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HarleyYac
Lee
Premium Member
join:2001-10-13
Allendale, NJ

HarleyYac

Premium Member

Good to know

Hi,
I was worried with my 20/20 connection. While I do not use file sharing that much, I do have 6 pcs/laptops going at one time. I believe some users would be crippled with the TW plan.
When I used CompuServe, PC link,Prodigy BB-S's back in the day I dreaded opening my phone bill for the per min. charges. :P
\Lee

swhx7
Premium Member
join:2006-07-23
Elbonia

1 edit

swhx7

Premium Member

If it's pay-by-transfer-amount with neutrality, or "unlimited" transfer with discrimination (i.e. filtering by traffic content or destination), then the per-gig pricing is the lesser evil.

The ridiculously low caps they're talking about, however, could amount to a big rate hike for even moderate users.

I think what we're seeing here is the ISPs trying to exhaust all alternatives to wring more money out of subscribers without spending on upgrades. Only when they reach the point of diminishing returns on these tactics - or face competition, whichever comes first - will they finally resort to upgrading the infrastructure for more capacity.

cable user
@comcast.net

cable user to HarleyYac

Anon

to HarleyYac
Forward this information on to your elected members of congress. Before you blow off the idea, what can it hurt? Placing information in their hands has helped me in the past. There's nothing they can do to convince me overage charges are warranted. Please, just remove the abusers, and leave the rest of us alone. I'd be willing to pay a couple of bucks extra a month down the road, if they truly needed to recover costs because of this "video download" scare, or whatever the heck. But screw the overage charges.

I've got enough to worry about in a days time. I don't need to fret over the need to routinely check my internet usage. It's bad enough you gotta do it with your cell phone. Oops went over by a minute, got pay frickin 40 cents per minute. Yeah, that too is warranted, I suppose (40 cents per minute, whatever).
xsiddalx
join:2005-03-11
Chicago, IL

xsiddalx to swhx7

Member

to swhx7
said by swhx7:

I think what we're seeing here is the ISPs trying to exhaust all alternatives to wring more money out of subscribers without spending on upgrades. Only when they reach the point of diminishing returns on these tactics - or face competition, whichever comes first - will they finally resort to upgrading the infrastructure for more capacity.
Competition exists, doesn't it? Wireless companies offer internet, telephone companies offer internet, satellite providers offer internet, wisps offer internet, toss in some municipalities, power companies, how do you not have a choice?

Then again I was commenting to a coworker the other day about how the 99 cent bag of chips seems to be smaller than it was a few weeks ago. I think they are trying to squeeze us as well buy by making the bag appear the same size but the contents less. I didn't buy that day, but I might if everyone else goes that route.
Lazlow
join:2006-08-07
Saint Louis, MO

Lazlow

Member

A lot of us are in areas that there are no other reasonable alternatives. Reasonable to me would be 5meg speed at sub $70/month. In my area that leaves only one company.
thevorpal1
join:2007-11-16
Alexandria, VA

1 recommendation

thevorpal1 to xsiddalx

Member

to xsiddalx
said by xsiddalx:

Competition exists, doesn't it? Wireless companies offer internet, telephone companies offer internet, satellite providers offer internet, wisps offer internet, toss in some municipalities, power companies, how do you not have a choice?

For most people, competition does not exist. It took me 4 visits from Time Warner to determine that my new home was NOT able to be serviced with cable. I then explored the options.

Wireless: Would require me to build a 50' tower to receive the signal

CellPhone based wireless: Latency and very poor signal at my house. The result would be dialup.

Satellite: Large initial investment, resulting in a sub-par and expensive internet service.

ISDN: Another fairly expensive option with lackluster results.

DSL: My CO isn't equipped for DSL.

Fiber: If I can't get DSL, this won't be around soon.

T1: Yes I considered it. I even considered starting my OWN ISP.

I lived off dialup for a year.

Eventually I paid the cost of running a cable line to my house, it just took 10 months for the cable company to get around to it and cost me a good amount.

So competition? No, it was hard for me to get anything, and I was willing to sink costs into the infrastructure to get it.
xsiddalx
join:2005-03-11
Chicago, IL

xsiddalx

Member

I'm really not being a snot, really!

You have quoted 6 viable choices. None of them really optimal in my opinion, but they are choices. This is why the various regulatory entities argue competition exists. It does. Even if you have to pay an arm and a leg, you have options with regard to whom you pay an arm and a leg to.

Internet access is only worth what your willing to pay given your choices. Seems obvious, but all of us know real competition to drive prices lower...especially when some of use used to pay a buck an hour on time shares.

It sounds like dial-up is your best choice. Depending on how you use it, I have discovered that it ain't quite as bad as everyone thinks it is unless you need the ads and other shockwave junk. Tough to get into details, but even MMO games I played as well on dial up as "broadband" when I had no "broadband".

Again, I am not being a snot, it just sounds like you do have quite a bit of competition. The competition doesn't sound like they are at your price point yet to compete with dial-up...it'll come. You're willingness to sink costs into their infrastructure development will possibly make your neighbors happy if that run financed a terminal.

Then again, your neighbors will just think the build out made sense for the cable company. Did you think about talking to them to share the costs of a build out?

Out of curiosity, was it worth it? Are you free and clear or tied to a contract? If your really bold, what was the cost of the run?

FWIW, from what I have seen, some people are getting fiber based connections before DSL is made available. It depends on the telco and their current network. Sometimes FTTH is relatively equivalent or the same as deploying a DSL terminal with copper to the home. The downside is that your home can create "noise", old inside wire is old inside wire.
said by thevorpal1:

said by xsiddalx:

Competition exists, doesn't it? Wireless companies offer internet, telephone companies offer internet, satellite providers offer internet, wisps offer internet, toss in some municipalities, power companies, how do you not have a choice?

For most people, competition does not exist. It took me 4 visits from Time Warner to determine that my new home was NOT able to be serviced with cable. I then explored the options.

Wireless: Would require me to build a 50' tower to receive the signal

CellPhone based wireless: Latency and very poor signal at my house. The result would be dialup.

Satellite: Large initial investment, resulting in a sub-par and expensive internet service.

ISDN: Another fairly expensive option with lackluster results.

DSL: My CO isn't equipped for DSL.

Fiber: If I can't get DSL, this won't be around soon.

T1: Yes I considered it. I even considered starting my OWN ISP.

I lived off dialup for a year.

Eventually I paid the cost of running a cable line to my house, it just took 10 months for the cable company to get around to it and cost me a good amount.

So competition? No, it was hard for me to get anything, and I was willing to sink costs into the infrastructure to get it.
hfosteriii
join:2007-11-15
Erie, PA

hfosteriii

Member

said by xsiddalx:

I'm really not being a snot, really!

You have quoted 6 viable choices. None of them really optimal in my opinion, but they are choices. This is why the various regulatory entities argue competition exists. It does. Even if you have to pay an arm and a leg, you have options with regard to whom you pay an arm and a leg to.

Internet access is only worth what your willing to pay given your choices. Seems obvious, but all of us know real competition to drive prices lower...especially when some of use used to pay a buck an hour on time shares.

It sounds like dial-up is your best choice. Depending on how you use it, I have discovered that it ain't quite as bad as everyone thinks it is unless you need the ads and other shockwave junk. Tough to get into details, but even MMO games I played as well on dial up as "broadband" when I had no "broadband".

Again, I am not being a snot, it just sounds like you do have quite a bit of competition. The competition doesn't sound like they are at your price point yet to compete with dial-up...it'll come. You're willingness to sink costs into their infrastructure development will possibly make your neighbors happy if that run financed a terminal.

Then again, your neighbors will just think the build out made sense for the cable company. Did you think about talking to them to share the costs of a build out?

Out of curiosity, was it worth it? Are you free and clear or tied to a contract? If your really bold, what was the cost of the run?

FWIW, from what I have seen, some people are getting fiber based connections before DSL is made available. It depends on the telco and their current network. Sometimes FTTH is relatively equivalent or the same as deploying a DSL terminal with copper to the home. The downside is that your home can create "noise", old inside wire is old inside wire.
said by thevorpal1:

said by xsiddalx:

Competition exists, doesn't it? Wireless companies offer internet, telephone companies offer internet, satellite providers offer internet, wisps offer internet, toss in some municipalities, power companies, how do you not have a choice?

For most people, competition does not exist. It took me 4 visits from Time Warner to determine that my new home was NOT able to be serviced with cable. I then explored the options.

Wireless: Would require me to build a 50' tower to receive the signal

CellPhone based wireless: Latency and very poor signal at my house. The result would be dialup.

Satellite: Large initial investment, resulting in a sub-par and expensive internet service.

ISDN: Another fairly expensive option with lackluster results.

DSL: My CO isn't equipped for DSL.

Fiber: If I can't get DSL, this won't be around soon.

T1: Yes I considered it. I even considered starting my OWN ISP.

I lived off dialup for a year.

Eventually I paid the cost of running a cable line to my house, it just took 10 months for the cable company to get around to it and cost me a good amount.

So competition? No, it was hard for me to get anything, and I was willing to sink costs into the infrastructure to get it.
When costs and services are not comparable, that is not competition.