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IowaMan
Premium Member
join:2008-08-21
Grinnell, IA

4 edits

IowaMan

Premium Member

Mediacom Cable HAS a Bandwidth Cap of 250GB

From the AUP
»www.mediacomtoday.com/aup

Bandwidth, Data Storage and Other Limitations

"You must comply with the bandwidth usage, data storage and other limitations on the Service that are in effect from to time. Mediacom has established a monthly data consumption threshold of 250Gigabytes (GB). If your usage exceeds these limitations, Mediacom may at its sole discretion , charge you for the excess usage, reduce transmission speed or other Service parameters, limit, suspend or terminate the Service or take other actions."

When was this posted?
I presume this is a soft cap?
Chad can you explain?
Thanks
k9iua6
join:2004-05-23
Dubuque, IA

k9iua6

Member

Re: Uh Oh... (Bandwidth Cap)

That is fairly generous cap (in my opinion), which amounts to 8 GB a day for each and every day of the month. I suppose there are some people who might download and watch two complete DVDs a day, every day, or that equivalent for the month.

thedragonmas
Premium Member
join:2007-12-28
Albany, GA
Netgear R6300 v2
ARRIS SB6180

thedragonmas

Premium Member

said by k9iua6:

That is fairly generous cap (in my opinion), which amounts to 8 GB a day for each and every day of the month. I suppose there are some people who might download and watch two complete DVDs a day, every day, or that equivalent for the month.

err, i watched all 4 seasons of dr who over the week end (netflix streaming), 6 dvd's per season :|

IowaMan
Premium Member
join:2008-08-21
Grinnell, IA

IowaMan

Premium Member

Do you run DD-WRT or something?
You are probably not at 250 GB down
although it doesn't say (i'd guess it is total up and down)

I'm not botherd by this as long as they leave it as is and increase it

DO NOT MEDIACOM follow Time Warner's lead and create tired caps and set it stupidly low

I have the 3Mb and i've used
November 2010 (Incoming: 25762 MB / Outgoing: 8998 MB)
digdug56
join:2010-09-13
Springfield, MO

digdug56 to IowaMan

Member

to IowaMan
This sucks. I am on the 50Mbps plan, and while I doubt I ever go over 250GB, it's nice to not have to worry about it.
wth
Premium Member
join:2002-02-20
Iowa City,IA

wth to IowaMan

Premium Member

to IowaMan
I always like the fact that there's NEVER an effective date, nor a updated date shown.
DoctorX
join:2010-08-01

DoctorX to IowaMan

Member

to IowaMan
well.. i am on the ultra50. I have 3 rokus and plus i work out of my house most of the week for a global company. I just checked my usage. 380GB so far. This is totally unacceptable!
DoctorX

DoctorX

Member

to add... i dont do peer to peer or anything nefarious. I am just a happy gamer and a TSM admin for a global company.
macdude22
join:2005-09-08
IA

macdude22 to k9iua6

Member

to k9iua6
8 gigs a day, probably me. We use netflix as our sole source of video content (to the TV) and we probably have a stream of something running 6 hours a day. Nice to just throw on some Super Why and not have to worry about what the chillins are watching.

Not to mention my whorish addiction to Steam, GoG, and their ridiculous weekly sales. A half dozen computers around here for various things (hell my iPhone 4.2 update was just a friggin gig). Wii's, Playstations, Xboxes, etc.

I couldn't attest to what my monthly usage is but I'd wager it's up there by 250. Anyway, I won't worry about it for now. If they grumble about my usage back to *shudder* Windstream I will go. $80 a month (Max) should garner me the freedom to really use my connection.

danawhitaker
Space...The Final Frontier
Premium Member
join:2002-03-02
Thorndale, ON

danawhitaker to IowaMan

Premium Member

to IowaMan
The worrisome part isn't the cap in and of itself (though I don't like that either) but the ambiguous language regarding it. We may charge you more, may reduce your transmission speed, may cut you off entirely, etc. If you're going to give me a hard cap, please give me specific consequences too. With the economy being what it is right now, I doubt I'm alone in saying that an unexpected overage fee for going over the cap would be difficult to swallow.

Is there a monitoring tool available through Mediacom? I use Netmeter right now, but that only covers the main computer I'm on, not any of my other devices (Xbox, laptop, Wii).

IowaMan
Premium Member
join:2008-08-21
Grinnell, IA

IowaMan

Premium Member

I use this if your comfortable flashing your router
»www.dd-wrt.com/site/index
IowaMan

IowaMan to danawhitaker

Premium Member

to danawhitaker
Agreed! I've IM Chad so we should get an official explanation soon
implode
join:2009-09-06
Columbia, MO

implode to IowaMan

Member

to IowaMan
Really weak. I stream videos probably 20 hours in a typical week. My brother probably plays at least 20 hours of online games on his xbox or laptop. I know most days I'm on internet like 12-14 hours of a given day.

I have no idea what my current consumption is, but this greatly concerns me.

thedragonmas
Premium Member
join:2007-12-28
Albany, GA
Netgear R6300 v2
ARRIS SB6180

thedragonmas to IowaMan

Premium Member

to IowaMan
i use tomato on my wrt54gl, i am no where near the 250GB limit, it as has been pointed out, is the language. there is no way im paying there price for the next tier up, or business class.
WAN Bandwidth - Monthly
Date Download Upload Total
2010-11 44.46 GB 1.09 GB 45.55 GB
so far this month. some months i come pretty darn close to that 250GB when i get in the mood to "play" with linux...

IowaMan
Premium Member
join:2008-08-21
Grinnell, IA

IowaMan to implode

Premium Member

to implode
I think it is absolutely sad as "wth" pointed out that there is no date or nothing to tell when this was updated... NOTHING

Anonymous88
Premium Member
join:2004-06-01
IA

Anonymous88 to IowaMan

Premium Member

to IowaMan
Not surprised. The fact is ISPs will protect their cable TV income. Also why spend ton of money and do major upgrades just to keep up with bandwidth demand? The easier way is to cap everyone and not only manage bandwidth consumption but make additional profit.

IRKED
join:2010-10-06
Springfield, MO

IRKED

Member

I wish there was another option for cable in my area!

Boss302_1970
join:2009-12-11

Boss302_1970 to IowaMan

Member

to IowaMan
Looks as if they have followed comcasts lead, with this exception, comcast offers a cheap business connection with no cap, and comcasts b/w screams compared , hopefully mediacom will also offer a uncapped business service as cheaply as comcast does, the one thing i really liked about mediacom was no cap, seems all good things must come to an end
TheXerox
join:2002-04-05
Iowa

TheXerox to IowaMan

Member

to IowaMan
If Mediacom was hellbent on enforcing the cap listed in the AUP, I'm sure we would have heard something about someone getting capped for it by now. With Netflix streaming subscriptions for gaming consoles (and other devices now), it doesn't seem like a huge stretch of the imagination that someone would have breeched that cap some time ago and we would have heard somebody complaining about it here.

I wouldn't worry too much unless they start doing what Comcast did a few years back, and from what we've seen, Mediacom doesn't seem to be too willing to do that sort of thing.

IowaMan
Premium Member
join:2008-08-21
Grinnell, IA

IowaMan

Premium Member

For all we know until we hear officially (tomorrow probably) it could have been today. There is no date on the page when it was last updated.
drslash (banned)
Goya Asma
join:2002-02-18
Marion, IA

drslash (banned) to IowaMan

Member

to IowaMan
I don't have a big problem with this as long as there will be a way to check usage.

BAINCH See Profile or MediacomChad See Profile will we have a way to check our usage?

IowaMan
Premium Member
join:2008-08-21
Grinnell, IA

IowaMan

Premium Member

This is a cache of the page as it was seen by Google on the 19th of November which has the 250 GB listed.

»webcache.googleuserconte ··· irefox-a
IowaMan

1 edit

IowaMan to macdude22

Premium Member

to macdude22
You'll be glad to know that Windstream doesn't have the cap
»www2.windstream.net/cust ··· ept.html

I also see no effective date or created date however either

thedragonmas
Premium Member
join:2007-12-28
Albany, GA

thedragonmas to IowaMan

Premium Member

to IowaMan
and sadly they are not in wayback, or tosback, weird i figured theyd atleast be on tosback »www.tosback.org/timeline.php

MediacomChad
Mediacom Social Media Relations Team
Premium Member
join:2010-01-20
Gulf Breeze, FL

MediacomChad to IowaMan

Premium Member

to IowaMan

Re: Mediacom Cable HAS a Bandwidth Cap of 250GB

The AUP sets forth some the rights and abilities that Mediacom has, along with some of the restrictions that may be set in place for Mediacom customers.

This particular item is put in place so that if we need to, we can protect our network from individuals that are abusing their connection or causing a large negative effect on other users in an area. This cap will be enforced at our discretion, as necessary to protect the network and the largest majority of our customers.

IowaMan
Premium Member
join:2008-08-21
Grinnell, IA

IowaMan

Premium Member

What date was it added on?
I take it from your wording this is a "soft cap"?
Is there a plan to charge or throttle etc? if certain nodes are filled?

MediacomChad
Mediacom Social Media Relations Team
Premium Member
join:2010-01-20
Gulf Breeze, FL

MediacomChad

Premium Member

I'm not sure on the addition date. I had to ask about the cap if that tells you anything.

I believe the intention is just to leave our options open when we have someone ruining the experience for other users in their area. However, I'm not aware of what we have done in practical usage for individuals that are abusing the network.

BAINCH
MVM
join:2003-04-02
Blooming Grove, NY

2 recommendations

BAINCH to IowaMan

MVM

to IowaMan
I figured I would jump in here and attempt to address at least a few questions.

Q: When was the AUP changed?
A: I believe it was close to 2 years ago. Unlike some ISPs, we don't change the AUP often. In fact, I only recall 3 changes since the original back in 1999. (I won't speak to any changes made by owners prior to Mediacom, namely AT&T Broadband.)

Q: Are we serious about the cap?
A: Yes and no. I'm not aware of any action taken against a user exclusively due to high consumption. We have customers who regularly consume over 1.5 terabytes per month and we haven't charge them extra or disconnected them from the service. That said, please read on...

---The following is for discussion purposes only---

Q: Is the cap going to be enforce in the future?
A: Possibly. The fact is bandwidth usage is increasing at an alarming rate. We double the size of the network almost every 18months. So something has to give. The three options are:

1. Network Management
Customers don't like it. It is typically difficult to explain exactly how it works to average internet users. The really abusive customers spend exhaustive time attempting to defeat it. The FreePress, Google and others would like to make it illegal.

2. General across-the-board rate increases
Customers don't like it. It is inherently unfair to ask all the customers to pay the way for a minority of heavy users.

3. Consumption-based billing
Customers don't like it, although arguably a much smaller quantity. Seems somewhat more fair regarding who pays.

Now before I set of a firestorm, no decision has been made regarding consumption-based billing or any other change. In addition, it is generally accepted that before any consumption-based billing idea can be implemented we must:

1. Give all customers reasonable notice. And by this I don't mean just a change to the AUP but something much more direct. We also have to be clear what happens with you exceed a cap. Do you get a warning? Do you have to pay extra and if so how much? Do you have an option to move to a higher tier of service? Is loss of service a risk?

2. Be clear what the "cap" is for each tier of service.

3. Provide a mechanism for customers to check on their usage (via website or other option.)

4. Provide notification to a customer when they exceed the cap (via email or web notice.)

5. Be in a position to explain exactly how we measure consumption. Is any traffic exempt? (for example we might agree to exempt virus and OS updates under the assumption they are good for both of us)

So I think that is it. I should say that I'm not here to argue the merits of any potential decision. Mediacom will decide, as any business, what it ultimately thinks is the best approach. Customers, both current and future, will of course make their purchasing decision based on their own evaluation of the product. I am interested however in understanding how any change can be made in the most customer-friendly way possible. I'm certainly open to any suggestions (although let me be clear, this isn't MY decision to make) and will endeavor to make sure those ideas are given consideration. With costs increasing and revenue staying flat, the only long-term option that is likely not available is no change at all.

IowaMan
Premium Member
join:2008-08-21
Grinnell, IA

IowaMan

Premium Member

Very well said BAINCH
As of now it isn't an "End Here" because as you said there was no notice

I know that increasing costs are a problem so I hope some of this money that will start next month goes back into the network to reinvest in it.

If (When) Mediacom decides to go forward with this cap I hope there are plans to upgrade as with the Ultra 105 and Ultra 50 250 GB will go fast especially in 3 years from now.
macdude22
join:2005-09-08
IA

macdude22 to IowaMan

Member

to IowaMan
My 15 cents.

I like fixed costs, *all you can eat* if you will.

I like netflix, I like gamefly. I budget a set amount and if I have free time I get more watching and gaming in or less watching and gaming in.

My internet usage is the same. Well if there's a sale at steam or gog I might burn through 20,40,60 gigs in a few days. I'm happy to pay a fair (premium) price for this service. I subscribe to Max, not specifically for the higher end speeds, but because it's my hope that that revenue will allow mediacom to continue to offer me service in the manner I am accustomed to. i.e. "unlimited"

I work in the IT field so I have somewhat of an understanding of QoS (at least in-regards to our organization). Broad Network Management would be my preferred method of dealing with increased usage/costs.

I'd prefer no specific protocol be blocked, i.e. bittorent or other services, I believe in a free and open internet in that sense. However during peak times, it would be my feeling that other traffic should take QoS priority. I want to see low latency all the time, I play a lot of games. I'll take that low latency at the cost of slower speeds during peak times. But when there is available bandwidth I'd like my large downloads to be able to soak that up since the infrastructure for x speed is already in place.

My criteria for network management.

a. My latency should always be low.
b. I should still have a minimum acceptable speed, maybe 5-7 Mbps on Max (20/2)
c. Latency dependent traffic should take priority over "bulk" traffic. i.e. VPN, Games, HTTP (web) vs. bittorent, downloads, etc..

How feasible is this on the scale that Mediacom would need to implement? I couldn't say.

I know I'm a heavy user, I think I should pay more, I just like the "unlimited" style of purchasing this type of service and I'd hope that any changes in the future would ensure that there would be a tier somewhere for people like me.

If that made any sense. Feel free to ask me to clarify any of my gobbldygook.