RR User
@rr.com
| reply to Dampier
Re: Look out...tiered pricing and monthly caps coming !
I live in the NC triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) and Greensboro is about an hour drive from the triangle. I'm not familiar with Greensboro, but a lot of the people that live and work in the research triangle are very tech oriented.
My household for example, has at least 16 IP connected devices on the home network... split up between desktops, laptops, game consoles, and portable game systems... all shared amongst 4-6 people. Not to mention the times we have company and they bring over their laptops and I-phones and what not... We obviously use our network for work, school, and entertainment. How could you possibly run such a network with 20GB of bandwidth a month. You can't. Our usage averages in the 100-200GB range, which given the size of the network, is quite reasonable in my opinion, given we live in the age where a few hour long HD stream eats up multiple gigabytes, and uploading a collection of photos from a vacation can easily top a couple gigabytes.
The people that live in this area are pretty darn smart... I could only hope if the same was to happen to us, people would make a massive stink about it. If it came to it, I'd hope U-verse would be available to enough people that everyone that could would switch just to show TW they don't own this area anymore. They might have for the past 10 years, but not anymore.
I'm still shocked TW still only offers 7/384 here as their standard package, while U-verse is now available to me with 10-18/1.5, even their standard package of 6/1 is better than 7/384. The only reason I've been holding on to TW RR is hoping they would deploy 10/1 or 15/2, but nothing. They always use to make a big deal about being the fastest and always upgrading to stay ahead, but now they have been officially left in the dust. They seem to be trying so hard to keep up with AT&T on HD channel count that they don't have the capacity in their system to upgrade their RR packages. |
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NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
 ·Pacific Bell - SBC
| reply to OhHeckNoo
said by OhHeckNoo :
So does this mean if I ever move and get an account actually under my name that I would be forced into one of these? Forget that crap I'm moving to an area with U-verse!
AT&T is still testing caps. Where testing is underway, caps are at 150 GB. That will be the Uverse cap when they finally deploy caps.
--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum |
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davidbugs
@cox.net | reply to Racerbob
a smaller isp will challenge timewarner in their turp. cox has been put pressure in louisana. a smaller isp offer 50\50 for under 40 buck. no caps . timewarner watched out smaller isp will take advantage |
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Zyzzyva100
@rr.com
| reply to Racerbob
I think another thing that we need to take into account for Rochester at least is the potential for large seasonal variation in usage. I somehow doubt that came up in Beaumont, but when it gets cold and snowy here I tend to spend a lot more time indoors and thus at the computer or watching streaming video.
When spring/summer comes and its nicer out I may spend my entire evening outside gardening, cooking, eating and just enjoying being able to be in the outdoors. Even with kids home for summer I would still expect usage to fall, and so there might be a bias here. TWC may think that people's usage falls because of their usage meter, but I think it will be related to the weather changing. Usage will likely stay lower until late fall, so people will have already been billed for a cycle or two before they hunker down for winter again and end up with a BIGGGG surprise for a cable bill. |
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Zyzzyva100
@rr.com
| reply to Racerbob
Looks like there is more and more coverage over this. Check out ars technica's skeptical article:
»arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news···exas.ars |
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Champcar
join:2009-04-01
1 edit | reply to Racerbob
Do we in Rochester have the option of switching to Earthlink? Will they be affected by the caps?
If earthlink is a option then I will switch even if it is at a lower speed. Cancel the cable and Bye Bye TW |
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unknvoip
WWJID?
join:2006-07-25
Rochester, NY
 ·ViaTalk
1 edit | reply to Racerbob
Here is the supposed link to the R News (Local TW cable news channel) story on the usage caps:
»www.rnews.com/Story_2004.cfm?ID=···_type=18
Interesting. Is it a mistake or deliberate?
Seems they are trying to keep the 'bad news' hidden.
Edit:
It is now online at:
»www.rnews.com/Story_2004.cfm?ID=···_type=18 |
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Matt
Take me down to the paradise city
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
1 edit | reply to bop75
said by bop75 :
Just canceled my entire premium (pay channels) at 60 bucks per month and explained it was do to the upcoming caps in Rochester. Due to a number of trees along my southern property line, I can’t cancel everything till I’m sure satellite will work here. Road Runner will go the day the caps start.
I did the same thing, both cable TV (~$63/month) and RR Lite ($~24/month). I didn't watch a lot of cable TV anyway so I just grabbed an OTA HDTV antenna and a TV Tuner card for my PC. I can use my Windows Media Center to stream HDTV to my XBox 360 in HD, and have DVR capabilities as well.
(EDIT)
When I disconnected the rep told me that metered billing "was good for customers because we have a lot of customers who use a LOT of bandwidth" and "it's not something we're definitely rolling out, it's just a 3-5 month trial."
She obviously didn't understand what the metered billing was about and I sort of felt sorry for her. She was desperately trying to retain me as a customer but kept trying to upsell me on RR Turbo as a solution because of the higher cap. She had no answer when I asked how it was good for me if I had to spend $50 more a month for their fastest service which still capped me lower than I am today. |
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swhx7
Premium
join:2006-07-23
Elbonia
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to Racerbob
This is very bad news. I just upgraded to the 15/1 and now it's looking pointless.
Writing from Austin here. There are some big tech companies here, and a lot of IT workers who rely on internet and will care about this. A lot of others outside the IT sector will also care because they know tech and use a lot of internet.
I work from home regularly, with gf and teenager who are also online a lot, and we like online music and video - and this is typical of a *large* number of households here. 40GB per month is a travesty.
The question is what to do about it. Complaining to TW/RR is probably worthwhile. It's true they don't have to care, when it's a duopoly (ATT being the other robber-baron), and ATT is doing the same thing, and has its own downsides. But executives of even a big company can be made nervous if there are enough complaints from customers.
Talking to legislators and regulators is the other possible angle. However, as Dampier says:
said by Dampier  :...The answer might be the regulatory approach, both with the FCC and Congress. But we will need to focus on what exactly we need done. A lot of generic complaints don't really do anything.
Well, there are several possibilities for a rule or policy that folks could advocate for:
• Require ISPs to offer the same services and prices in all their areas, whenever there isn't a proven technical reason preventing it, so the areas without effective competition would get what is offered in competitive areas.
• Antitrust law prohibits using a monopoly in one product/service to help with monopolizing another product/service. So, point out the anti-competitive effect of low caps as a case of leveraging the internet oligopoly to unfairly boost their TV offerings.
• This kind of price-gouging, where the rates are hiked far out of proportion to any costs and the provider does not feel any need to improve infrastructure, is proof of a severe lack of competition in the industry. Ask legislators for policies that promote competition for the benefit of the public. One example of this would be making the "last mile" a public utility where an unlimited number of ISPs would have to compete to be chosen as each household's provider to the local exchange.
Emails to legislators tend to be ignored, but polite, single-page letters can make a difference. Staffers will read them and tell the Congressperson that X number of people want this or that kind of action on the issue. |
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ctceo
Premium
join:2001-04-26
South Bend, IN
clubs:
1 edit | reply to Racerbob
Really. I didn't know. (check signature)
Comcast, $0.20/Gigabyte, Yeah, baby. |
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unknvoip
WWJID?
join:2006-07-25
Rochester, NY
·ViaTalk
| reply to unknvoip
First the Rnews company sponsored news item is here:
»www.rnews.com/Story_2004.cfm?ID=···_type=18
and here is the response to my complaint and concern about the caps:
Dear Mr. UnknVoIP,
Thank you for contacting Time Warner Cable Email Support.
I understand that you have concerns on Road Runner's Consumption based billing.
I apologize for the inconvenience and will be glad to share with you certain
facts.
The new billing system for Road Runner internet service will be on a trial
basis. The trial is
planned for much later this year. Our goal is to provide the best possible
Internet experience for
ALL of our customers, not to let the minority affect the majority. The vast
majority of our
customers will see no difference in their monthly bill.
With a consumption based billing plan, all customers will have access to a "gas
gauge" that will
enable them to track their consumption against their plan. A customer will have
three months to get
comfortable with the gauge before the bill hits. We don't want our customers to
have any unpleasant
surprises.
Some of our customers may actually save money by "right-sizing" to a plan that
meets their needs. We
are happy to help them do that.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
We value you as a customer, and please feel free to E-mail us again or contact
our Live Chat at the
following link:
»www.timewarnercable.com/Localiza···inkid=11
Customer Support is available 24/7.
We want your feedback! Please select the link below if you would like to receive
short survey on
your experience with our service.
»surveys.rr.com/video/videoemails···2K173441
Sincerely,
Juan Peterson
Time Warner Cable Online Customer Service |
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ripvanbl
join:2004-06-10
Cedar Park, TX
| reply to Racerbob
I just spoke with a reprentative here in Austin. He told me that there is no official number yet concerning the amount of data (40 GB or otherwise). He also informed me that this would be "only a test" for the next 4 - 6 months, and that I wouldn't be charged for going over some magical number during this period: whatever that number turns out to be.
On a side note, he did mention that they (here in Austin) have been getting calls all morning about this, so that's good. He said they are collecting concerns / feedback, so I suggest you call just to voice your opinion. |
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Zyzzyva100
@rr.com
| reply to Racerbob
Its oddly cathartic to make snipes at TWC via twitter (also entertaining to see how many other people are pissed off about this too).
May favorite is AlexTWC's (VP of PR) comment about how "Just because our product is better than the alternatives doesn't mean we are a monopoly". Its like letting a lie go so long that eventually you can't remember the truth.
Anyway, check of JeffTWC (director of digital communications) and AlexTWC on twitter.
Also, I tried some third party nation-wide DSL companies last night and today and none of them can provide service to Rochester, frontier must have them totally boxed out. I will will to pay $100 a month for a dry loop ADSL2 line, but I can't even if I want to. |
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TW_Caps
| reply to ripvanbl
You might want to read the article from the Statesman that interviewed someone much higher than the call center rep you talked to. Several things you said in your post are quite different than what the TW execs are stating such as the trial end date, the price for 40 gigs, etc.
»www.statesman.com/business/conte···ner.html |
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Dampier
Phillip M Dampier
join:2003-03-23
Rochester, NY
| reply to ripvanbl
said by ripvanbl :I just spoke with a reprentative here in Austin. He told me that there is no official number yet concerning the amount of data (40 GB or otherwise). He also informed me that this would be "only a test" for the next 4 - 6 months, and that I wouldn't be charged for going over some magical number during this period: whatever that number turns out to be. On a side note, he did mention that they (here in Austin) have been getting calls all morning about this, so that's good. He said they are collecting concerns / feedback, so I suggest you call just to voice your opinion. As of today, dealing with TW Corporate, the tier rates reported by Business Week ARE the rates to be imposed on a trial basis. If at the end of the trial, they need to be "adjusted" they will consider it then, not before. This could always change with the screaming and yelling, but that is the company line right now.
The actual "trial" begins in June, when the "gas gauge" will be available. You then get three months to monitor your usage. On 9/1, you'll start paying overage charges.
There is no indication this is a temporary trial that will ever go away after it "ends" and the overage charges will be very real this fall.
The rep is doing damage control to slow cancellations. We're going to have a list of alternatives for people on stopthecap later today. I have a media interview and waiting for additional callbacks. |
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TW_Caps
| Speaking of alternatives and since you are probably in a position to get more questions answered than I am can you check into this?
»[TW] TW Caps apply to Earthlink resold service? |
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Zyzzyva100
@rr.com
| reply to Dampier
Thanks for all the hard work Dampier. When the alternatives are available I will make sure to forward them around to the U of R medical and graduate student mailing lists I am part of. Educated people in their 20's are not a group to screw with (plus we use the internet for everything). |
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Dampier
Phillip M Dampier
join:2003-03-23
Rochester, NY
| reply to TW_Caps
I have an unofficial answer and am waiting for communication from the home office media relations/corporate communications to be certain. Unofficially, no cap with Earthlink, but that is only from CSRs who know nothing about major corporate policy changes.
But there is an alternative that will surprise a lot of folks. I'm working on the article now. |
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Pizz
Hi
join:2000-10-27
Astoria, NY
·Verizon Online DSL
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to Racerbob
Dampier,
Earthlink will only be capped if Earthlink agrees to it. TWC cannot impose a cap during a contract agreement already in place, unless earthlink gives the greenlight.
Also Dampier, try and get a list of TWC upstream providers. Find out how much bandwidth they really pay for, to find this will be very hard pressed, but this is the golden nugget, every single ISP does not want you to know about it, because it shows the real cost of how much they pay for bandwidth.
good luck, i'm reading along =)
--
The more you talk, the less you listen. |
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PV
| reply to Racerbob
What happens to the poor user with limited PC knowledge who becomes a victim of a virus and becomes a bot or spam sender. Not only do they have to deal with the headache of a bad PC needing cleanup there gonna owe mega money to TW. Plus,this whole cap seems anti competitive to me as the major internet service that would push bandwidth higher than the caps is video. Seems like TW is trying to help protect there cable business more than anything else. |
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