Comcast, Time Warner Cable Considering Tiered Bandwidth Caps

[mandy]

Metered Internet access is a fact of life for many broadband users around the world, but has been largely a nonfactor when it comes to wired broadband in the US. That may change, according to a memo leaked to the Broadband Reports forums. If the memo is to be believed, Time Warner Cable will be rolling out what it calls "Consumption Based Billing" on a trial basis in the Beaumont, Texas area.

Under the proposed scheme, new customers will be able to choose from a couple of different plans with varying bandwidth caps. They'll be given online tools to monitor usage and will be able to upgrade to the next higher tier of service to avoid charges for exceeding their monthly bandwidth limit. If the trial works well, Time Warner would then roll out bandwidth caps to current customers: "We will use the results of the trial to evaluate results for possible future nationwide rollouts," reads the memo...

full article: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/200...-caps.html

[regic]

[BellisimaJ.]

[mandy]

Related: Comcast is considering imposing a 250 GB monthly cap

Comcast appears to be testing the waters to gauge customer reaction to a broadband access cap. The company is reportedly considering charging customers who exceed a monthly cap of 250 gigabytes based on usage above that level, tacking on another $15 for every additional 10 gigabytes used...

Cable companies are saying a new approach is needed as the bandwidth-hogging applications such as movie and music downloads gain in popularity. Fellow cable provider Time Warner is on track to test a tiered broadband menu later this year, offering users who expect to download more than the standard amount of data the ability to choose higher ceilings.

Comcast has long had a central role in the debate over how bandwidth is allocated to a user base, having been accused of slowing down user connections to peer-to-peer networks...

full article: http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Comcast-...62931.html

[Kristijntje]

Update: Comcast announces a 250 GB bandwidth cap effective October 1st

Comcast has announced that it will impose a monthly cap of 250 GB on customers' Internet usage. The company acknowledged it has been evaluating a specific monthly data usage or bandwidth threshold for its Comcast High-Speed Internet residential customers for some time. "Today, we're announcing that beginning on Oct.1, 2008, we will amend our Acceptable Use Policy ... and establish a specific monthly data usage threshold of 250 GB/month per account for all residential customers," reads a notice on the company's Web site...

The announcement was apparently made in response to the company's dealings with the FCC, which chastised Comcast for clandestinely attempting to curb the bandwidth of heavy users. This move alone may not be enough to satisfy the commission, however...

full article: http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Comcast-...64358.html

2 related articles:

10 Things to Know and Hate About Metered Broadband

Since we’re getting in a huff over Comcast’s 250 GB cap, we thought it would be helpful to lay out why capping broadband is a bad idea today and a worse one for tomorrow, how it can benefit ISPs, and why it’s not really necessary on most networks...

full article: http://gigaom.com/2008/08/29/10-things-t...broadband/

5 Devices That Spell Trouble For Your Comcast Bandwidth Cap
http://newteevee.com/2008/08/29/five-dev...width-cap/