rugby
I think I know it all.
VIP
join:2000-09-26
Camby, IN
 ·Callcentric
 ·Comcast
·ViaTalk
 ·AT&T Yahoo
·Nuvio
| Re: So I crawled out from under my rock last night
The problem here seems to be gigantic. It seems that contracts are extremely 1-sided against the consumer in this regard. Basically there are NO protections for the consumers against changes in the TOS/AUP. Companies can change their policies to whatever they want to whenever they want to, and they have the lawyers to back them up.
It's going to be a giant bloody war between content providers and ISP's over bandwidth. People want to download movies/music, but ISP's want to cap them. Bandwidth is gold now, and somebody's sitting on a fat chest of it and won't let it out. |
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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
·Comcast Formerly ..
| Or maybe you're still under the rock.
Yes, ISPs can change prices and service terms overnight. And you can change ISPs. (Use a non-ISP linked e-mail, of course.)
AOL changed the ISP dial-up model with "all-you-can-eat". It's very unlikely that in a competitive environment it will go away for the "average" user. More likely, it will be limited, like real "all-you-can-eat" buffet restaurants, so that consumers, but not businesses, can still find value. Yes, some providers will carve out niches, and limits will prevent you from feeding your whole city on a single connection, but the model will likely stay around for most of us average and power users.
For a real mindtwister, compare the debate on this item to a discussion of traffic congestion in a city--the bottlenecks just move around, they never go away....
Calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
| said by calvoiper  :
Yes, ISPs can change prices and service terms overnight. And you can change ISPs.
Suuuurrreee you can.
How many choices of DSL/cable providers/broadband do you have? I know some areas have choices among a FEW ISP's on DSL, and maybe a CLEC if that fails... and maybe a few areas have more then one choice on Cable ISP's.
But most of us, this area included, basically have 2 choices. The Telco DSL and their ISP, or the Cable company and their ISP.
So, if one sucks, you could change to the other.... but what if they suck as well? You've just hit the brick wall.
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"When the day comes that anyone can bend our country’s laws and lawmakers to serve selfish, competitive ends, that day democratic government dies" -- Preston Tucker, 1948 (Yep, it's dead.) |
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calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA
·Comcast Formerly ..
| Hopefully, there will be others. They will come faster if the existing providers take their market for granted and screw their customers. (In much the same manner the Asian auto manufacturers stormed the US when the "big three" kept building models Americans didn't really want.)
There may be a more telling arrow in your quiver, though, HALG. Upon reflection, it would seem that caps are just a rate tool to suck blood from heavy (and presumably more "attached") users. Time of day pricing (or throttling) is a much more responsive approach to true capacity concerns, and while throttling may be difficult, it's hard to believe that my ISP can count all my bits but not be able to pigeonhole them into hourly boxes....
Calvoiper
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VoIP--the death knell of remaining voice monopolies! |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
| Agreed there!
They want people who actually put the connections to use to have to pay much higher rates (and, like your supposition, it will probably work because they are the 'attached' users) while still making a lot of money on people who are just casual surfers and emailers.
They don't have to worry about stiff competition forcing them to be competitive on prices, nor offer bang for the buck. They can sit back and charge as much as the market will bear and deliver as little as they can get away with.
The situation doesn't look like it's going to improve soon, but hopefully, longterm, it will.
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"When the day comes that anyone can bend our country’s laws and lawmakers to serve selfish, competitive ends, that day democratic government dies" -- Preston Tucker, 1948 (Yep, it's dead.) |
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bandw1dth
join:2003-02-07
Hoboken, NJ | reply to rugby
I agree totally. Where else do you have to sign a contract where 1 party can change it without question? Especially if you have to sign a 1yr or multiyear agreement. |
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rugby
I think I know it all.
VIP
join:2000-09-26
Camby, IN | reply to calvoiper
I have no choice for broadband ISP's I"m too far for dsl and satellite isn't an option due to trees. |
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soothsayer15
join:2002-03-01
Irving, TX
 ·Verizon FIOS
·Verizon Online DSL
edited
| reply to bandw1dth
said by bandw1dth :
I agree totally. Where else do you have to sign a contract where 1 party can change it without question? Especially if you have to sign a 1yr or multiyear agreement.
When the contract says that they can like ISP contracts, cable contracts, sweepstakes, radio station contests, even McDonald's new "winning time" states that it reserves the right to change the rules at any time.
You are CHOOSING to get broadband. It is not your right to have it.
[text was edited by author 2003-04-09 09:28:06] |
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EFudd
Premium
join:2001-09-08
Brownsville, OH | reply to rugby
soothsayer15:
Just because a person chooses to have broadband instead of dial-up doesn't mean they want to get screwed.
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Do you SetiAtHome |
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soothsayer15
join:2002-03-01
Irving, TX
·Verizon FIOS
·Verizon Online DSL
| said by EFudd :
soothsayer15:
Just because a person chooses to have broadband instead of dial-up doesn't mean they want to get screwed.
Yes it does, it means doing without. People are so into themselves they'd rather complain than voting with their dollars. |
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EFudd
Premium
join:2001-09-08
Brownsville, OH
| reply to EFudd
I understand where your coming from. Really I do, even though I am defending those people. Yes, they should vote with their dollars and do without if they cant find a better company. I completely agree.
But they really dont want to get screwed even though they wont do without. Thats why they complain.
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Do you SetiAtHome |
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