Jaw's story is exactly why you don't want the government controlling the pipes. This little bit of private enterprise would not have been allowed and think about waiting on a phone line for a G person. Endless,.....
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Time-Warner Begins Billing for High Data Use
- Thread starter Aeolius
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i moved in with my grandparents until a job transfer in 2 months, i'll be going from Virginia to Phoenix, AZ
i've been building my HTPC and preparing for when i have full access to high speed internet again
currently i'm using a Verizon Wireless plan with a usb modem for high speed and I have a 5 gb limit for $60/month (this was my only option aside from dial up) and i have to say its f&*%n ridonkulous as a primary internet access source
i have to be a miser with my downloads, and i haven't downloaded any media besides an odd itunes song related download here or there
even with that i end up having to avoid internet access for a few days at the end of every month
i swear, if they pull this #*%) in phoenix just as i get there.....well, i'm going to complain all the time to people who don't care...consider it a warning
i've been building my HTPC and preparing for when i have full access to high speed internet again
currently i'm using a Verizon Wireless plan with a usb modem for high speed and I have a 5 gb limit for $60/month (this was my only option aside from dial up) and i have to say its f&*%n ridonkulous as a primary internet access source
i have to be a miser with my downloads, and i haven't downloaded any media besides an odd itunes song related download here or there
even with that i end up having to avoid internet access for a few days at the end of every month
i swear, if they pull this #*%) in phoenix just as i get there.....well, i'm going to complain all the time to people who don't care...consider it a warning
as a TWC user this whole deal scares me a little,but just because someone uses torrents DOES NOT MAKE THEM PIRATING SCUM. torrents by themselves arent illegal,it's the copyrighted content of SOME torrents that is illegal.some torrents are created by the file creator themselves.i just downloaded a podcast that the original web site for crashed recently, and the creator was GREATFUL to the torrent community for allowing the files to circulate as he'd stated they could because they were already free and not right protected.
calling someone who uses torrents pirating scum is like calling the owner of a sports car a speed demon. just because they have the tools at their disposal does NOT make them a criminal and it's very rude to make an assumption based on that.
calling someone who uses torrents pirating scum is like calling the owner of a sports car a speed demon. just because they have the tools at their disposal does NOT make them a criminal and it's very rude to make an assumption based on that.
When they download 250Gb a month using torrents I would suggest that the odds are pretty much in favour of them being pirates (which was the context in this case). I agree that not all torrents are pirated, just the vast majority of them.
54 Chev - nice car.
Cheers, Ed.
from: http://www.news-record.com/content/...arner_adds_tiers_to_new_internet_pricing_plan
"To accommodate lighter Internet users and those who need a lower priced option, Time Warner will offer a 1 GB per month plan with speeds of 768 KB/128 KB for $15 per month. Overage charges will be $2 per GB per month.
The company will increase the bandwidth tier sizes to include 10, 20, 40 and 60 GB for Road Runner Lite, Basic, Standard and Turbo packages, respectively. Package prices will remain the same. Overage charges will be $1 per GB per month.
The company is adding a 100 GB Road Runner Turbo package for $75 per month (offering speeds of 10 MB/1 MB). Overage charges will be $1 per GB per month.
Time Warner also will cap overage charges at $75 per month. That means that for $150 per month customers could have virtually unlimited usage at Turbo speeds.
The trial will begin in the Triad in August."
"To accommodate lighter Internet users and those who need a lower priced option, Time Warner will offer a 1 GB per month plan with speeds of 768 KB/128 KB for $15 per month. Overage charges will be $2 per GB per month.
The company will increase the bandwidth tier sizes to include 10, 20, 40 and 60 GB for Road Runner Lite, Basic, Standard and Turbo packages, respectively. Package prices will remain the same. Overage charges will be $1 per GB per month.
The company is adding a 100 GB Road Runner Turbo package for $75 per month (offering speeds of 10 MB/1 MB). Overage charges will be $1 per GB per month.
Time Warner also will cap overage charges at $75 per month. That means that for $150 per month customers could have virtually unlimited usage at Turbo speeds.
The trial will begin in the Triad in August."
Why don't we do what australia is doing? get gov sponsored country-wide ultra fast internet? wired gets u about 50mbps and wireless for the rurals gets 12 mbps.
Hmm, what if the Government installed more fibre wires but the ISPs got to purchase areas with these lines? that way we can avoid the so called "bandwidth crunch" and also get fast internet while we are at it and not get the crappy broadband that the FCC classes at 768KBps or higher.
Yeah, we always look to capitalism to rescue us from the "tyranny" of government. We all too rarely look to the government to rescue us from the tyrannical practices of capitalism.
The issue is not that bandwidth is expensive, the cable companies are worried about people canceling cable and getting everything off the internet. iTunes means that people won't pay for cable. That is where they make their money. By jacking up the price of internet they force people back to the TV. What is the raw price of data that the ISP's have to pay. The bytes themselves can't be that high can they? IPTV is the future and that scares the crap out of the cable companies.
I wonder what legal fight NBC and the others that want to get their content over the web have. They can make more revenue off of internet ads.
I wonder what legal fight NBC and the others that want to get their content over the web have. They can make more revenue off of internet ads.
Nice strawman attack. There's a LOT of users now who will almost hit that 250Gb limit without even going near torrents. I know a lot of people who are dumping their cable and satellite TV and going with online streaming.
Case in point, my 60 year old parents. They eat up huge chunks at their house by watching two sets of HD shows streamed from Korea and Japan. The old man can't seem to grasp the conceptual difference between TV and streaming so he has a tendency to just leave the "channel" on rotate and will walk away with video playing for hours at a time. Then there's the almost permanently open iChat video window between the kitchen computers of my mother and sister. I've actually seen my mother access my sister's videos of her newborn kids from her iDrive and video chat about it at the same time.
well, i suppose when people stop giving a crap about the high prices and switch to something else TWC and comcast will learn that their money sucking methods are more hurtful than useful to them.and i think that ppl are right about stuff moving to the internet scene from cable. perhaps, the cable users can pay to have their shows streamed live to their computers for a small fee and then the internet won't have to be a huge cash cow.
Time Warner backs down for now
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090416-714029.html
from - The Wall Street Journel
by - Nat Worden
Time Warner Cable Backs Down On Metered Internet Price Plans
By Nat Worden
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) shelved plans Thursday to expand testing of a consumption-based billing model for broadband Internet service after running into public opposition to the idea.
The New York-based cable company had planned to roll out a tiered pricing plan based on bandwidth consumption for broadband subscribers in Rochester, N.Y.; Greensboro, N.C.; and San Antonio and Austin, Texas. However, the plan drew criticism from politicians and consumers who accused the company of laying the groundwork for price increases, especially as Internet consumption explodes.
In response, Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Glenn Britt said Thursday that the company would cancel the trials and focus on educating its customers on the merits of the plan.
"While we continue to believe that consumption-based billing may be the best pricing plan for consumers, we want to do everything we can to inform our customers of our plans and have the benefit of their views as part of our testing process," Britt said.
The company has promoted the plan by saying it would charge a small minority of customers for using a large majority of bandwidth on its network, and it said Thursday that it is working to make online meters available to subscribers that can help them understand how much bandwidth they consume.
In Beaumont, Texas, where Time Warner Cable began testing the plan last spring, the company said only 16% of customers were affected by bandwidth caps. Time Warner Cable will continue the program in Beaumont.
Meanwhile, Internet bandwidth consumption is increasing amid the rise of online video and other digital media, and cable operators were watching Time Warner Cable's trials closely as the industry grapples with the prospect that broadband service could replace its core pay-TV business.
Internet service subscriptions currently offer the cable industry its best option for driving revenue from digital media as advertising markets falter and consumers show a general unwillingness to pay for news and entertainment on the Web.
Critics of Time Warner Cable's plan celebrated the company's retreat. Phillip Dampier, a freelance writer in Rochester who launched the Web site StopTheCap.com to protest the plan, said on his site that the result proved "once and for all, consumers do have the power to come together, fight back, and win victories just like this."
-By Nat Worden, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5216; nat.worden@dowjones.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090416-714029.html
from - The Wall Street Journel
by - Nat Worden
Time Warner Cable Backs Down On Metered Internet Price Plans
By Nat Worden
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) shelved plans Thursday to expand testing of a consumption-based billing model for broadband Internet service after running into public opposition to the idea.
The New York-based cable company had planned to roll out a tiered pricing plan based on bandwidth consumption for broadband subscribers in Rochester, N.Y.; Greensboro, N.C.; and San Antonio and Austin, Texas. However, the plan drew criticism from politicians and consumers who accused the company of laying the groundwork for price increases, especially as Internet consumption explodes.
In response, Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Glenn Britt said Thursday that the company would cancel the trials and focus on educating its customers on the merits of the plan.
"While we continue to believe that consumption-based billing may be the best pricing plan for consumers, we want to do everything we can to inform our customers of our plans and have the benefit of their views as part of our testing process," Britt said.
The company has promoted the plan by saying it would charge a small minority of customers for using a large majority of bandwidth on its network, and it said Thursday that it is working to make online meters available to subscribers that can help them understand how much bandwidth they consume.
In Beaumont, Texas, where Time Warner Cable began testing the plan last spring, the company said only 16% of customers were affected by bandwidth caps. Time Warner Cable will continue the program in Beaumont.
Meanwhile, Internet bandwidth consumption is increasing amid the rise of online video and other digital media, and cable operators were watching Time Warner Cable's trials closely as the industry grapples with the prospect that broadband service could replace its core pay-TV business.
Internet service subscriptions currently offer the cable industry its best option for driving revenue from digital media as advertising markets falter and consumers show a general unwillingness to pay for news and entertainment on the Web.
Critics of Time Warner Cable's plan celebrated the company's retreat. Phillip Dampier, a freelance writer in Rochester who launched the Web site StopTheCap.com to protest the plan, said on his site that the result proved "once and for all, consumers do have the power to come together, fight back, and win victories just like this."
-By Nat Worden, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5216; nat.worden@dowjones.com
sad part is it is only a matter of time before this happens to everyone across all ISP.
Internet is quickly becoming a basic utility in todays world and for many of us we considered it a basic utility. They are viewing it that way and right now internet is one of the only if not the only basic utility we pay a fixed rate regardless of how much we use. Biggest problem for the ISP as data usages explodes is it going to start really taxing their system. Watching TV over the internet is a lot of stuff to pull on the system.
But even for the ISP most of the cost for delivering internet to its end customers is largely a fixed rate per user regardless of amount used.
Internet is quickly becoming a basic utility in todays world and for many of us we considered it a basic utility. They are viewing it that way and right now internet is one of the only if not the only basic utility we pay a fixed rate regardless of how much we use. Biggest problem for the ISP as data usages explodes is it going to start really taxing their system. Watching TV over the internet is a lot of stuff to pull on the system.
But even for the ISP most of the cost for delivering internet to its end customers is largely a fixed rate per user regardless of amount used.
I agree with Rodimus. Consider all those people who proudly declare that they cancelled their cable and now watch TV online! They are only considering content and not the transport. Unfortunately, there is no free meal.
I am with TWC and don't like the idea of tiered pricing one bit (I have cable as well as broadband with them). But, I also realize that when people switch their cable TV to the Internet, we will be seeing other options faster than we can realize.
When Netflix streams to TiVo, neither Netflix not TiVo has counted the cost to TWC.
I am with TWC and don't like the idea of tiered pricing one bit (I have cable as well as broadband with them). But, I also realize that when people switch their cable TV to the Internet, we will be seeing other options faster than we can realize.
When Netflix streams to TiVo, neither Netflix not TiVo has counted the cost to TWC.
Yeah, I just read about that here:
http://www.digtriad.com/news/features/article.aspx?storyid=122632&catid=216
It's a good thing too, as a protest was scheduled for Saturday at their main office in Greensboro.
http://www.digtriad.com/news/features/article.aspx?storyid=122632&catid=216
It's a good thing too, as a protest was scheduled for Saturday at their main office in Greensboro.
There is no reason for the system to be taxed. We should be over 100 mb at this point. They have had years to build up the system knowing that bandwidth would be going up.
This all comes down to cable companies not wanting to give up their TV business. The whole analog system should be shut off to free up spectrum. We should be a fully wired country at this point. The only way to do that is to get rid of the dead weight holding everything down.
This all comes down to cable companies not wanting to give up their TV business. The whole analog system should be shut off to free up spectrum. We should be a fully wired country at this point. The only way to do that is to get rid of the dead weight holding everything down.
I'm an "All in One" customer, which means I have digital cable, phone, and Roadrunner through them. I am a higher tiered customer, and they still planned to jam me with higher usage rates.............
The argument isn't that the idea of paying for your bandwidth isn't fair, it's the billing structure was wildly out of sync with the actual cost of delivery. ArsTechnica has a decent article about the nature of the pipeline.
This isn't about TWC or anyone else recouping infrastructure costs, this is about TWC wanting a piece of the Hulu pie.
This isn't about TWC or anyone else recouping infrastructure costs, this is about TWC wanting a piece of the Hulu pie.
Structured pricing doesn't bother me, as long as it is reasonable.
Reasonable meaning at least 100 GB per month, up to about 250 GB a month. More, and you get charged per 10 GB or something. That I'd be fine with.
But 5 GB per month? I'm so glad TWC backed down even though I'm not affected by this.
Reasonable meaning at least 100 GB per month, up to about 250 GB a month. More, and you get charged per 10 GB or something. That I'd be fine with.
But 5 GB per month? I'm so glad TWC backed down even though I'm not affected by this.
And now it seems Time-Warner wishes to punish those test markets that rejected Consumption-Based Billing:
"...the planned next-generation upgrade of their Internet service to the much-faster DOCSIS 3.0 could be put on hold in cities where metered broadband was to be rolled out."
http://dvice.com/archives/2009/04/time-warner-cab-2.php
"...the planned next-generation upgrade of their Internet service to the much-faster DOCSIS 3.0 could be put on hold in cities where metered broadband was to be rolled out."
http://dvice.com/archives/2009/04/time-warner-cab-2.php