Then in mid-February, her Internet service was cut off without further warning.

For Lee and an increasing number of people, a high-speed Internet connection is a lifeline to everyday entertainment and communication. Television networks are posting shows online; retailers are lining up to offer music and movie downloads; thousands of Internet radio stations stream music; more people are using WiFi phones; and "over the top TV," in which channels stream over the Internet, is predicted to grow.

That means that more customers may become familiar with Comcast's little-known acceptable-use policy, which allows the company to cut off service to customers who use the Internet too much. Comcast says that only .01 percent of its 11.5 million residential high-speed Internet customers fall into this category.

"Comcast has a responsibility to provide these customers with a superior experience and to address any excessive usage issues that may impact that experience," Comcast spokeswoman Shawn Feddeman said in a statement. "The few customers who are notified of excessive use typically consume exponentially more bandwidth than the average user."

(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: internet
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To: JRios1968
Ahhhh, the unbridled arrogance of the young and foolish. It knows no bounds.
41 posted on 03/12/2007 12:05:23 PM PDT by Beckwith (The dhimmicrats and liberal media have chosen sides and they've sided with the Jihadists.)
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To: Beckwith
Ahhhh, the unbridled arrogance of the young and foolish. It knows no bounds.

What a non-sequitur. I know...things aren't like you remember them...I guess I should be sorry that life has left you behind.

42 posted on 03/12/2007 12:07:41 PM PDT by JRios1968 (Tagline wanted...inquire within)
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To: Beckwith
I am technical too, and there are many times I haven't the slightest idea of what the heck is wrong and zero ideas on where to start to get a clue. I spend lot's of time googling. LOL. Don't let the little people get you down.
43 posted on 03/12/2007 12:28:12 PM PDT by jpsb
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To: jpsb

I ignore low priority interrupts out of hand.

Thanks . . .


44 posted on 03/12/2007 3:56:53 PM PDT by Beckwith (The dhimmicrats and liberal media have chosen sides and they've sided with the Jihadists.)
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To: BfloGuy

I hear ya. They cut me off twice due their incompetence and told me it would take 5 days to reconnect. I asked them if they could expedite it since it was their error. They said no. I had another provider in 3 days and as soon as I notify all my accounts they will be totally history. And I've been with them in one of their incarnations for almost 15 years.


45 posted on 03/12/2007 4:19:17 PM PDT by CaptRon (Pedecaris alive or Raisuli dead)
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To: Fractal Trader

Stop the spammers and we have more bandwidth than we need.


46 posted on 03/12/2007 4:21:22 PM PDT by devane617 (Let's take back our country -- get a job in the MSM, or education system. We need you.)
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To: JRios1968
Even I know how to do that and I am the least technical persons on earth. If I can fix the problem, then anyone can. My hubby just told me what to do and I tried it for myself but he was not always available. Now, since he died last July, I am on my own. i don't think I have had to call Comcast since he died so maybe he is looking out for me.
47 posted on 03/12/2007 4:27:26 PM PDT by MamaB
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To: Beckwith

Hey, even I know what a modem is and what to do if I have a problem with it. It really is not that hard to learn!


48 posted on 03/12/2007 4:31:35 PM PDT by MamaB
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To: jpsb

I am a "little" person who knows what to do if a modem goes bad. I have even had to replace one after we had the first one for many years.


49 posted on 03/12/2007 4:33:10 PM PDT by MamaB
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To: Gorzaloon

You don't have to pay it... Cable and DSL companies throttle the bandwidth anyway. Your 1 connection is fast but the speed is (to a degree) 'divided' up. Your router takes care of this aspect.


50 posted on 03/12/2007 4:41:36 PM PDT by lmr (The answers to life don't involve complex solutions.)
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To: devane617

Actually File-Sharers (Like myself) are the problem. Spammers are minor in comparison.


51 posted on 03/12/2007 4:42:49 PM PDT by lmr (The answers to life don't involve complex solutions.)
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To: Noumenon
What most folks don't get is that bandwidth, like health care isn't free. Someone, somewhere, sometime has to pay for it. Then they should state what the limit is instead of advertising 'Unlimited'. I agree that it isn't free, but your average user doesn't understand these technical boundaries unless it's spelled out for them.
52 posted on 03/12/2007 4:46:29 PM PDT by lmr (The answers to life don't involve complex solutions.)
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To: lmr
You don't have to pay it... Cable and DSL companies throttle the bandwidth anyway. Your 1 connection is fast but the speed is (to a degree) 'divided' up. Your router takes care of this aspect.

They certainly do on the binaries newsgroups. It is glaringly obvious. Classical music, old newsreels (Remember the "Industry On Parade" series? What a hoot.), etc. are old enough to be public domain and immune from RIAA pressure, so they are doing it for bandwidth reasons. It is far more pronounced if one accesses their newsserver, rather than an outside service. Like running a marathon chest deep in molasses while drunk on ether...

53 posted on 03/12/2007 5:25:24 PM PDT by Gorzaloon (Global Warming: A New Kind Of Scientology for the Rest Of Us.)
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To: Beckwith
I ignore low priority interrupts out of hand.

And yet you saw it fit to reply to me, not once, but twice.

Point, set, match. It's been a pleasure, and don't come unarmed to a battle of wits...now, bye-bye...

54 posted on 03/12/2007 8:56:15 PM PDT by JRios1968 (Tagline wanted...inquire within)
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To: MamaB

Precisely! It isn't very hard to learn what the modem is, what it does, and what to do when it goes belly up (it happens, which is a sad fact of life...)

I'm glad you were able to figure it out, it will save you a lot of $ in the long run, since you don't have to fork over the money to the ISP geeks or the Best Buy Geek Patrol.


55 posted on 03/12/2007 9:00:55 PM PDT by JRios1968 (Tagline wanted...inquire within)
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To: MamaB

LOL, I've got lots of modems, bet I've even got a 9600 baud around here someplace besides the DSL modems and VOIP modens and God only knows what other modems I've got. Hard to know everything these days.


56 posted on 03/13/2007 7:25:07 AM PDT by jpsb
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