by Jason Hahn
Everyone knew something like this was coming sooner or later. Today we can all exhale, because Time Warner Cable has taken the first step towards ruining broadband access, specifically for its new customers in Beaumont, Texas, where usage caps will be tested.
Time Warner Cable’s pricing plans for this experiment will charge $29.95 per month for 5GB (download and upload) at a 768 kbps connection, and $54.90 for 40GB at a 15 mbps connection. This trial period will charge an extra $1 per gigabyte over the set limits.
New customers will not be charged for overages for the first two months of the experiment, and will be able to monitor their Web usage by way of a meter made available on Time Warner Cable’s Web site.
This makes broadband access for Time Warner Cable users in Beaumont, Texas virtually the same as accessing the Internet through a mobile phone service, which also charges customers for data consumption limits and charges for overuse.
Clearly, competitors in the Beaumont, Texas area will be licking their chops at the opportunity to steal away disgruntled customers who can find comparable, if not faster speeds with no caps if they switched to another ISP. That is, if they can find other options there. Cable companies have a knack for boxing out competitors from their claimed regions, potentially making it inconvenient, at least, for Time Warner Cable’s customers to switch as they please.
A Time Warner Cable spokesperson explained the experiment by saying, “We think it's the fairest way to finance the needed investment in the infrastructure.”
Michael Arrington of TechCrunch had this to say about the experiment: “I’m almost never in favor of government intervention of markets, but monopolies are an exception. We need to encourage data usage by consumers, not the opposite. The cable companies are standing in the way of economic growth and innovation. We can’t afford a decade or more of screwing around before trying to fix this. Let’s start now.”
The notion would be easier to stomach if the cap was set (much) higher, but with the cap set so low that regular Web users are bound to be restricted by it there is little reason to cheer this step backwards. It should be hoped that the experiment crumbles in failure, though broadband consumers in other areas under other ISPs should not think themselves immune from these kinds of experiments. Comcast, for one, has expressed interest in similar ventures, though with caps set much higher, at a suggested 250GB per month.
Sources:
http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/
Time-Warner-Cable-To-Start-PerGigabyte-Fee-Trial-On-Thursday-94941
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/blogs/larkin_on_the_web/
146592/time_warner_cable_may_abandon_unlimited_internet_access.html
http://gigaom.com/2008/06/02/
time-warner-cable-broadband-tiers-lead-to-fears/
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/02/
going-medieval-time-warner-begins-metered-bandwidth-testing/
Jason Hahn
e: jhahn221@gmail.com
|
Share your Comments
jordan shoescheap jordan, cheap shoes Whloesale, Real Cheap Nike Wholesale rea
NIKE Air jordansCheap nike, l cheap nike shoes Retro Special Edition: nike air force 1, Nike Dunks SB, Nike air jordan, Nike dunks SB, Nike shox
jordan shoesretro air jordansCheap nike, cheap jordan, cheap shoes Whloesale, Nike Dunks SB, Nike air jordan, Nike dunks SB, Nike shox
nike air forcev
air force 1air force 1Cheap nike, cheap jordan, cheap shoes Whloesale, Real Cheap Nike Wholesale real cheap nike shoes Retro Special Edition: SB, Nike shox
nike sneakers cheap jordan, cheap shoes Whloesale, Real Cheap Nike Wholesale real
nike air max 97Puma Shoes Real Cheap Nike Wholesale real cheap nike shoes Retro Special Edition: nike air force 1,
wholesale adidas shoes Real Cheap Nike Wholesale real cheap nike shoes Retro Special Edition: nike air force 1
jordan sneakers cheap jordan, cheap shoes Whloesale, Real Cheap Nike Wholesale real
all jordan shoesair jordan nikeCheap nike, Special Edition: nike air force 1, Nike Dunks SB, Nike air jordan, Nike dunks SB, Nike shox
Buy jordan shoes
Posted by: cheap jordan shoes Date: November 13, 2008
URL: http://www.branddaze.com
228041
buy dofus kamas
dofus gold
cheap kamas
kamas
dofus kamas
rohan crone
rohan gold
rohan online crone
rohan online gold
rohan money
cheap silkroad gold
silk road gold
sro gold
silkroad online gold
silkroad gold
Tiffany jewelry
replica tiffany Jewelry
tiffany Replica Jewelry
knockoff jewelry
Tiffany 925 Silver
925 tiffany Jewelry
Tiffany Silver Jewelry
Tiffany jewelry
replica tiffany Jewelry
tiffany Replica Jewelry
knockoff jewelry
Tiffany 925 Silver
925 tiffany Jewelry
Tiffany Silver Jewelry
Posted by: jewelry Date: November 19, 2008
URL: http://www.gameim.com
230904
Tiffany jewelry
replica tiffany Jewelry
tiffany Replica Jewelry
knockoff jewelry
Tiffany 925 Silver
925 tiffany Jewelry
Tiffany Silver Jewelry
Tiffany jewelry
replica tiffany Jewelry
tiffany Replica Jewelry
knockoff jewelry
Tiffany 925 Silver
925 tiffany Jewelry
Tiffany Silver Jewelry
eve isk
eve online isk
buy isk
cheap eve isk
buy eve online isk
flyff penya
flyff money
flyff gold
buy flyff penya
cheap penya
mabinogi gold
cheap mabinog
mabinogi money
buy mabinogi gold
mabinogi online gold
LOTRO Gold
Lord Of The Rings Gold
buy LOTRO Gold
cheap Lord Of The Rings Gold
rappelz rupees
rappelz gold
buy rupees
rappelz money
cheap rappelz rupees
shadow of legend Gold
sol gold
buy shadow of legend Gold
cheap shadow of legend Gold
shadow of legend Gold money
Tibia Gold
Tibia coins
Tibia money
tibia gp
Tibia Platinum
wakfu kamas
wakfu gold
buy wakfu kamas
wakfu money
wakfu kama
Posted by: kitty Date: November 28, 2008
URL: http://www.gameim.com
234006
Share your Comments
Digg 
