US Cable Support > Comcast HSI > [Caps] Please sign the petition to raise or eliminate the cap

reply to CableTool

Re: [Caps] Please sign the petition to raise or eliminate the ca

reply to nerdburg
Performance Starter
Downloads up to 6Mbps, uploads up to 1Mbps.
$49.95 per month

Performance
Downloads up to 20 Mbps, uploads up to 4 Mbps with PowerBoost®
$48.95 per month

Blast
Downloads up to 16 Mbps, uploads up to 2 Mbps with PowerBoost®.
$58.95 per month

So, do brain dead choose "Blast" over "Performance?"

Or do they choose "Performance Starter" over "Performance?"

Oh, wait, I got redirected when doing a "goto previous page"
where "performance starter is gone:
»www.comcast.com/shop/buyflow2/pr···Inflow=1

Tired of this BS.

So, what is the max download per month for these different
plans?

I have difficulty believing that the speed of downloads
is different by a factor of 8 and yet the maximum
is the same.

Of course, there is nowhere stated that I can find
what is the maximum download.

Keep in mind that 3 telvisions using per day about
25 hours of time at MPEG2 means about 2 GB hourly,
which amounts to about 1500 GB per month.

Yet internet connection is limited to 250 GB per month.

Does anybody get "it?"

An article on the Digital Trends site today about ISP data caps:

Are bandwidth caps about easing congestion, or protecting television?
Digital Trends - February 16, 2012
»www.digitaltrends.com/computing/···evision/

Had to LOL at one of the paras in that article:

The idea that usage caps are a blunt, inaccurate tool to control network congestion is not new. However, the CEO of the mid-sized ISP Sonic.net has recently thrown a new notion into the mix: what if those data caps are about protecting ISP’s television businesses?

New notion? Seriously? What planet have you been on?

Pretty good article otherwise, thanks for posting.

Hope Comcast doesn't try doing this, even though it's just for TWC's "Essentials Broadband" plan right now:

Time Warner Cable Revives Usage-Based Internet Plan, But Now It's Optional
'Essentials Broadband' Service Capped at 5 GB Monthly for $5 Off
Multichannel News - February 27, 2012
»www.multichannel.com/article/481···onal.php

"Three years after Time Warner Cable tried to test usage-based broadband billing -- and backed off after a furious outcry from customers and elected officials -- the MSO is launching an optional plan in southern Texas capped at 5 Gigabytes per month.

The operator is pitching the "Essentials Broadband" plan as a way to save money: Customers with Standard, Basic and Lite broadband packages will receive $5 off per month if they stay under the 5 GB ceiling. However, they could pay up to an additional $25 per month if they exceed the usage limit."

An article on the TWC usage-based plan with more details on the Light Reading Cable site:

Usage-Based Broadband Returns to TW Cable
Light Reading Cable - February 27, 2012
»www.lightreading.com/document.as···r_cable&

"Subscribers who opt in to the Essentials Broadband plan can consume five gigabytes per month before being charged $1 per GB above that threshold, not to exceed $25 per month. They would get access to a meter that tracks their usage at granularities from hourly up to monthly. TW Cable is also providing a 60-day or two-billing-cycle grace period before charging for overages, and customers can switch back to an unlimited broadband tier at any time."

reply to Les Data
Incoming (MBytes)12398 Outgoing (MBytes)598
(from my Wrt status page)

I with you on this I rarly use over 25G even with using Itunes and Hulu. There something about a little thing call discipline.

From a cable news round-up item on the Light Reading Cable site this morning (»www.lightreading.com/document.as···r_cable& ):

The Last Days of Unlimited Broadband?
February 28, 2012

"Some potential fallout from Time Warner Cable Inc.'s new usage-based pricing policy on broadband leads off today's cable news roundup.

Time Warner Cable's return to usage-based pricing (UBP) for broadband, using an gentler, optional policy targeted to its lighter users, could provide a blueprint for the rest of the U.S. cable industry and portend higher rates for unlimited broadband tiers, predicts Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Inc. analyst Craig Moffett, in a research note issued Wednesday. He likens the move to a toe-in-the-water approach, because it familiarizes customers to the UBP concept without foisting it on everyone (TW Cable has pledged to always offer an unlimited, all-you-can eat option), but paves the way for such programs "to become the rule rather than the exception." He surmises that the new usage-based program could cause some cost-conscious consumers to defect to DSL, but expects the competitive effects to be minimal.

ISI Group Inc. analyst Vijay Jayant doesn't expect all other MSOs to follow overnight with policies similar to the one TW Cable has launched in southern Texas, but views it as a "meaningful 'shot across the bow.'" TW Cable's decision to flex its pricing muscle also shows that broadband is becoming "one of life's greatest necessities, not luxuries.""

A detailed article on the TWC usage-based plan on the FierceCable site:

Time Warner Cable rolls usage-based billing option in southern Texas, testing waters for broader launch
FierceCable - February 28, 2012
»www.fiercecable.com/story/time-w···12-02-28

"As online video products from Netflix, Amazon, Apple and other providers continue to gain popularity--and make it easier for cable subscribers to drop premium cable networks (e.g., cord shaving)--other cable MSOs will likely follow Time Warner Cable and Suddenlink with usage-based billing options. Cox Communications recently launched broadband meters, and began warning subscribers that exceed usage allowances. But it hasn't begun charging subscribers who exceed allowances such as 50 gigabytes monthly for its Essential service and 200 gigabytes monthly for its Preferred Internet service."

Comcast's CFO says Comcast won't copy Time Warner Cable's move toward usage-based pricing:

Angelakis: No Usage-Based Pricing For Now
Comcast CFO Says Cable Giant Won't Rock The HSD Boat
Multichannel News - February 28, 2012
»www.multichannel.com/article/481···_Now.php

"Comcast chief financial officer Michael Angelakis said the nation's largest MSO won't rock the high-speed data boat with a move toward usage based pricing, but said he admired Time Warner Cable for taking the risk.
"We have a very high customer satisfaction rating and we don't really want to rock the boat on that product,"
:
Angelakis said that Comcast will take a look at the Time Warner Cable offering, but has no plans to replicate it in the near future.
" I give them credit for trying different things," Angelakis said of Time Warner Cable's efforts. "We have real momentum in that business and the goal is to keep it."

An article on the Philadelphia Inquirer's website today about Comcast's data cap:

Comcast's clampdown on broadband 'data hogs'
By Jeff Gelles, Philadelphia Inquirer Business Columnist
March 1, 2012
»www.philly.com/philly/business/t···hem.html

An article on the Broadcasting & Cable site today:

Public Knowledge Asks FCC to Investigate Data-Capped Broadband Plans
Urges FCC to ask why caps are necessary and how consumers are affected by them
Broadcasting & Cable - March 23, 2012
»www.broadcastingcable.com/articl···lans.php

"On the reports of the new iPad eating into mobile users' data-capped broadband plans big time, Public Knowledge Friday tried to goose the FCC into investigating those data plans.

The FCC has been reluctant to get into the issue of usage-based pricing on either the wired or wireless side beyond pushing for more spectrum to relieve capacity constraints that operators argue are behind the need to charge for heavy users of bandwidth.

"It is simply inexcusable that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has not even seen fit to ask wireless and landline carriers to explain why those caps are necessary, how they are set and how consumers are affected by them," said Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn in a statement.

PK twice last year asked the FCC to investigate data caps imposed by Verizon, AT&T on the wireless broadband side and Comcast on the wired."

The press release on PK's site: »www.publicknowledge.org/public-k···%99-dela

reply to nerdburg
I can not for the life of me imagine anyone consistently going over the 250 gig limit. Comcast will flag an account abusing the limit and notify the customer of the first infraction. If the customer does it again, then they are warned again. If they go over the limit a third time, then they get blocked for 1 year.

I download a lot of stuff. And I have what use to be the ultra class of service. And I have never gotten even just one warning. In the past two months alone, I have resinstalled my os several times (testing a new build with an i7 3930K.) which required downloading a ton of updates each time. I have also downloaded both the developers preview of windows 8 and the customer preview of same title. I have also added programs and all the updates multiple times. Add to that downloading of some very large newsgroup files. And I still have not hit the limit. Plus I have some games that save in the cloud.

Even my brother with two teenage daughters and heavy music downloads only hit the limit once when one of his daughters was streaming espn on her xbox.

I have heard of people getting hit for the cap, and they are usually exclusively streaming movies and tv or, pirating (music, games, software). Which by the way pirating violates your TOS.

250Gig will give you enough to download at least 1 large program a month, heavy web browsing, and light streaming. So why buck the system. At least it's 250 gig and not 2 gig like AT&T or Verizon for iPads, iPhones, and iPods. And you won't get charged incredibly high overage fees like some wireless companies do.

What I do wish is that instead of cutting a subscriber, they would throttle them down.

I'm already at 74% and 65GB to go.

reply to lancguy

I really don't understand the point of this discussion. A service provider is in its rights to define the service any way they want to. Cell phones have limits, electricity has limits, web hosting has limits, etc.

Just because a select few people refuse to accept defined limits around a paid service doesn't mean they will go away. If you want a different/unlimited service, buy a different unlimited service that is priced accordingly to what you are getting.

reply to nerdburg

reply to GTFan
Ok, two recent cases...a friend had a son downloading games for his x-box that he modded. She went over her limt 3 times and got cut. The only reason you would download games for a modded x-box is because you are illegally acquiring them.

My brother downloads music and games for his nitendo. He got notified when his daughter was streaming ESPN on her x-box.

People who run bit-torrent often get flagged, I find it hard to believe that it is because they are sharing legal files....

And for those using netflix or you tube, well they are essentially using networks provided by an ISP for nothing. It's how they keep the cost down. Who should be responsible for upkeeping those networks? Not netflix.

These caps are in place to ensure that all users on the Node have ample bandwidth for use. It is only a matter of time that all ISP's move to metered billing. Since the old business model based on unlimited use is not going to make sense with streaming video now.

And yes, the caps are working for me despite downloading some operating systems, and large program files, complete with the endless updates. I even use newsgroups heavily and still fall under the cap every month.

reply to captastic