Posted on 06/18/2014 11:42:13 AM PDT by Dallas59
Comcast is testing data caps for its broadband internet customers that would limit them to 300 GB of data per month, according to The Times Leader.
Comcast has started open trials of its home broadband data caps in several large markets around the country.
Here are all the regions affected:
Mobile, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Tuscon, Arizona
Atlanta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Jackson, Mississippi
Charleston, South Carolina
Knoxville, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
All of central Kentucky
The entire state of Maine
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Mine is unlimited through DISH, but my speed does get throttled back. I have 15 gig anytime and another 15 gig between 2 and 8 am. The 15 anytime gets eaten up within days- but it is still far superior to dial up and that is the only other alternative we have where we live.
DSL and cable (Charter) stop 9/10 of a mile east of me and doesn’t pick up again until a few miles west of me. Neither has any intentions of upgrading around me in the near future. We had been using HughesNet, but even having their max plan, I still had to buy additional bandwidth every month. Going with DISH we’re paying about 10 bucks a month more - and we get TV!
Let me rephrase:
If you didn’t use one byte for a month, how much money would your provider save?
This is a little counter intuitive and most of our knowledge is based on physical things.
Basically, data is to too cheap to meter.
ISPs may need to modulate bandwidth to level out peaks but charging for actual bytes sent is almost nonsensical.
“Let me rephrase: If you didn’t use one byte for a month, how much money would your provider save? This is a little counter intuitive and most of our knowledge is based on physical things.”
Meaningless example since the provider has to outlay capital based on nominal usage by clients.
Your theory has a huge hole in it. Internet service is NOT a free market. Its for the most part a protected market sanctioned by the government. Most areas have one choice and a competitor cannot enter the market to create competition. The FREE MARKET thrives on Competition and Big Communications has gamed the system where a hand full of companies have divided up the available customers and now they set the terms and the consumer loses.
For your theory of free market capitalism to work the government would need to totally rewrite the 1996 Tele1communications act that sets into law supposedly the ability for anyone to enter into cable and internet services. However it ended up doing exactly the opposite by the time the lobbyists got done buying the politicians.
“Basically, data is to too cheap to meter. ISPs may need to modulate bandwidth to level out peaks but charging for actual bytes sent is almost nonsensical.”
And the peaks grow exponentially if you do not limit. That means your capital grows exponentially and you have to increase fees exponentially. Make the dudes playing games or watching video 24/7 pay their share of the capital costs.
” Most areas have one choice and a competitor cannot enter the market to create competition. “
Most???? Name ONE!!!!
“Oh, my goodness. I’ve watched just about every WW1 movie they have. I’ve used enough to bankrupt myself under the pay for play scheme. “
Let’s say that one old movie is 5 GB. 300 GB gives you 60 movies, two a day.
you will find most of America outside the cities have less of such services.
I have had a 150gb cap with A T & T for a couple of years now. Never gone over, but came close a few times with some Netflix binging. I mean like watching all 11 years of Frasier in one month.
“Mine, one Cable company.”
Sue your government. They cannot keep other providers out!
Seriously, I think you are confusing the issue. Any provider can come into your area. It’s the free market. Your government cannot keep them out.
AND ... I would think that there are already other providers. DSL through your phone line or satellite coverage. Do you have a smart phone? It most probably can create its own hotspot. You may not like the choices but it seems like MOST markets would have at least four providers as a minimum (not counting multiple phone companies).
Thanks to both of you.
Excellent info.
We dumped Comcast 5 years ago. never looked back.
I see you avoid answering the question. The reason is that it costs the company an almost immeasurably small amount of money if you do in fact you use the internet whether that be measured in kilobytes or gigabytes.
Between overbuilding during the dot.com bubble and multiplexing, the capital outlay has already been made. Probably made by a company that went bankrupt then purchased for pennies on the dollar by your provider.
Your neighbor streaming video doesn’t cost you a penny. Probably doesn’t cost your provider more than pennies.
On the other hand if your neighbor is watching Netflix and not watching one of their pay channels or one of their channels with adds, that is going to cost them billions. That is what this is about.
Don’t begrudge your neighbor their bandwidth. It’s like begrudging them the air they breathe. It doesn’t cost you anything.
And Comcast is experimenting on red states.
They do it everyday. You just don't realize how the system is gamed by big communications. They have the market cornered. And the lobbyists have made it near impossible for small startup wireless (the obvious choice to circumvent the cable companies control of the cable infrastructure) businesses to provide services.
Wow, this is weird. I just tried to go to a youtube link on a Free Republic thread, and it gave me the old "HTTP404" message. I then opened a new window and tried to go directly to youtube. An AT&T screen popped up (they are my ISP), showing stuff like upload and download speeds, my IP address, and info on my Motorola modem.
Every other web page I try for comes right up, but not youtube. FREEEAKY!
I wonder how I can go about finding out if I have a limit, how much it is, and if I'm close (or over)?
Are you sure you're just kidding? :-)
“I see you avoid answering the question.”
I answered it. You just chose to ignore.
“Your neighbor streaming video doesn’t cost you a penny.”
No but it may slow down everyone’s internet.
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