US Cable Support > Suddenlink > [Rant] Suddenlinks Bandwith Limit Policy

reply to abnormal69

Re: [Rant] Suddenlinks Bandwith Limit Policy

Awesome, thanks for sharing. I'm not overly worried about this at all, 250 gigs is plenty of bandwidth for me and my family.

reply to ghoztsurfer
I moved to all Internet streaming entertainment several months ago. Sick and tired of TV and the BS services associated with it.

376 GB so far with one day to go.

All the ISP's decided a long time ago they wanted to be content providers. Why let us bypass them so easily with Netflix, iTunes and other video on demand servers? They want you to use their VOD services!
Just wait till the pull Net Neutrality and ISPs can limit the speed at which you connect to other services. They've been pushing this really heavy the last couple months. Though, you wont see anything about it on cable news...

Mr. Kent isn't telling the whole story. And why would he? He doesn't have to and it's none of your business... I guess.

I really wish the telcoms would stick to being telcoms. They could be so much better at it than trying to be content providers/distributors/"the new video store". But, the saw the content angle and just couldn't keep their hands off it. Now they wanna take the collectively built product the Internet is, pick and choose it, package it, keep the undesirables out of it and set the price.

Their problem is going to be that too many people understand and have been accustom to the selection of the Internet.

If someone see's Mr. Kent, tell the Roku Box is awesome and I hope he finds one in his Christmas stocking.

reply to areacode304
I watch a few movies/wk at Netflix and a few TV shows (mostly news and Jon Stewart/Colbert) at Hulu and some radio shows via iTunes. I have all my music up at Google Music that I sometimes stream. I watch about 10 podcasts/wk from knitters and yarn artists...many of these women do not know how to minimize the size of their podcasts so some are almost a GB each.

If SL will not allow this usage by establishing prohibitive pricing and unrealistically low caps they will simply lose this customer (I will not use a capped usage mobile phone for the same reason). Some of us remember when 250 GB/mo. was a lot but it isn't that big nowadays. The internet is one of the few places where businesses large and small in the US are growing. These caps will kill the one place people are actually finding jobs and making money.

reply to ghoztsurfer
My letter arrived today. So, it looks like Lubbock is on the list.

I got mine in Lubbock yesterday.

What are the alternatives here?

Not many. AT&T, Clear, etc.

I'm not really worried about going over the cap and can afford it if I do. It's really more the principle of it coupled with the fact that when I was considering switching from AT&T to Suddenlink, Suddenlink's battle cry was "We're not like AT&T and we don't do business like AT&T!" Apparently they are and they do.

ROFLMAO. When there's little competition, a company can do whatever the market will bear.

from the clear aup:

"Unlimited Use Plans. If you subscribe to a service plan that does not impose limits on the amount of data you may download or upload during a month (or other applicable service period), you should be aware that such “unlimited” plans are nevertheless subject to the provisions of this AUP. What this means is that all of the provisions described in this AUP, including those that describe how Clearwire may perform reasonable network management such as reducing the data rate of bandwidth intensive users during periods of congestion, will apply to your use of the Service. The term “unlimited” means that we will not place a limit on how much data you upload or download during a month or other particular period. However, the term “unlimited” does not mean that we will not take steps to reduce your data rate during periods of congestion or take other actions described in this AUP when your usage is negatively impacting the Internet experience of other subscribers to our Service."

well, that won't work. the clear forums talk about getting targetted as a "heavy user" and throttled down to a crawl.

reply to tcg
in any given month I could be way under the cap - or way over. having to monitor usage is the main hassle. it's like with cell service - I don't want to have to count my minutes, or texts.

at&t dsl already has the caps, it looks like?

clear advertises "unlimited data usage" - not sure what that service is like. I had the xanadoo service years ago, until one december (just like this) they suddenly introduced caps. pretty low ones, if I recall correctly, as well.

And pointless. There is absolutely no need for this other than a cash grab.

IMO, Clear sucks. I thought Xanadoo did too, which is the reason I quit selling its service.

I pay for unlimited cell service because I would rather pay too much every month than get some astronomical bill out of the blue

My router has a traffic meter, so it's not hard to monitor. It is consistently higher in its estimate than Suddenlink's site. But considering what I already pay for Internet, I don't think I should have to care how much I download or upload.

But the main reason I posted about the letter I got was to dispel the earlier (in this thread) assertion that this was only going to be an Amarillo phenomenon.

reply to tcg
I received my letter this week also. I live in a small town outside Lubbock. Not many options for us. Really only Suddenlink and Windstream maybe Clear but I don't know that for sure. I have a feeling when school is out the kids will kill my usage. My husband and I were grandfathered in for our unlimited data plan at At&t but the kids weren't so I depend on the wifi at the house for them. We use netflix daily. Sometimes everyone has their own going . I do not have Suddenlinks cable service so if their hope is to get me to use their VOD service they are sadly mistaken! They will actually help Dish Network instead.

reply to ghoztsurfer

You might change the word "there" to "its", or at the very least, "their". It would definitely look more professional.

reply to ghoztsurfer
I am not trying to link bait I just want to do my part, and I feel that the petition is a good start. So if you are with me please be with me and sign. »goo.gl/qW8KQ

reply to tcg
I just read up on contract law, and according to my knowledge suddenlink (even with a bandwidth provision) cannot change the rules of the contract without the written or verbal consent of both parties (that is why AT&T has a grandfather plan) If you had suddenlink before this change it is illegal for them to change the rules without your written consent

reply to ghoztsurfer
Chat Transcript
Please wait while we find a specialist to assist you...
You have been connected to Dan D..
Dan D.: Hi Terrence! Thank you for choosing Suddenlink Online Support. My name is Dan and I would be happy to assist you today.
Dan D.: How are you today?
Terrence Bruff: Hey is there an offical suddenlink forum i can use
Terrence Bruff: also is there any way i can see a copy of the suddenlink service agreement that is in affect at this moment
Dan D.: Just a moment please.
Dan D.: Would tat service agreement be for the Internet?
Terrence Bruff: yes
Dan D.: Unfortunately, there is not a forum, The service agreement can be found at »activate.suddenlink.net
Terrence Bruff: ok don
Terrence Bruff: here is my issue I got a letter about your bandwidth agreement
Dan D.: How can I help you with this.
Dan D.: ?
Terrence Bruff: Well is there any grandfather
Terrence Bruff: plan
Terrence Bruff: like with AT&T
Dan D.: Unfortunately, not if you will provide me with your account information, I will be happy to provide more information for you.
Terrence Bruff: I cannot provide you with information because I am acting on someone else's behalf, and that person does not not wish to have their identify reveled
Terrence Bruff: im sorry
Terrence Bruff: I am just asking if there is any grand father plan for current suddenlink customers
Dan D.: Ok, could you provide me with their Internet speed?
Terrence Bruff: 10Megs
Terrence Bruff: or it is supposed to be
Terrence Bruff: but we never really get that much out of it
Dan D.: Ok, for the 10meg internet speed, the cap is 250gigabytes.
Terrence Bruff: I understand but is there any way to opt out of the cap
Terrence Bruff: because we were with suddenlink before it was instituted
Dan D.: Which comparably, other providers are only allowing 22gb,
Terrence Bruff: Other providers are offering no cap
Terrence Bruff: Dan i do not wish to be rude in any way
Terrence Bruff: but i know for a fact that 22gigs of data transfer is not an accurate representation
Terrence Bruff: of average data usage
Terrence Bruff: I have another question as well
Dan D.: Please give me a few moments to locate more information for you.
Terrence Bruff: How will suddenlink monitor this usage are your tracking our packet usage
Terrence Bruff: because if you guys are watching our internet usage that makes me feel unconfortable
Dan D.: Working at your information, please give me a few more moments.
Terrence Bruff: ok
Dan D.: Think of Internet usage just the same as Electricity Kilowatt usage. The plants only have so much to go around at a certain time. Due to the rising popularity of high bandwidth applications (Netflix/Hulu, downloading and uploading music/videos/games, cloud computing, etc), internet usage has greatly increased. With the increase in demand, unfortunately supply can fall short at times. To keep everything fair across the board and providing the same quality of service to each customer, we have introduced the Monthly Allowance Plan.

Just the same as you would expect a customer on your power grid whom uses an unusual amount of power, power which would normally be reserved for the entire grid and all of the customers on said grid, to pay for what they use; especially if their over-using is effecting the performance of others on their network grid. The same is going for Data usage, and is being implemented by many Major ISP’s for these same reasons.

Some food for thought: Did you know that Verizon Wireless (beginning September 15th) not only charges for over-usage on their 3G network, but also throttles the top 5% of their highest data users? AT&T started Usage Allowances on May 2nd through their DSL and UVerse network for the same reasons. They cap at 150 for DSL, and 250 for UVerse.

Almost all ISP’s are taking measures to help even the Data Usage playing field, so that all customers can enjoy it equally and fairly. Suddenlink has set the limits higher than the average user, since how fair would it be to set the limits low, and then everybody every month ends up having to pay more? The allowance was set in place for those who utilize the bandwidth in excess of normal situations, not the regular average user. The average user should not see an increase in their bill, and if they do, it should not be an often occurrence, and only on a month-to-month basis.
Terrence Bruff: I understand your point, but you are not getting mine
Terrence Bruff: Suddenlink originally gave us an unlimited plan. We signed a contract with suddenlink by using their service. Now you change the rules of the contract. A company cannot legally do that without the contract being resigned
Terrence Bruff: This is basic contact law
Terrence Bruff: If with your stipulation that you can change bandwidth at anytime you still have to get the agreement of the other party. You cannot just send a letter in the mail saying you will change things without gaining the consent of the other party
Terrence Bruff: Also your letter says that we will recieve a certain amount of bandwidth for a 10Meg connection, but we are not getting this connection speed, therefore you voided the contract of the letter you sent out
Terrence Bruff: You put our account in the 10Meg to 20Meg category. That means we should at least be getting 10Meg but we (nor anyone else I know) are getting that speed.
Dan D.: Unfortunately, without the customer's information, we are unable to assist with troubleshooting the existing speed issue.
Terrence Bruff: That is not what i am saying i am not saying you need to fix the speed issue I am saying you have to uphold the stipulations of the original contract or allow it to be void
Dan D.: I understand that, I am waiting on someone to assist me in resolving this issue with you, please stand by.
Terrence Bruff: The speed issue is just an example of a breech of contract
Terrence Bruff: Dan this is why AT&T offered a grandfather plan
Terrence Bruff: because of the cell phone contract you see my point
Terrence Bruff: And you know as well as I do that internet does not work like water the average cost of a gig of data is this country is between 5 to 10 cents unlike power which is much higher

This is what I got from a Suddenlink Rep. He even mentioned netflix and other streaming services by name. It is obvious to anyone what they are trying to do. They introduce Suddenlink go and then they put a bandwidth limit. Now if we want to enjoy using Suddenlink Go we risk going over our limit.

reply to tcg

reply to maables
Directv here. Have never had Suddenlink TV.