[Merged] Comcast Implements 250GB Cable Internet Bandwidth Limit

[rscott505]

As an avid user and supporter of Apple TV, I am greatly concerned about Comcast's recently announced 250 GB/month bandwidth limit.

I've heard that 250 GB/month is quite large. However, with 4 macs, two iPhones and one Apple TV, we are on the internet quite a bit, and download the overwhelming percentage of our content. As more and more media is delivered over the internet, and as HD content becomes more available, isn't it possible to get to this limit much quicker than Comcast asserts.

Obviously, Comcast is concerned with Netflix, Apple, Amazon and other future on-line content providers impacting their on-demand service.

Also, I contacted Comcast to determine if they would provide information about bandwidth usage, and the response was to download software on each computer. (No one could tell me if such a program was available for an unhacked Apple TV) Quite frankly, that is not sufficient. All cell phone companies let you see your minutes used, and with them, the punishment is a per minute charge, while in this instance Comcast will suspend your internet for a year. As such, it does not seem right that Comcast cannot provide bandwidth usage so we know where we stand.

Curious as to others thoughts on this.

[CWallace]

Well 250GB is a heck of a lot of bandwidth - especially compared to companies like Time Warner that are talking setting limits (some well) below 50GB. I mean unless you spend your entire time downloading TV series DVD sets via Bittorrent, you're unlikely to hit it. And since it is a hard cap, you don't need to worry about getting socked with huge overage fees if you do happen to spend your entire time downloading DVD sets from Bittorrent.

FIOS is starting to deploy here in Western Washington, so it might be an option in your area. Or AT&T's UVerse. But chances are they too will enforce bandwidth caps down the road.

[JML42691]

I wouldn't be all that worried about it, unless if you are downloading a few movies a day, then you should be all set. If you are truly worried about it, then are there any more options to service (an unlimited service, or one with 500 GB maybe)? And is this change to all Comcast customers, or just customers creating new services? As Comcast is a HUGE internet provider in my area, and this is the first that I have heard of it.

EDIT: Found this article written by the Associated Press that details what this cap suggests, it sounds like you have nothing to worry about from this article, as this was done more to set an exact amount for what Comcast thinks is excessive use, for which they have capped users before, but without a set amount. They are saying that the median usage amount for their customers is less than 5 GB/month, so you should be fine.

Article Link (http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/08/comcast_will_set_250gb_limit_o.html)

[MikieMikie]

I appreciate the article link, btw. Interesting.

As a Comcast subscriber, I think the 250GB number is pretty fair, considering what others have implemented.

I just hope they don't creep that number down.

[alphaod]

As a FiOS customer, I pity y'all Comcast ppl. :D

[JML42691]

I appreciate the article link, btw. Interesting.

As a Comcast subscriber, I think the 250GB number is pretty fair, considering what others have implemented.

I just hope they don't creep that number down.
After seeing what other providers are giving as limits, Comcast is very generous in this situation. I too hope that they do not bring this number down at all. It seems like they are only implementing this because they have suspended some subscribers in the past for using an excessive amount of bandwidth, but they haven't had an actual set amount listed, which is why they have stated 250 GB.

And that article states that you can download 4 standard definition movies a day for the whole month and still be in your allotted bandwidth.

[MyDesktopBroke]

They are limiting internet service to 250gb for their customers (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080829/wr_nm/comcast_internet_dc).

[ColinEC]

I use Comcast, but I'm not worrying about the cap.

I don't think I ever have downloaded over 250GB in one month before, the most was probably 25GB.

[Chip NoVaMac]

And that article states that you can download 4 standard definition movies a day for the whole month and still be in your allotted bandwidth.

Even doing 4gb movies/dvd's a 250gb limit is like 60+ movies. But in some ways I wonder if this is a solution looking for a problem.... Meaning that in my neighborhood there are few that I can sense that are heavy users... So far on my basic internet service I am getting on average 8kbps even during the heavy night time hours...

[rscott505]

Thanks so far the responses.

I also share the concern that the limit will creep downward.

I know I'm repeating myself, but Comcast is in the business of providing content. If you sign up for MLB's internet service, you can watch the games on your computer or iPhone. This is direct competition for Comcast's MLB package. If I rent an HD movie from ATV, it cuts directly into Comcast's profit since I didn't rent it from on-demand.

As such, while Comcast can say it's new policy is in compliance with Net Neutrality, in the end it is an end run around the concept. By limiting bandwidth, and not limiting its own services (albeit through cable TV), it is favoring its own content. Also, if the data for cable and internet share the same line coming into my house, why should cable tv (on-demand) be favored over internet. Is the reason because when I pay $3.99 for a movie using on-demand, Comcast gets the money? That ultimately seems to me to favor Comcast to the detriment of Apple (or Netflix or Amazon or whoever else is out there providing content).

It's inevitable as more-and-more content becomes available on-line, that Comcast will reduce the bandwidth limit. Thus ensuring that more consumers use its content than that of competitors.

[iGary]

There's no way I'd ever even come close ... and I live on the tubes.

[CWallace]

As a FiOS customer, I pity y'all Comcast ppl. :D

Chances are very good eventually FIOS will institute a limit, as well.




What is...amusing...is Comcast is rolling out their new 16mb/s download service. We just added it here in Seattle. So they have effectively doubled our speed and note that it will most benefit people who download large files or view online video content. :rolleyes:

[GSMiller]

Comcast doesn't offer their service in my area :rolleyes:

[trip1ex]

iTunes standard movies are ~1.5gb. 166 iTunes sd movies/month = 250gb/month.

[P-Worm]

I have Comcast and it sounds like they are going to handle the issue in a fair way. The article says that if one goes over the quota, they will receive a call from Comcast warning them of excessive use. Then if they do it another month in a 6 month period they could have their contract terminated.

I much prefer the warning over unexpectedly being billed an extra amount.

P-Worm

[scorpio333]

My thoughts and opinions, feel free to not agree. I'm no longer a Comcast customer for a few different reasons. If I would have tried to live out those reasons this would have definitely been a deal breaker. I doubt I consistently reach that amount per month, but there have been stretches where I went double that while doing projects. If it were full time work a dedicated business service would suit me better, but the work comes for a few months then dries up.

For me this a matter of principle. Why isn't Comcast being proactive and improving their service to handle all these new services? Why put the cap on paying customers? Let's keep older technology around, tell everyone it's the best, then slap people with limits and tell them it's for their own good.

Frankly it pisses me off everytime I see a comcastic commercial boasting superiority and then they pull a gimmick like this. It has been my experience that DSL and FIOS were far superior services than the comcast service I received in two separate locations.

If the cap doesn't make you happy, let Comcast know. Also let them know they're not the only game in town and the cap could cost them your business (assuming you're willing cut ties with them). Yeah they won't listen, but it's fun to rub it in once they come begging for your money again after you've left them.

[soberbrain]

I don't think the cap will affect me personally, 250 GB is a lot of data. I hope it helps to keep costs down and better the service.

[operator207]

If this is something your worried about, I am sure there are some routers out there you could install that will tell you bandwidth usage. Like this one. (http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=377018) Note: I am not recommending this device (I have never used it), just that a device like I am describing exists.

Then you could monitor who does what without having to find software for all your devices.

[Eidorian]

250 GB/month is a ridiculous amount of bandwidth to use.

Well right now it is...

[xlii]

250 GB/month is a ridiculous amount of bandwidth to use.

Well right now it is...


No one will ever need more than 640k bytes of memory (wasn't that bill gates who said that)

[CWallace]

No one will ever need more than 640k bytes of memory (wasn't that bill gates who said that)

For a character-based, command-line OS, it likely was. ;)

[MikieMikie]

No one will ever need more than 640k bytes of memory (wasn't that bill gates who said that)

Actually, Apple had a 64K limit, and came standard with 48K. Who would need more?

[rick6502]

In understand the IPs are worried about bandwidth issues, but punishing their customers is not the answer. 4% of all internet traffic is junk, but rather than figure reducing the amount of junk mail traffic they are limiting the amount of (in theory) legitimate traffic. So if the amount of junk increases and their bandwidth does not increase, is Comcast going to have to lower the cap? At what point does it stop? This is a case of ****** the users, they'll keep paying anyway. Would you let the highway department tell you the roads were too full of trucks so you can only drive so much?

http://asert.arbornetworks.com/2008/03/2-of-internet-traffic-raw-sewage/

[dilailamams]

i've been using comcast for a little over 2 yrs. i had not any connection or speed problem yet. also i got lots of rebates and free modem..when i applied.

[killr_b]

The wording in the op is great!

Once they get you used to the idea of "limiting internet service" that whole internet2 thing will sound less like a rumor…


:eek::eek::eek:

[yippy]

I actually think 250Gb/month is a good thing. If someone is using that much data they should be paying for a dedicated line or comercial grade connection or something and not using all the bandwidth they share with the rest of normal people.

And 250Gb/month is so huge of an amount that unless you are downloading 60 -150 movies a month you won't hit it.

[JML42691]

In understand the IPs are worried about bandwidth issues, but punishing their customers is not the answer. 4% of all internet traffic is junk, but rather than figure reducing the amount of junk mail traffic they are limiting the amount of (in theory) legitimate traffic. So if the amount of junk increases and their bandwidth does not increase, is Comcast going to have to lower the cap? At what point does it stop? This is a case of ****** the users, they'll keep paying anyway. Would you let the highway department tell you the roads were too full of trucks so you can only drive so much?

http://asert.arbornetworks.com/2008/03/2-of-internet-traffic-raw-sewage/
Except in this case, Comcast has set an abnormally high limit, which probably 99% of their users won't even come close to. And their reasoning for doing this was to have a set amount for when they would stop your service for excessive use, rather than having an unstated amount like times in the past.

[oban14]

Does anyone have an application to recommend that can capture bandwidth? I have no idea how much I'm using on a given day, much less over a whole month. The bandwidth widgets I have reset upon reboot, whereas I'll actually need a monthly tally.

Any recs?

[epochblue]

I don't know of any apps to keep track of your bandwidth usage, but what you're doing that you're so worried about hitting 250GB in a single month?

Unless you're downloading a lot of high-quality movies, I sincerely doubt you're going to be anywhere near the cap.

[WillJS]

To reach the cap you would have to do something like the following:

Sending 20,000 high-resolution photos,
Sending 40 million emails;
Downloading 50,000 songs; or
Viewing 8,000 movie trailers.

There was another good write-up somewhere about the cap and what you have to do to reach it.. but I can't find it now that I need it. :o

[acxz]

To reach the cap you would have to do something like the following:

Sending 20,000 high-resolution photos,
Sending 40 million emails;
Downloading 50,000 songs; or
Viewing 8,000 movie trailers.

There was another good write-up somewhere about the cap and what you have to do to reach it.. but I can't find it now that I need it. :o

or 5. Be a massive porn addict.

[JML42691]

From an article about this a few weeks ago that was linked to on this forum, it said that you would have to download 4 standard definition movies a day for a month to reach that limit. Comcast was always capping people for their usage if it were deemed to be over-used, they just never had a publicly stated amount, which is what the point of this cap was. Most providers cap their customers at MUCH lower amounts, you should be fine, reaching 250GB in a month would be a major accomplishment if you are not hosting a website from your house. You should be fine.

[kalex]

unless you are constantly uploading and downloading its highly not probable that you will go over 250gb cap

lets say average SD movie is around 1GB, this is 250 movies u have to download to go over the limit

[oban14]

While I appreciate everyone's concern about my downloading habits, and those of you who are defending a 250 GB cap... but back to the question: Do any of you know of an application that will cumulatively capture my bandwidth usage over the course of a month?

[localoid]

There's Net Monitor (http://homepage.mac.com/rominar/net.html)...

[KingYaba]

iStat can help you see your usage. The problem is, the stats are lost when you reboot. I have the iStat menues. My computer has been running for just under three days and I have almost 3 GB of data that came in and half a GB going out.

[EricNau]

OK, I clearly missed the memo. Comcast is doing what?

[e.m.]

The problem with Activity Monitor and other apps mentioned here for this purpose is that local network usage (file sharing on local network, wireless time machine backups, etc) are included, and obviously those do not count against the Comcast cap.

I wonder how much data online gaming such as Xbox Live uses. Or voice/video chat?

Also, does the cap include upload as well, or is it just download?

[JML42691]

OK, I clearly missed the memo. Comcast is doing what?
Here is a link (http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/08/comcast_will_set_250gb_limit_o.html).

[Catch Them]

ugh....comcast does it AGAIN. always doing something conspicuous to piss people off.

i mean its not a question of how much one downloads or doesnt each month.
I just dont believe in internet restrictions; especially an overpriced company.
next mandatory blocked sites on comcasts ISP network...yay cant wait!


I do alot of networking file transferring to friends in my area and im pretty sure i hit about that much and possibly more each month, and also seeding and downloading specific apps.

ridiculous...

[Julien]

...i mean its not a question of how much one downloads or doesnt each month.
I just dont believe in internet restrictions; especially an overpriced company.
next mandatory blocked sites on comcasts ISP network...yay cant wait...

ridiculous...

You may not believe in them but what about your neighbors. If you are downloading 250Gb or more a month you are seriously hindering everyone else's bandwidth around you.

Now what if the shoe was on the other foot and your neighbor was running a full blown server from his home and hogging all the bandwidth and you had a hard time downloading? How would you fell about limits then?

[SnowLeopard2008]

ugh....comcast does it AGAIN. always doing something conspicuous to piss people off.

i mean its not a question of how much one downloads or doesnt each month.
I just dont believe in internet restrictions; especially an overpriced company.
next mandatory blocked sites on comcasts ISP network...yay cant wait!


I do alot of networking file transferring to friends in my area and im pretty sure i hit about that much and possibly more each month, and also seeding and downloading specific apps.

ridiculous...

yea, torrent is illegal. just how many apps do you download? Say FCE is about 1GB, you'd have to download it at least 250 times a month. now that is ridiculous.

[Catch Them]

You may not believe in them but what about your neighbors. If you are downloading 250Gb or more a month you are seriously hindering everyone else's bandwidth around you.

Now what if the shoe was on the other foot and your neighbor was running a full blown server from his home and hogging all the bandwidth and you had a hard time downloading? How would you fell about limits then?

I think they should be able to do that if that want to as well.
I dont see your need to have my justify it or police these ideals.

And i dont see where you get off telling me that torrents are illegal when you dont even know the extent of what I'm using it for.

geesh. calm down.

[ravenvii]

yea, torrent is illegal. just how many apps do you download? Say FCE is about 1GB, you'd have to download it at least 250 times a month. now that is ridiculous.

Torrents are NOT illegal. You can USE it for illegal things, just like you can use a knife for illegal things. Doesn't mean it's illegal itself. Get that through your head. I'm sick of people proclaiming that torrents is illegal and anyone who uses it are pirates.

I use torrents to download Linux distros all the time, about 600-700 MB at a time.

But I'm not worried about that 250 GB cap for downloading. I'm more concerned about video conferencing, though...

For video, they tend to be much less than 700 kbps, but let's say we have a high quality video chat at 700 kbps. Let's do the math:

It'll be 42 MB per minute. Let's say you had a long chat with your girlfriend for 3 hours. That'll consume 7.5 GB.

And to summarize all of this up, you'll have to video chat for only 33 hours each month. And that's assuming you don't use any bandwidth for anything else.

Shows how stupidly pathetic American broadband infrastructure is. In Japan, they look at 50 Mbps the way we look at 756kbps here, for chrissakes.

[dukebound85]

crap i use hulu alot

im more worried about time warner having a cap of as little as 5gigs from that article linked in this thread

[paduck]

my personal opinion is that ISP's should be a little smarter about their usage limits instead of simply having monthly caps. 250gb is a pretty hefty limit, but I could see how someone might hit it. Also, as content providers move towards HD content I suppose I am unconvinced that Comcast isn't trying to stifle it's competition as, at least, a side benefit of metering.

One thing that makes a difference is time of use. 250gb primarily betwen 4pm and 10pm is going to have a huge impact on your neighbors - and perhaps on down the line. From 1am to 7am, dramatically less so. If Comcast were to look at the people who blow the cap and the times of day in which they do so, that might be a mitigating circumstance. Something else is why do they choose 250gb as the limit? If the problem is 1.3% of users, what is the break point on 1.3%? If it is 250gb, then fine. If that break point is 500gb, then you have to ask why they are pushing down to the top 5% or whatever.

Upspeed capacity, being less than downstream capacity may also be an issue. If you are pushing out tons of data vice bringing it in, then that is another problem. I guess I am more concerned with downstream data caps than upstream ones. There are lots of ways to host data that doesn't include a server at your house. Not so much acquiring content from the web.

Bottomline though, if you are consistently blowing a 250gb cap, you probably should be moving to a corporate account anyway. Comcast is supposed to appeal to the "typical" consumer. As long as they keep adding capacity and increasing their cap to accomodate 98% of their users, then I think they are doing the right thing. Those who are in the top couple points of users in terms of capacity should be looking to move up a tier.

I do wonder why you can't serve data from somewhere other than your own house. Torrents, although not specifically illegal, certainly is fertile ground for those who wish to become potential targets of RIAA.

[hexonxonx]

I frequently purchase many seasons of TV shows and multiple movies on iTunes at one time. I am worried that I may one day reach the cap. I even purchased six seasons of the X-Files on one day and downloaded them and each episode is about 250MB. You can see that it would be easy to reach that cap.

[paduck]

Ravenii - check your math. If 3 hours = 7.5gb, then you get 100 hours for 30 days at 250gb. That's a 3 hour teleconference each day.

I think you can argue that isn't typical consumer use.

[crazzyeddie]

For video, they tend to be much less than 700 kbps, but let's say we have a high quality video chat at 700 kbps. Let's do the math:

It'll be 42 MB per minute. Let's say you had a long chat with your girlfriend for 3 hours. That'll consume 7.5 GB.

And to summarize all of this up, you'll have to video chat for only 33 hours each month. And that's assuming you don't use any bandwidth for anything else.

I think your math is wrong. A 700kbps video chat would be 310MB per hour,
or 7.27GB per day or would take 34 days to go through the 250GB... so you could chat 24/7 for an entire month and still not hit the cap.

[Catch Them]

while it is alot for some.

it just depends on your needs and necessities. which is not something most cable (or most companies) get.
and yes the U.S.'s broadband spectrum and set up is just completely a joke.
we have so much ability to have more than that and have a very expansive and elaborate high speed set up going, we have some the slowest broadband connections out of most of the countries that currently have highspeed broadband.


doing film and audio projects with various classmates and professionals we use torrents alot to disburse our work to each other to work on across various networks. and they can get quite heavy especially uncompressed video and heavy amounts of audio.
and thusfar we havent had many bandwidth problems but its been shaky, but we depend on it since were not all on the same network or have huge budgets to get better non-consumer connections; but in the end it works, so hopefully it wont be a huge deal or limitation....we do tend to get crazy with the stuff we distribute to each other through our work.


nothing illegal there.... :rolleyes:

[dukebound85]

Torrents are NOT illegal. You can USE it for illegal things, just like you can use a knife for illegal things. Doesn't mean it's illegal itself. Get that through your head. I'm sick of people proclaiming that torrents is illegal and anyone who uses it are pirates.

I use torrents to download Linux distros all the time, about 600-700 MB at a time.

But I'm not worried about that 250 GB cap for downloading. I'm more concerned about video conferencing, though...

For video, they tend to be much less than 700 kbps, but let's say we have a high quality video chat at 700 kbps. Let's do the math:

It'll be 42 MB per minute. Let's say you had a long chat with your girlfriend for 3 hours. That'll consume 7.5 GB.

And to summarize all of this up, you'll have to video chat for only 33 hours each month. And that's assuming you don't use any bandwidth for anything else.

Shows how stupidly pathetic American broadband infrastructure is. In Japan, they look at 50 Mbps the way we look at 756kbps here, for chrissakes.

remember that a kbps is not a KBps. that changes some of your calculations

[Willis]

considering the fact that in the UK majority of ISPs have 5, 15 and 30GB download limits, along with the unlimited (subject to fair usage)... 250GB you should have nothing to fear!

[Phatpat]

Comcast should have something in your account that tells you. I don't have comcast, but they really are obligated to...

Another option is to install some custom firmware on your router.

On a side note, if you have 5 people in your, using IPTV and that sort of thing it's not inconceivable to hit the cap.

[KingYaba]

Time for Comcast customers to write angry letters and find internet providers with zero caps. Hell, I'd even call their corporate office and give 'em a mouth full. :)

[oban14]

You may not believe in them but what about your neighbors. If you are downloading 250Gb or more a month you are seriously hindering everyone else's bandwidth around you.

Now what if the shoe was on the other foot and your neighbor was running a full blown server from his home and hogging all the bandwidth and you had a hard time downloading? How would you fell about limits then?

I pay Comcast almost 60 dollars a month for unlimited internet access. You do understand what "unlimited" means, don't you?

If they can't support it, quit advertising it as unlimited and/or upgrade the network.

[NeoMayhem]

I probably download about 3-4gb a day, sometimes a little more, so I am not worried about it yet.

[paduck]

while it is alot for some.

it just depends on your needs and necessities. which is not something most cable (or most companies) get.
[...]


doing film and audio projects with various classmates and professionals we use torrents alot to disburse our work to each other to work on across various networks. and they can get quite heavy especially uncompressed video and heavy amounts of audio.
and thusfar we havent had many bandwidth problems but its been shaky, but we depend on it since were not all on the same network or have huge budgets to get better non-consumer connections; but in the end it works, so hopefully it wont be a huge deal or limitation....we do tend to get crazy with the stuff we distribute to each other through our work.


nothing illegal there.... :rolleyes:

If I were Comcast, I might be able to make the argument that your use (if extensive and continuous) on film and audio projects with professionals might constitute a non-consumer use and thus might necessitate a commercial connection subject to different terms of use.

I find the cable companies to be extortionist in their pricing and slow to rollout new technologies which they invariably overcharge for. Having said that, I do think that they need to market, build and price for the broad consumer market (which is slowly, but steadily asking for more capacity). People who are at the very high-end need to understand that pushing well beyond the established limits of consumer use (into that top 1% of users) places them at risk of being asked to move to a different pricing tier. Having said that, I could see over time how Comcast (or in my case, Cox) could move lots and lots of people into that higher tier...

The key is making sure that they are open and transparent about consumer use and caps. Today, 250gb doesn't seem like an unreasonable restriction. If it is still 250gb in a few years, that might be a different story. Comcast should say they have a 250gb limit, but the limit will move upwards a certain percentage each year based on the general consumer use increase.

Also, if they are going to charge or limit, they should have a web tool that tells you what you are using...

[taylorwilsdon]

I have 7 people in my house and everyone is a heavy internet user, and I would really have to try hard to go over 250gb. That's an enormous limit and I'm totally fine with it.

Torrents aren't illegal. What you're doing with them probably is.

Hulu, gaming, video chatting, iTunes and whatever the hell else you have IS NOT going to put you over 250gb. Period. Unless you're downloading 200 "Linux distributions" (there aren't even that many in existence) per month, you aren't going to go over the limit.

http://hardwarelogic.com/articles/blogs/Website_Reviews_and_You/MoreYouKnow.jpg

[That-Is-Bull]

Most providers cap their customers at MUCH lower amounts

HughesNet = 300MB a day. I accidentally downloaded a game patch one time, Internet was shot the rest of the week. :(

[Julien]

I pay Comcast almost 60 dollars a month for unlimited internet access. You do understand what "unlimited" means, don't you?

If they can't support it, quit advertising it as unlimited and/or upgrade the network.

Strange that you quote me complaining that Comcast advertises "unlimited" internet when my post was not about Comcast advertising at all. However would you please post a link to where Comcast says you get "unlimited" internet (and help me to understand the word unlimited). May be wrong but I don't ever remember seeing Comcast advertised as "unlimited" internet. So for you and all the complainers please post the links that prove Comcast is using deceptive and illegal advertising.

[oban14]

Strange that you quote me complaining that Comcast advertises "unlimited" internet when my post was not about Comcast advertising at all. However would you please post a link to where Comcast says you get "unlimited" internet (and help me to understand the word unlimited). May be wrong but I don't ever remember seeing Comcast advertised as "unlimited" internet. So for you and all the complainers please post the links that prove Comcast is using deceptive and illegal advertising.

Please provide a link where Comcast sells their service as limited first. I don't recall it ever being advertised as "limited" internet.

Thanks.

[strikeinsilence]

yea, torrent is illegal. just how many apps do you download? Say FCE is about 1GB, you'd have to download it at least 250 times a month. now that is ridiculous.

HD Movies, my friend. HDTV as well. Eats up HD space and bandwidth.

And to answer the OP's question, I've been using this program called Surplus meter to track my bandwidth. It works swimmingly, check it out:

Surplus Meter (http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/20884/surplusmeter)

[Amdahl]

Please provide a link where Comcast sells their service as limited first. I don't recall it ever being advertised as "limited" internet.

Thanks.

Frankly, there is no point to either of your demands for links.

Comcast can change the terms of service whenever they want.

[JML42691]

Please provide a link where Comcast sells their service as limited first. I don't recall it ever being advertised as "limited" internet.

Thanks.
Wow, where the heck are you coming from with that? He was perfectly fine with where he was coming from with that question, they never (at least from what I have seen) advertised their service as having unlimited bandwidth access. And if they did advertise their service as "unlimited," it was probably referring to what sites a user had access to, not the bandwidth allotted. And why exactly would a company advertise their service as limited?

And by the way, Comcast has always reserved the right to stop somebody's service for excessive use of bandwidth (it said it in the contract terms), they just never set a figure to that limit which is why they have now instated this 250 GB cap.

[jbrenn]

if they are so concerned with bandwidth they should let us have the full speed that is available. cable internet can go as fast as 50 mbps. i get 5 at best and there are very few people that have cable internet here only available since march.

[ll PiStoNs ll]

lets put it this way, if you arent doing anything illegal, you are perfectly fine

[xlii]

I'm going to weigh in on this... if comcast knows when you go over your 250GB limit... that means they know how much we all use each month... ie they already meter us. Now I'm a comcast broadband user. I don't come anywhere near the limit. Comcast isn't cheap. Since they meter us why not give those that only use a little a price drop? That's why comcast doesn't want you to know how much you use (unless you go over). If joe used 3 GB a month and Jim uses 200 GB a month and they both pay the same... Joe's gonna be pissed and maybe shop around. Maybe someone else comes along and offers the casual user a much cheaper price....

30 years ago I worked for a company that made large timesharing computers. Could handle up to 1000 users. Had a board in there that was called the meter board to keep track of how much cpu time a user used so they could be billed for their share of the timesharing.

[zachsilvey]

os x automatically keeps track of the bandwidth used since booting the computer, this is why things like istat start over whenever you start your computer.

the best way that i have seen is to buy a cheap linksys wrt54d router and install the tomato router firmware. it allows you to keep track of bandwidth on a monthly basis.

[Julien]

Frankly, there is no point to either of your demands for links.

Comcast can change the terms of service whenever they want.
I completely understand that Comcast has the right to change the terms (as most service contracts include these types of clauses) but please don't lump me in with the other poster. He did unjustifiably and insultingly challenge me by typing "You do understand what "unlimited" means, don't you?" when I never mentioned unlimited. I was just simply pointing out that in fact he was the one who didn't even "understand" what he had.

[Amdahl]

Julien, Agreed. Comcast has not been selling what some people think they were buying for a long time, if ever.

[Consultant]

But I'm not worried about that 250 GB cap for downloading. I'm more concerned about video conferencing, though...

For video, they tend to be much less than 700 kbps, but let's say we have a high quality video chat at 700 kbps. Let's do the math:

It'll be 42 MB per minute. Let's say you had a long chat with your girlfriend for 3 hours. That'll consume 7.5 GB.

And to summarize all of this up, you'll have to video chat for only 33 hours each month. And that's assuming you don't use any bandwidth for anything else.

Shows how stupidly pathetic American broadband infrastructure is. In Japan, they look at 50 Mbps the way we look at 756kbps here, for chrissakes.


Do you know that KB is not the same as kbps?

700 kbps = 4 MB/minute

By the way, video chat??? Hum I thought p0rn are usually one way?

[iMouse]

This is a 30-day capture of my bandwidth from my iMac at work. Less than 10% of this bandwidth is internal as this system is set up as a location for us to download drivers and other misc things that we need to fix Windows boxes from the web.

If you have more than 4 or 5 computers, game consoles, slingboxes, etc in your house, the 250GB cap is gonna spell disaster for many of those who have moderate bandwidth usage generated from each device.

[Julien]

Here is a new freeware program called TraffiX (http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/networking_security/traffix.html) that was just added to the Apple site. I downloaded it and it sees my Linksys router but you must input a SNMP password. Have tried my router password and my wireless password but neither work. What is and how do I find (or create) my SNMP password (don't see anything in the router's Intranet (is that the right word?) page)?

[bobr1952]

I don't much care for that policy of theirs regardless of if you even come close. Why wouldn't they want to just bump those people up to a different tier and charge them additional fees? Seems like a more reasonable approach--and one I hope that Bright House would use if it comes to that--not that I could imagine ever reaching that level but who knows.

[e.m.]

Here is a new freeware program called TraffiX (http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/networking_security/traffix.html) that was just added to the Apple site. I downloaded it and it sees my Linksys router but you must input a SNMP password. Have tried my router password and my wireless password but neither work. What is and how do I find (or create) my SNMP password (don't see anything in the router's Intranet (is that the right word?) page)?

Hey, thanks for the link. This seems to be exactly what I was looking for. It only monitors traffic through the internet at the router level. So it accounts for all the machines at my house, and it excludes local traffic such as wireless timemachine, airtunes, etc. Awesome!

[drmario]

The real answer is just to get FiOS.

[e.m.]

The real answer is just to get FiOS.

only if it was available in the west coast. :(

[Julien]

Hey, thanks for the link. This seems to be exactly what I was looking for. It only monitors traffic through the internet at the router level. So it accounts for all the machines at my house, and it excludes local traffic such as wireless timemachine, airtunes, etc. Awesome!

Then how about a little quid pro quo.;) What password did you use (and where do you get it from) for SNMP to get it working? I can't get it to work for me.

[e.m.]

Then how about a little quid pro quo.;) What password did you use (and where do you get it from) for SNMP to get it working? I can't get it to work for me.

I have an Airport Extreme, so I didn't have to put in a password at all. Just launched the app, and it just worked.

Sorry I can't be of more help...

[benpatient]

I have an Airport Extreme, so I didn't have to put in a password at all. Just launched the app, and it just worked.

Sorry I can't be of more help...

now THAT's secure!

I have to say, I'm about to replace my "unlimited" or "ultra" or "extreme" or whatever comcast is calling it with the lowest level of DSL direct. I will have to wait longer for everything, but it will cost 1/4 the price and I get to call comcast and tell them that I'm canceling the service because they are putting a bandwidth cap on my usage.

Here's a list of the things that use my broadband connection:

• Dish "online" movie service uses broadband...about 1gb per hour of content.
• xbox 360 gaming/downloads/demos/tv shows/movies: anywhere from a few MB to a few GB depending on what's happening.
• outbound audio streaming from home server to work itunes through SimplifyMedia
• Screen sharing/VNC from home to work and vice versa
• Three computers at home using various media things. Hulu, you tube, etc.
• My Mac Pro has been up for almost 2 weeks at home right now and it is reporting a total bandwidth of 56GB in that time. That's more than 1/3 of the comcast limit from one machine. I have no idea how much the dish receiver uses in general, and I know the xbox is pulling GBs of stuff from time to time (HD movie rentals are 4-5 GB each, most game demos are over 1GB these days)

I'm probably close to the limit, and my kids are still unaware of the computer (and still in diapers), so I'm sure when that changes, my bandwidth usage will go up.

If comcast is really this concerned about their bandwidth, they need to sell GB in chunks like servers do. If you only use 5GB a month, it shouldn't cost you 60 dollars a month, no matter how fast the pipes are. This would encourage comcast to increase speeds (the more potential speed, the more potential for your bill to increase), and it would reward people financially for not using up their apparently precious bandwidth. Everyone's happy.

But of course that won't happen because comcast is just going to take it on both ends...they want caps AND a flat fee.

[mrgreen4242]

It's making me switch off their service, and since I'm dumping their internet service, I'm going to dump their TV service, too. Probably try Netflix+iTMS+OTA only for awhile, but can always get a dish if that doesn't work out (only thing I think we'll miss is hockey).

For me it's the principle of the matter. I signed up with them as an unlimited service, and their competitors (well, in my area, competitor) offer unlimited service. Why would I chose an inferior product?

[e.m.]

now THAT's secure!

Considering you have to be on the network first, I don't see how it's a security risk. You'd either have to be hard wired to the router or have the password to the WiFi network for this app to work.

[shfreelance]

Has anyone else herd about there mouthy bandwidth limit? There going to bring it down to 250 Gigs a mouth, Upload and Download. This is BS, I live of the internet... I can easily blow this out of the water... It will start in Oct, nice B-Day gift Comcast... You guys sucked before and now bringing a new meaning to suck. First you slowed our connections down, then you limit use... I can't wait for Verizon Fios or another provider to string out in my area...

~I am Sparta!!!

[bradl]

Has anyone else herd about there mouthy bandwidth limit? There going to bring it down to 250 Gigs a mouth, Upload and Download. This is BS, I live of the internet... I can easily blow this out of the water... It will start in Oct, nice B-Day gift Comcast... You guys sucked before and now bringing a new meaning to suck. First you slowed our connections down, then you limit use... I can't wait for Verizon Fios or another provider to string out in my area...

~I am Sparta!!!

Apparently you didn't hear about them shutting down all USENET access to all of their subscribers...

BL.

[shfreelance]

Apparently you didn't hear about them shutting down all USENET access to all of their subscribers...

BL.

I know a bit about USENET, not much. But why would they shut down access to them?

[rdowns]

Your spelling and grammar are an outrange [sic]. 250 GB is a huge amount of bandwidth for anyone not downloading copyrighted content.

[TEG]

Not to mention that this news dropped in early August, and we have all already discussed it and moved on.

TEG

[Gray-Wolf]

Another reason I have DSL. I hate comcast :p

Just use common sense when downloading. ;)

[JML42691]

Has anyone else herd about there mouthy bandwidth limit? There going to bring it down to 250 Gigs a mouth, Upload and Download. This is BS, I live of the internet... I can easily blow this out of the water... It will start in Oct, nice B-Day gift Comcast... You guys sucked before and now bringing a new meaning to suck. First you slowed our connections down, then you limit use... I can't wait for Verizon Fios or another provider to string out in my area...

~I am Sparta!!!
So what exactly are you doing that you will easily blowing this out of the water? I find that hard to believe that any person who is even doing extreme web browsing could blow this out of the water. The only way that I can see somebody getting close to blowing this out of the water would be by downloading movies almost constantly, and that is hardly everyday living off of the internet.

[hexonxonx]

So what exactly are you doing that you will easily blowing this out of the water? I find that hard to believe that any person who is even doing extreme web browsing could blow this out of the water. The only way that I can see somebody getting close to blowing this out of the water would be by downloading movies almost constantly, and that is hardly everyday living off of the internet.

I may come very close to this 250GB limit.

This week alone I have purchased 10 different TV show seasons on iTunes plus 3 movies and 5 albums. This isn't counting what I download via my newsreader using Giganews.