Unlimited Internet service: read the fine print, unlimited means limited

[mandy]

Comcast Customer Uses "Unlimited Service" Excessively, Gets Disconnected For A Year...

January 19, Frank tries to check his e-mail. No internet. No internet? NO INTERNET?! Frank's wife calls Comcast. There's a note in their account. They must contact Comcast's Ministry of Love Network Abuse and Policy Observance Department.

Comcast accused Frank of downloading 305GB in November and 297GB in December. It's Comcast's policy to suspend any account that exceeds usage limits twice in any year. Doesn't Comcast advertise unlimited use? What are the usage caps? Comcast representatives would only say "I'm sorry but I cannot divulge that information."...

full article: http://consumerist.com/consumer/comcast/...235585.php

[mandy]

A related article:

Amanda Lee of Cambridge received a call from Comcast Corp. in December ordering her to curtail her Web use or lose her high-speed Internet connection for a year...

For Lee and an increasing number of people, a high-speed Internet connection is a lifeline to everyday entertainment and communication. Television networks are posting shows online; retailers are lining up to offer music and movie downloads; thousands of Internet radio stations stream music; more people are using WiFi phones; and "over the top TV," in which channels stream over the Internet, is predicted to grow.

That means that more customers may become familiar with Comcast's little-known acceptable-use policy, which allows the company to cut off service to customers who use the Internet too much. Comcast says that only .01 percent of its 11.5 million residential high-speed Internet customers fall into this category...

full article: http://www.boston.com/business/personalt...big_users/

[BellisimaJ.]

Doesn't Comcast advertise unlimited use? What are the usage caps?

Isn't it illegal to advertise one thing and yet deliver another?

[mandy]

Back in August of 2006 I wrote about a guy who had his unlimited Verizon EVDO Wireless Data Service canceled because buried deep into the Terms of Service (TOS) they mentioned some things that were unacceptable. Some of these things included downloading/streaming music and videos…which is what the Internet is all about these days.

At the time Verizon didn’t explicitly state that their unlimited service really was limited, but I was looking at the service once again yesterday for someone and decided to see what the terms look like 7–months later. Now they explicitly come out and say that their unlimited plan can only be used for up to 5GB a month otherwise your usage will be considered unacceptable and your service will be terminated...

full article: http://tech.cybernetnews.com/2007/04/03/...per-month/