| Why is it a problem if less than 1% go over? The central question about Comcast's cap is why bandwidth is a problem if less than 1% go over 250GB?
Quite frankly it's a question they do not want to answer. I've tried to get an answer from customer service and migrated it upwards to management. However I continue to get a form letter that looks pretty much identical every time!
My belief is this is retaliation for getting slapped by the FCC for throttling. So rather then throttle speeds for services they think are unnecessary, they just slap a limit on the whole dataflow.
It also has to do with emerging technologies. IPTV is becoming very good, and so is Netflix/Blockbuster movie streaming. With Youtube and others also in the play, who's to stop you from never turning on the cable box again? Not to mention VOIP is matured, and several other technologies can be used as well (Carbonite allows unlimited backup for $50/year). These services compete directly with Comcast's services of phone and cable TV. They feel that it will drain them of advertising revenue because you won't be watching their ads on their cable stations.
We're definitely going backwards in terms of technology - faster speeds, but limited use of the speeds does not make sense. Not allowing users that need more then 250GB another "tier" to pay for another block of bandwidth is also a MAJOR problem.
I think I stand like most people - I see the potential for good use of the internet. I watch most things "offline" - IE: not through the cable box. In this I need bandwidth to stream movies, TV shows, my phone (VOIP), and data backup. I don't believe I'm overusing my share of the network. I may use it more then the average Joe because I'm "tuned in" to what's available.
So if Comcast has a problem with that, we'll they'll just continue to piss off customers. Bad reputation will only hurt them in the long run.. |
