Time Warner Cable Inc said on Wednesday it is planning a trial to bill high-speed Internet subscribers based on their amount of usage rather than a flat fee, the standard industry practice.
Link
-
And it begins...
Link181 year or less11.11%2More than 1 year, but less than 2 years22.22%4More than 2 year, but less than 3 years11.11%2More than 3 year, but less than 4 years5.56%1More than 4 year, but less than 5 years0%0More than 5 years but less than 10 years5.56%1More than 10 years0%0Never27.78%5I want to be able to stab people through the internet38.89%7I think we should ticket people for wreckless Internet use, such as having myspace pages27.78%5The poll is expired.
"\x74\x68\x65\x70\x72\x65\x7a\x39\x38"; -
Re: Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
I can see the logic (as warped as it is), however I'm curious what the scale is and how it relates to current averages and current prices. With such models it's easy to skew things in the direction of more profit. i.e. if 2 gig over a month is average for $20 had better work out even on the sliding scale.
The only way I'd tolerate this is if they were really obvious about usage thresholds and limits, as opposed to some companies "your over the limit but we won't tell you what the limit is" crapNever drink anything larger than your head!
-
Re: Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
There was just a report about the possibility of bandwidth shortages by 2010. Didn't read it, could just be propaganda pushing for just this sort of thing.
xorJust because you can doesn't mean you should. This applies to making babies, hacking, and youtube videos.Comment
-
Re: Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
In this thread we had a poll, and the winner in the poll for when a majority of ISP would shift to metered service was "less than 5 years."
Comcast is a large ISP. How soon before a majority of large ISP join them?
(Will be adding a poll to this thread.)Comment
-
Re: Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
I use Comcast.
Oh, shit. I see the logic, but as one of the 5% of consumers who will be affected I hope someone sticks with a flat fee so I can switch to them if necessary. Certainly the results of Time Warner's test will be the determining factor in whether or not this becomes the new industry standard. Whatever they are, the results and change will come quickly.One Nation Under Surveillance
"War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength."Comment
-
Re: Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
I just don't think it will fly with consumers. People are already screaming monopoly and that more competition is needed. People already complain that Comcast charges too much. I just think the ISP's will shoot themselves in the foot with this.
On the other side people don't realize how quickly bandwidth adds up. Leave your cable modem on 24/7 there is always traffic passing back and forth whether or not your computer is connected or not. Define traffic, web, icmp, broadcast ...etc; when you turn your gas line off the flow stops. When you remove the electric meter the flow stops, shut off the water the flow stops; not however with broadband. 24 hours a day it all starts to add up very quickly.
They are also picking the worst time to do this. At the start of recession another good reason for failure. DSL may not be as fast but it is a lot cheaper and most people don't need that kind of speed anyway. Go after the abusers, yes. I just don't see the justification for penalizing 95% of your customer base for the actions of 5%. It doesn't make good business sense. So what they are saying is that 95% of their customer base is using less bandwidth than they are really paying for.
In America one thing is true, price is king. Raise your prices and you will lose customers unless you have a lock on an industry. Since there are alternatives, and the customer base is already hostile why take the chance.
xorJust because you can doesn't mean you should. This applies to making babies, hacking, and youtube videos.Comment
-
Re: Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
Torrent traffic is certainly one of the targets of this usage restriction.
Other traffic which could easily add up very fast: VOIP, online gaming (XBOX Live)."\x74\x68\x65\x70\x72\x65\x7a\x39\x38";Comment
-
Re: Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
I had one of the limited verizon wireless broadband accounts, and we are talking 1xRTT. I must have sent about 10 e-mails and got a bill for like 4 times the amount of the plan for going over the limit.
xor
What about commercial accounts, what about all the spammers out there. 75% of spam comes from the US; oh but that's a business right......Just because you can doesn't mean you should. This applies to making babies, hacking, and youtube videos.Comment
-
Re: Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
power users paying for "commercial" access without limits will become the norm, in my opinion. as long as /some/ provider offers service metered by bandwidth and not bytes there will be customers."I'll admit I had an OiNK account and frequented it quite often… What made OiNK a great place was that it was like the world's greatest record store… iTunes kind of feels like Sam Goody to me. I don't feel cool when I go there. I'm tired of seeing John Mayer's face pop up. I feel like I'm being hustled when I visit there, and I don't think their product is that great. DRM, low bit rate, etc... OiNK it existed because it filled a void of what people want."
- Trent ReznorComment
-
Re: Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
This comes up all the time, and while some people say, "I see the logic...", I'm not sure that I do. As has been pointed out, the Internet is not like gas; bandwidth gets used or it doesn't. If the goal is to maintain quality service for the "95%", then why wouldn't you simply institute more aggressive token buckets? If the goal is to punish server/torrent traffic, then agressive token buckets also seems to be the appropriate solution. If the goal is to drop the "5%" as customers, then simply drop them or charge extra for extravagant usage (as some ISPs already do).
I don't know about the personalities of other people, but turning the Internet into a metered service, even if the prices are reasonable, completely reduces the value of the service to me. I am the type of person that will carefully question my actions if there is an immediate, associated cost. Do I really wish to kill some time watching videos? How much is that online purchase really going to cost me now? Suddenly the Internet has become a chore, and I'm fairly certain that my usage would instantly become email, driving directions, and web boards. So the ISP has eliminated my desire for high-speed, always-on Internet access. Without that need, the Internet/television cable package is no longer an option and I can easily switch to a better, cheaper television provider (namely, satellite) and some dirt-cheap ISP.
I apologize for the length of the above stream-of-consciousness, but it leads to this: how many people out the "95%" will follow the same thought process? Comcast could come out and state that the new pricing plan will actually make the service cheaper for most customers assuming the same usage, but won't the thought that every bit counts affect the customers' perception of the service?Last edited by Voltage Spike; January 18, 2008, 14:22. Reason: sharxbyte pointed out I can't spell consciousness.Comment
-
Re: Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
Oh great... im on the internet(primarily for school) almost 8 hours a day... and thats just me.. Our whole network is probably used in excess of 200 hours a week... thats gonna be a heap of cash...
as for the above"stream-of-conciousness" i totally agree...unda est terminus. is iuguolo ambitus.
Comment
-
Re: Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
Not propaganda, and not just MySpace issues. If botnets continue to suck up bandwidth along with all the other devices coming online daily there could be a real risk to Internet stability even in the next few years:
http://www.nemertes.com/ii#_Toc181763611Comment
-
Re: Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
After the ass-whipping Bell South took, I don't believe this will happen. Upstarts like Clearwire will remain static and reap the rewards."640k ought to be enough for anybody" - Bill Gates 1981Comment
-
Re: Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
About the only good thing (IMHO) that might come out of this is more people will start securing their wireless networks.
If the leeches cost you real dollars then you have good incentive to at least attempt to lock down your WiFi.When in danger or in doubt, run in circles scream and shout.Comment
Comment