Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL
kudos:1 Reviews:
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| Is broadband metering really so bad?  Andrew Harries, chief executive of Zeugma obviously either is very young or forgets the bad old days of competition between dial-up ISP's. AOL started out charging for holding time. If a subscriber exceeded their allocation they were charged for overuse. Unfortunately for AOL, those days ended with competition. AOL began losing customers in droves when competitors began offering flat rate pricing. You might note that AOL never recovered from being exposed to competition.
If consumers had access to a free market of Broadband ISP's to choose from, like maybe Twenty, Mr. Harris would be talking out of the other side of his mouth. He would be more interested in how to add capacity at low costs so his ISP customers did not get shut out of the business because of failure to keep up with the competition. As long as consumers are limited to one or two service providers, those providers will continue to take advantage of the situation and set excessive prices for their services. The solution is regulation with limits placed on the fees charged by ISP's, or a public broadband network like the public highway system. |
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| The fact that he runs a company with a vested interest in metering broadband makes his comments worthless. At least he had the balls to be upfront about it though. |
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Lazlow
join:2006-08-07
Saint Louis, MO | reply to Mr Matt
He runs into the same problem with his analogy about usage (electricity, water, etc) as the rest who try and use it. Those things all cost based on usage. Both the hardware and transit costs for the ISPs are based on peak Mbps and not GB/month. Downloads which are done during non peak hours costs the ISPs nothing extra. |
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KearnstdElf WizardPremium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | reply to Mr Matt
i think one key he misses though is that the gas line is only costing what he has used through wanted usage.
there isnt extra gas sent that you didnt want(spam, rich media ads on webistes).
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports |
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 VanPremium
join:2009-07-08
New Orleans, LA | reply to Mr Matt
Companies like his better watch out when (or if) they implement such a system.
The smaller companies that continue offering unlimited will see a surge in business and I am sure some big companies will realize that people will come flocking to them if they stay unlimited OR put a huge cap in. |
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 BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | reply to Mr Matt
The problem with his analogy comparing broadband to utilites is that utilites are REGULATED, prices are REGULATED. Last time I checked ISPs are AGAINST being REGULATED. If ISPs want to start charing like utilities they should be willing to be treating as a utility. Last time I checked every house has ability to obtain electricity and POTS service. So if ISPs want to have metered billing then build out your networks so that EVERY home has the abilty to obtain your service THEN you can meter. Until then STFU. |
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KearnstdElf WizardPremium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | said by BF69:The problem with his analogy comparing broadband to utilites is that utilites are REGULATED, prices are REGULATED. Last time I checked ISPs are AGAINST being REGULATED. If ISPs want to start charing like utilities they should be willing to be treating as a utility. Last time I checked every house has ability to obtain electricity and POTS service. So if ISPs want to have metered billing then build out your networks so that EVERY home has the abilty to obtain your service THEN you can meter. Until then STFU. add to that there is an expected accuracy from anything in our lives that is metered, sometimes it is even required by law to be verified. i mean the water meter on my house has to be accurate, it cant read 1200gal when i only used 1000. and the gas station cant say i put 13gal in my car when i only put in 12.
can ISPs keep accuracy because if i pay by usage i expect accurate readings. if i use 100gb in a month id find them claiming 102gb as overbilling.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports |
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