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Remember the 90sYour internet access was billed by the hour.
When broadband came about, it was "unlimited" by default.
I do believe that they either didn't think people would use "all you can eat" bandwidth or they just couldn't meter cost effectively.
Well, now both of those things have come to pass so now they have every reason to cap and charge overages. |
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swintec Premium Member join:2003-12-19 Alfred, ME |
swintec
Premium Member
2009-Feb-4 11:15 am
Boy Oh Boy...This seems to be the week for these types of stories! I knew an announcement from TW was just around the corner, as they wouldnt wanna let Charter, Comcast, and Cox take all the press. I wonder if we can expect the next test area to become New England. |
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en102Canadian, eh? join:2001-01-26 Valencia, CA |
en102
Member
2009-Feb-4 11:18 am
I wonder if they'll try it in the Los Angeles marketMost parts of Los Angeles are AT&T. If they attempted it in Los Angeles - people would flock to AT&T ... who would probably start implementing similar billing (wasn't it Reno, NV that AT&T was testing this with as well) |
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StevenB Premium Member join:2000-10-27 New York, NY |
to swintec
Re: Boy Oh Boy...FIOS looks better and better with each passing day. |
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I could never understand people who could get FiOS and wouldn't.
I simply don't. Seems like a no brainer to me. |
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swintec Premium Member join:2003-12-19 Alfred, ME |
to en102
Re: I wonder if they'll try it in the Los Angeles marketYes they are testing it as well. You really will not win in this regard. |
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Dogfather Premium Member join:2007-12-26 Laguna Hills, CA |
to fifty nine
Re: Boy Oh Boy...I had FiOS and had to cancel over their horrid billing. All is not roses in FiOS-land. |
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Dogfather |
to swintec
Re: I wonder if they'll try it in the Los Angeles marketThen they'll just go to 3rd party DSL providers like DSL Extreme. |
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1 recommendation |
to fifty nine
Re: Remember the 90ssaid by fifty nine:... Well, now both of those things have come to pass so now they have every reason to cap and charge overages. actually, the only reason they have to cap and charge overages is to suck more money out of their captive customers and not have to adequately upgrade their infrastructure they WANT to do this and don't need a reason. |
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Irun Man Premium Member join:2002-10-18 Millsboro, DE |
Irun Man
Premium Member
2009-Feb-4 11:29 am
we're getting painted into a cornerFrontier DSL already caps us; now this. |
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jmn1207 Premium Member join:2000-07-19 Sterling, VA |
to fifty nine
Re: Remember the 90ssaid by fifty nine:Your internet access was billed by the hour. And then AOL offered unlimited service at a standard rate of $19.99. And despite a long and frustrating period for many customers fighting to get through on one of AOL's phone numbers, their user base grew astronomically. They soon dominated the industry. If every ISP decides to go with metered billing, the one business that can offer "unlimited" service will most likely reap the benefits, even if their current infrastructure cannot keep up with the demand at first. |
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to Dogfather
Re: Boy Oh Boy...Yeah their billing is terrible but often times if you are polite you can use it to your advantage and get free trials movie packages, etc. But definitely, the billing does bring Fios down a notch. Personally, I'll take billing issues over caps any day, as billing issues can *usually* be fixed/credited... |
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1 recommendation |
to jmn1207
Re: Remember the 90sIf every ISP decides to go with metered billing, the one business that can offer "unlimited" service will most likely reap the benefits, even if their current infrastructure cannot keep up with the demand at first. That remains the problem for marketers of this idea. Like the "three strikes" idea, unless you get every carrier to engage in this en masse, then you're simply offering other carriers a way to differentiate themselves competitively. Were Time Warner Cable a little smarter, they'd just impose high caps like Comcast, Charter, and Cox plan to do, then slowly ease them downward and impose overages in a few years very quietly while American consumers are busy guzzling corn syrup and watching Dancing With The Stars. That's my suggestion, for what it's worth. |
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Dogfather Premium Member join:2007-12-26 Laguna Hills, CA |
to lakerfan82
Re: Boy Oh Boy...I tried for about 6 months to get the billing fixed. They are so compartmentalized they couldn't get it fixed. I even went as far as canceling ALL VZ services and having them reinstalled only to have the same billing error reappear. Service itself was excellent so I still would HIGHLY recommend it on the condition that the person do everything "by the book" and be patient with canceling previous services and the like. |
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dcurrey Premium Member join:2004-06-29 Mason, OH |
dcurrey
Premium Member
2009-Feb-4 11:40 am
OptionsAt least for now I have an option. City started a cable company that was then sold off to Cincinnati Bell. If they start it here I can switch. That is until Cinci Bell starts capping. |
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to jmn1207
Re: Remember the 90ssaid by jmn1207:If every ISP decides to go with metered billing, the one business that can offer "unlimited" service will most likely reap the benefits, even if their current infrastructure cannot keep up with the demand at first. There is the issue. While those few living in large cities where there is a bit more local competition won't be much affected by it cause at least one (if not more) smaller providers will offer unlimited as usual and customers will reap the benefits. For those of use in suburban or rural areas (a majority of the US) where there is only one or two providers... well, we will not have any choice. For many it's either capped provider A or dial-up provider B. For a few more it will be capped provider A, capped provider B, or dial-up C. Consumers will definitely suffer if the major providers decide to go with this. |
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For me it's either:
30M/2M and 100GB cap each way. Service Electric/PTD cable.
or
5M/896k and no caps, plus having to subscribe to landline phone service (which I currently don't do). This is Embarq DSL. I'm too far from the CO to get 10M service, plus that 896k upload is just pathetic.
or
3.5M/1M and unknown caps, varying with weather. This is Near You Networks WISP.
I want the speed so I guess I have to swallow the caps for now. |
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unoriginal Premium Member join:2000-07-12 San Diego, CA |
to Dogfather
Re: I wonder if they'll try it in the Los Angeles marketSonic.net also serves SoCal. I don't believe that they have any plans for caps either, at least not right now. |
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shoan join:2006-02-27 Benton, AR |
shoan
Member
2009-Feb-4 12:06 pm
if they are afraid of loss of revenueIf they are afraid of loss of video revenue to online video delivery why not strike a middle ground and say hey if you sign up for cable with us you can have un-metered internet with us. If you sign up for internet only then you have caps. As it stands right now video on my PC is cool and all and streaming videos from nexflix to my x-box is cool. But guess what I still want to watch discovery HD and food network and sci-fi and the locals and so on and so on. So I will always subscribe to either cable, Sat, or U-verse (in my area) to watch TV. It is just plain easier to have regular old TV for the bulk of my TV. |
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Dogfather Premium Member join:2007-12-26 Laguna Hills, CA |
to unoriginal
Re: I wonder if they'll try it in the Los Angeles marketAnd many of these 3rd party providers have very relaxed TOS/AUP permitting serving, have free usenet, etc in addition to not having any usage restrictions. |
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Muni fiberNot to beat the muni fiber drum too loudly, but...oh well, yeah, I will.
This is what you get with no real local competition. Once people start getting squeezed by these caps, maybe more places will do what they should be doing now and building out muni fiber.
And for folks who would bemoan the poor cable companies and telcos, it isn't like they've been losing money all these years. They just want to suck more out of their customers and kill off potential competition from alternative video services. They scream about unfair competition when someone comes along to offer something better, yet they engage in these tactics to make their own overpriced services viable. Disgusting. |
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en102Canadian, eh? join:2001-01-26 Valencia, CA |
to Dogfather
Re: I wonder if they'll try it in the Los Angeles marketI have been with DSL Extreme before.. and as an ISP - I find their service much more desirable than TWC has been since I've had them (August). Only thing that has kept me with TWC is the bundle deal that I've had ($90/month for 10/1, VoIP, Digital TV) |
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poobah
Anon
2009-Feb-4 12:24 pm
Re: Boy oh BoyI have not taken advantage of the availability of FIOS, although it has been in my neighborhood for years. I have Cox HSI and I have never had any problem with them. My speed test results are typically 4 Mbps - 6 Mbps downloads and 1.5Mbps - 5 Mbps upload (which I don't actually need). I got Verizon out of my life when Cox offered HSI and I subscribed to Vonage. I have not had any real problems with either for over 8 years. I do not want to deal with the Verizon billing fiasco again.
The extra speed is attractive, but I don't really need it. |
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davoice join:2000-08-12 Saxapahaw, NC |
to fifty nine
Re: Remember the 90sFYI... Embarq offers standalone DSL service. I have it at my other house. No phone line required. You just have to call and ask for it. (And find someone who understands what you're asking for.)
}Davoice |
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hayabusa3303Over 200 mph Premium Member join:2005-06-29 Florence, SC |
note to selfglad i dropped tw. I miss the speed but the caps like that is laughable. |
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woody7 Premium Member join:2000-10-13 Torrance, CA |
to Karl Bode
Re: Remember the 90s |
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davoice join:2000-08-12 Saxapahaw, NC |
to Dogfather
Re: I wonder if they'll try it in the Los Angeles market |
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This is the company that needs the lawsuit.How can you lock your customers into a contract and then cap their services and then charge the damn ETF if they break it.
TWC will be next in court which they need to be for this shit.
Ohio will probably be next. The're basically the only provider in Ohio as far as expanded services. DSL spotty in cities or not offered. TWC bought almost every cable company here except for the smaller regional and Cox in Cleveland. |
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Combat ChuckToo Many Cannibals Premium Member join:2001-11-29 Verona, PA |
to nasadude
Re: Remember the 90sYeah, that's why the power company does it....wait... |
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davidbugs
Anon
2009-Feb-4 1:13 pm
Let go back to Dial up and teach greddy company a lessonthe best solution we can go back to dial up.
Let support all smaller isp. Teach big companies we hate caps.
Smaller isp will make it come back.
Let go back to Dial up. |
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