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Comcast Users: Download 600GB, Get Booted
Second user complains of sudden termination
Another Comcast user in our forums laments the sudden cancellation of his broadband service by Comcast for crossing the infamous invisible bandwidth limit imposed by the company. Like another recent poster, the user downloaded more than 600GB of data in one month, which not surprisingly set off alarms at Comcast. Such users aren't getting much sympathy from forum regulars these days. "Good riddance! Another Comcrap bandwidth hog gets booted," says one fellow customer.
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JPGrimmace
join:2003-09-16
Pontiac, MI

1 recommendation

JPGrimmace

Member

Who

I was worried that my approx 40GB usage this month would be a problem, I'm certainly not worried now.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd

Premium Member

Re: Who

hahaha and i thought my 10gigs a few months ago was bad or when i used to run bittorrent to download all the seasons of Enterprise.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

FFH5 to JPGrimmace

Premium Member

to JPGrimmace
said by JPGrimmace:

I was worried that my approx 40GB usage this month would be a problem, I'm certainly not worried now.
Yes, that size of download is ridiculous. Even with that many people using it.
audiog
join:2004-08-09
Detroit, MI

audiog

Member

Re: Who

I wonder if the user was a business. I know of a few audio and video editing houses that are using Comcrap for file transfers to save on the $300 per month fees for a T line. Unadulterated audio at 2 channel 16 bit is 50 MB per song. Lets not talk about a multi track session the biggest one I worked on was around 600GB in DSD with session notes and back ups of all midi and sample data. That monster was stored on a 1000GB drive with 100 tracks with multiple mix stems. That replaced 6 24-reels and 4 2-trk reels. Some of the midi and sample work came in from a midi house that was a customer of ComCrap cable and they were paying the business rate for tv and internet.

We charge fees for big Down loads to encourage hard drive usage via FedEx. The Client spent 1G for file downloads because of the need to get it done that night because it was in a Movie and needed to be at the mix stage by 12 noon the next day.
99664227 (banned)
Heavily MODerated
join:2002-11-21
USA

1 recommendation

99664227 (banned) to JPGrimmace

Member

to JPGrimmace
Wow, 600GB of bandwidth! Glad Comcast is clamping down on shits like this idiot. But, it would be nice if they drew a line in the sand and say don't use more than X much of bandwidth.

RVAguy
Premium Member
join:2006-01-05
Richmond, VA

RVAguy

Premium Member

Re: Who

I can understand why there is no expressed limit. They do not have a written one. Just a bunch of techies who will search logs and see a lot of usage in the 300-600gb/mo range and monitor it. Each one of them in that department makes the decision based on a number of factors, like utilization of the area. If you are in an area where there is already a question of reliability you are going to get slapped down a whole lot quicker than areas where no one is complaining. Another factor is the kind of service you have (tier). These companies are out to make money as well, and if you the downloader is interfering with that, then they have all the right to cancel your service. As long as the FTC allows advertising such as unlimited, where there really is a limit, then all is fair.
DMS1
join:2005-04-06
Plano, TX

DMS1

Member

Re: Who

said by RVAguy:

As long as the FTC allows advertising such as unlimited, where there really is a limit, then all is fair.
I'm not convinced that Comcast ever use the word 'unlimited' and even if they do, I think one has to accept that it is a marketing buzzword and must be read as "unlimited, but in accordance with expected usage patterns for the account type".

skippyz7
@unknown

skippyz7

Anon

Re: Who

You have to be shitting me, when I read a word that word should actually mean what it's supposed to mean according to the dictionary. Unlimited means _UNLIMITED_ if they want to impose a "limit according to expected usage..." then they need to say that, it's called TRUTH IN ADVERTISING, many a company has been bitten by it before.
Shark_615
join:2006-01-17
Pickering, ON

Shark_615

Member

Re: Who

It means exactly that.

Unlimited time.

and if you can' read that then its no ones fault you get screwed but your own.

calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA

calvoiper to RVAguy

Member

to RVAguy
said by RVAguy:

I can understand why there is no expressed limit. ...
Yeah, but there's a BIG difference between reasonable warning and a death penalty for a first offense.

How would you like it if you went shabby to the local grocery one day and they said "We're trying to pick up our image. You don't EVER get to come back to this store."

I mean, isn't it reasonable to warn someone they are using too much--even if it's not a "pre-set limit" (to borrow credit card terminology.)

calvoiper

Glaice
Brutal Video Vault
Premium Member
join:2002-10-01
North Babylon, NY

Glaice to JPGrimmace

Premium Member

to JPGrimmace
Whoever downloads just over 0.5TB really needs to get a dedicated line or something, 600GB in a month is just excessive. My downlad per month ranged from 4 to 25GB/month and upload ranges from 400MB to 5GB at most.

500GB? What's this guy doing, 24/7 P2P?

superht1
join:2001-02-22
Kennesaw, GA

superht1

Member

Re: Who

That's only 1/3 of 6 mbit 24hrs a day? If he leeched at full speed 24hrs a day,that would be 1.8TB a month.

Anomus
@69.213.x.x

Anomus to Glaice

Anon

to Glaice
You bet its p2p. I have 3 cantennas pointing at three wireless routers in my neighborhood sucking up roughly 25gigs per day. With all the wonderful movies and tv shows on line I just dont see any end in sight. Its great its not comcast.:D

calvoiper
join:2003-03-31
Belvedere Tiburon, CA

calvoiper

Member

Re: Who

...and what are you using to store all this content? You just burning disks?

calvoiper

Anomus
@dsl.dytnoh.ameritech

Anomus

Anon

Re: Who

No way. I cant burn 25gigs a day plus burned cd and dvds have a shelf life of just a few years. What a waste for all that p2p goodness to just evaporate after a few years. I have 2 storage pc's, one for movies and one for tv shows. The movie box has 20 400gig drives and the tv box has 9 400gig drives. They both have about 20% of their free space left so Im good for a while before needing major upgradeing. Cool huh?:D
BVT
join:2004-10-25
Mount Juliet, TN

BVT

Member

Re: Who

You are full of it. Take pics with the side off the puters
severach
join:2002-09-12
Jackson, MI

severach

Member

Re: Who

It's not possible within the computer but it is with external cases filled with USB2 dongles. I thought about building one but never got around to it. If he would design a box and put it up on eBay, he would make enough money to support his p2p habit.

Anomus
@dsl.dytnoh.ameritech

Anomus

Anon

Re: Who

I got 2 8U size pc cases from ebay for $60 each and filled them with 5 drive slide out ICY DOCK bays. This holds 20 drives hooked to 2 3ware raid cards and there is still plenty of internal room for mounted drives. So each pc is self contained but weighs over 100 pounds. I paid for the pc and slide out cages but all the drives I use I get for free. I am one lucky dude.

batterup
I Can Not Tell A Lie.
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Netcong, NJ

batterup to JPGrimmace

Premium Member

to JPGrimmace
So I can't watch Baseball all day long?
cyanstorm
Premium Member
join:2002-11-15
Miami, FL

cyanstorm to JPGrimmace

Premium Member

to JPGrimmace
This guy musnt have a life...600GB gosh almighty, hard core D/L bastard, now please just get rid of everyone abusing the system or move em to a business tier.

superht1
join:2001-02-22
Kennesaw, GA

superht1

Member

Re: Amazing

This is just CC overselling node excuse. Instead of making more bandwidth available their cutting off some who use more then others. It's an easy solution but is gonna upset people so that is just plain wrong.

batterup
I Can Not Tell A Lie.
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Netcong, NJ

batterup

Premium Member

Re: Amazing

said by superht1:

This is just CC overselling node excuse. Instead of making more bandwidth available their cutting off some who use more then others. It's an easy solution but is gonna upset people so that is just plain wrong.
Cable companies have decided that they can upset a small percent of there subscribers and it will not hurt there bottom line.

atuarre
Here come the drums
Premium Member
join:2004-02-14
EC/SETX SWLA

atuarre to JPGrimmace

Premium Member

to JPGrimmace
You shouldn't be worried. But I feel that 600 gigabytes a month is rather excessive and unacceptable. The only this user could have been doing to move that much data in a month, imo, would be to either be moving some type of media, such as movies, or music, or warez.

Unless you are on a business plan, you know the ISP is going to have limitations on how much bandwidth you use, so why keep testing the waters, especially with companies that have a prove track record for ending a users service for excessive traffic.

Tokidoki
Premium Member
join:2002-08-26
South Richmond Hill, NY

Tokidoki

Premium Member

600gb...

good lord!

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

3 edits

Transmaster

Member

Re: 600gb...


My Idea of Naked Meat
said by Tokidoki:

good lord!
My thoughts too, this dweeb must wear out several DVD burners a year. As to what he was downloading has to be porno, of course, he must be selling boot leg nookie movies out of his house.;)

as the years go by My Idea of what is nice naked meat has changed a bit.:D Here is what I call a PETA Porn site »www.absteak.com be careful not to drool on your key board

furlonium
join:2002-05-08
Allentown, PA

furlonium

Member

Re: 600gb...

said by Transmaster:

said by Tokidoki:

good lord!
My thoughts too, this dweeb must wear out several DVD burners a year. As to what he was downloading has to be porno, of course, he must be selling boot leg nookie movies out of his house.;)

as the years go by My Idea of what is nice naked meat has changed a bit.:D Here is what I call a PETA Porn site »www.absteak.com be careful not to drool on your key board
Dude! Talk about distracting me...oh man.
pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland

1 recommendation

pandora

Premium Member

600GB jeez

What the heck was he downloading? That's preposterous.

Phil
Rojo Sol
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11
Downers Grove, IL

Phil

Premium Member

Re: 600GB jeez

Movies.

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

dadkins

MVM

Re: 600GB jeez

said by Phil:

Movies.
There aren't that many movies to download!
Even at uncompressed 9GB DVDs, that's a shitload of movies!

kamm
join:2001-02-14
Brooklyn, NY

kamm

Member

Re: 600GB jeez

said by dadkins:

said by Phil:

Movies.
There aren't that many movies to download!
Even at uncompressed 9GB DVDs, that's a shitload of movies!
Not at all. A simply signal-dumped (mpeg2 ts) HD movie takes up $10-15GB alone. 600GB is only about 40-50 movies in HD, not a big deal.
pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland

pandora to Phil

Premium Member

to Phil
Thanks Phil,
I couldn't imagine what the heck he was doing. This is definitely out of my league.

Phil
Rojo Sol
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11
Downers Grove, IL

Phil

Premium Member

Re: 600GB jeez

said by pandora:

Thanks Phil,
I couldn't imagine what the heck he was doing. This is definitely out of my league.
Hey sarcasm!
pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland

pandora

Premium Member

Re: 600GB jeez

Nah, not sarcasm. I haven't downloaded any entertainment stuff in many years.

OpenMike
@208.17.x.x

OpenMike

Anon

Well...

That seems like an appropriate limit if there needs to be one. I can live with that.:D
ricep5
Premium Member
join:2000-08-07
Jacksonville, FL

ricep5

Premium Member

Get another account

Get a second account or a DSL line and load balance.

If you seriously need to download 600 Gb a month, you should consider a commercial type service where caps are not an issue.

•••••

rudnicke
Premium Member
join:2004-10-23
Rantoul, IL

1 recommendation

rudnicke

Premium Member

Make it known

600GB a month is a lot of data, but I do think Comcast should make their 'invisible limits' known to subscribers.
mlundin
join:2001-03-27
Lawrence, KS

mlundin

Member

Re: Make it known

EXACTLY!!!!!

Glaice
Brutal Video Vault
Premium Member
join:2002-10-01
North Babylon, NY

Glaice to rudnicke

Premium Member

to rudnicke
Same with Cablevision on upload caps..

yock
TFTC
Premium Member
join:2000-11-21
Miamisburg, OH

1 recommendation

yock

Premium Member

Do The Math

That's roughly a sustained throughput of 235KBps every second of everyday, non-stop. While I agree that invisible limits are bad policy, the likelihood that he's sustaining that with legal content is so remote that I wouldn't even entertain his argument. This isn't as much an infrastructure problem as it is a liability issue. Comcast knows he's up to no good, they just can't prove it without violating his privacy. And if they did inspect his packets and violate his right to privacy, he'd be facing felony charges AND a cancelled account.

What would you do?

On a lighter note, that speaks volumes for Comcast's stability and reliability in his area. That's a killer residential connection.

••••
iSEPIC
join:2001-04-17
Las Vegas, NV

iSEPIC

Member

what if they have multiple computers

Anyone ever think that maybe he has 6 teenage kids streaming stuff? I mean then it would only be 100g per kid per month. They set no limit on how many computers you can have in your home. I think if they are going to have hard caps (or even soft caps) they should give you an option to pay xx$ for xxG after you reach that cap, but for some reason they won't do that - switch to DSL if you can.

••••••

goodexcuse
@nycmny.fios.verizon.

goodexcuse

Anon

to jump ship NOW

Good excuse to go over to Verizon, comcast makes too much money to let a couple of high bandwidth hogs steal their profits!

Just make sure you take your TV and Phone service over to a competitor as well! Teach them that Q4 profits are only temporary.

P2PPirate2
join:2005-02-02
New York, NY

P2PPirate2

Member

In another news

My neighbor was banned from eating in his favorite local All-You-Can-Eat buffet restraurant because he consume 5 more plates then average joe would've. Shouldn't Comcast discount people who barely use thier bandwith?

••••

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

1 recommendation

cdru

MVM

Welcome to the real world

Yes it's a problem that "unlimited" service is being sold and there is a 600 GB cap blah blah blah. Nothing new here.

But the consumer also need to get a grip on reality. 600+GB a month averages out to 20GB/day or 242KBps 24/7. He most likely is on a residential account, paying ~$50/month for that connection, but uses well over a T1's worth of data non-stop. If he wants to pay for what he's actually using, I'd suggest he go purchase a T1 @ 500+/month. Then he can have a right to bitch and moan that he was cut off.

What the heck did he expect was going to happen? Sorry, no sympathy from me, even though it is big, bad, Comcast.

•••••••

Cheese
Premium Member
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL

1 recommendation

Cheese

Premium Member

7 Users

Is what this person said was using this connection, 7 adult internet users, and he is complaining. That's not typical home use. Sorry and so long hog!

••••••••••••••••••••••

richardpor
Fur it up
join:2003-04-19
Portland, OR

richardpor

Member

I did the math

I am a ditto heard and a subscriber to Rush 24/7 I download rushes show to my mp3 player everyday, 780mb per month.

I rip my cds mostly Classical onto a external hard drive for quick downloading to my MP3 Player, my bit rate is at 320kbs if I were to download it on the net it would be a 5.5G file but would take me 2050 hours to listen to my collection.
If with streaming music I hardl get over 2 gigs a month.

It is clear to me if anybody needs more than 100G they are pirating DVD or music. I feel Comcast more than justify to cut of broadbandholics.

•••
joeage
join:2001-05-12
Tallahassee, FL

joeage

Member

How to check how much bandwidth used?

Is there an easy way to check how much bandwidth I have been using on Comcast?

Fluker
join:2005-04-07
West Lafayette, IN

Fluker

Member

Re: How to check how much bandwidth used?

i use DUmeter, however that only records the usage on the computer it is running on. And it also has no way to separate traffic destined for my network from internet traffic.

But it gives me a good estimate. Daily/weekly/monthly/total up, down and total.

301gb down and 519gb up for a total of 821gb since june2005 for those that care. Comcast - Where's my upload?!?

Kosh
We are all Kosh
Premium Member
join:2005-11-16
Z'ha'dum

Kosh to joeage

Premium Member

to joeage
Netlimiter for windows will do it. I liked the old version 1.3 which I think was more stable and less resource intensive.
Kosh

Kosh

Premium Member

Dilbert's Dad

Reminds me of the old tv show Dilbert (based on the cartoon) where Dilbert's dad lives in the all-you can eat restaurant based on principle ("I have to make sure it's ALL I can eat!").:p

But seriously though, invisible caps are going to be more of an issue as content on the web explodes in size. Even simple web pages now are loaded down with flash and other nonessential garbage that is more style than substance. And if you have 2-3 PCs connected it's much easier to hit a limit like 100 GB with active use.

I wouldn't presume to judge the content he downloaded as being illegal, because we honestly don't. Perhaps he liked to have a "linux distro of the hour, every hour"?

600 GB isn't as draconian as some of the caps I've heard about ("If you download 10 gigs in a month you're a thief!")...but Comcast and other ISPs need to write this stuff in the fine print. I have little doubt that someone will bring a lawsuit over it.

••••••

viperpa33s
Why Me?
Premium Member
join:2002-12-20
Bradenton, FL

1 edit

viperpa33s

Premium Member

All Things Considered

Comcast will boot you for what they consider internet abuse but if you ask them what is a reasonable bandwidth limit, they won't give you an answer. The reason why they don't tell you cause if they were to tell you a reasonable limit, then there service wouldn't be considered unlimited.

I bet I can ask 100 people what they considered reasonable and I bet each person would give a different answer. If someone was to use 5 gig a month and I was to use 20 gig a month, that person would consider me a bandwidth hog. Not every person uses the internet for the same thing, so of course we all going to have our own interpretation of what is reasonable.

Nowadays it's no longer a 1 computer household. Many households have 2 or 3 computers setup with the ease of networking. In my house I have 4 computers. My household don't use that much bandwidth even with 3 people each using a different computer but I am sure someone else wouldn't think so. If I use 20 gigs a month if I am lucky.

Sure this person is inconsiderate of others but he subscribed to a service that advertises being unlimited and this person had a right to use it that way according to Comcast.

edit: I will correct myself in saying the Comcast does not advertise unlimited service. If that's the case then Comcast service is limited and should state that. They should tell each customer how much bandwidth they are allotted each month.

••••••••••
amungus
Premium Member
join:2004-11-26
America

amungus

Premium Member

to quote ol' William Shatner

"I can't get behind that!"

Really, I mean, I have trouble adding up all of what I use to be more than 10-15GB TOPS!!! my likely average is less than a gig or two. Counting Vongo, Rhapsody, surfing myspace, random bands and their (Free) music, random iso's to try out, updates/patches etc., voip (very occasionally), and whatever else I stubleupon (I love stumbleupon), I really can't see myself using more than 10 Gigabytes of interweb at the very very most...
more than likely, the average (high speed cable) internet user uses MUCH LESS than 1GB per month, or for a 'regular' user which actually downloads random stuff, 10-20GB.

I even have to go through and delete stuff, uninstall stupid programs I try that suck, clear my cache occasionally, and try to keep my pc in good shape in between all that...

Even if this person, or persons, were deleting things after download, or watching full megabit+ streams constantly, I have trouble imagining what the heck to DO with all of it...

Like others have said, even if you were downloading and KEEPING all this crap, where on earth would you store it???

Comcast - "Sir, your account is showing us that you have downloaded the entire known public internet, we have to ask you to slow down now, or stop"

customer - "No! I am archiving the entire internet for future generations!"

Comcast - "that's great, but you have reached the end of the internet, please go back, do not pass go, and give US $200 for the previous WEEK's worth for EACH part of the month, thank you"

customer - "but my roommates and I equally used up the connection..."

Comcast - "sorry, you are now restricted to the basic package of 128k up/down as per government regulated definition of high speed internet connectivity, have a nice day"

customer - "ok, I'll pay up, here's my card, charge me $800 and I'll slow down"

Comcast - "thanks, you're still stuck on basic ultra low speed, coffee stir stick/straw thingy speeds, BYE!!!"

...seriously that's .6 Terrabytes...
until we get good quality IPTV at Megabit+ speeds, I don't see how one could use that much bandwith...
then again, I still think internet connections should be like a phone line, in that if you wish to talk all day and all night (at a set rate), you can do that without being bothered. Until then, what we're getting from isp's is working for most people.

KiddChrisaddict
@208.17.x.x

KiddChrisaddict

Anon

Re: to quote ol' William Shatner

Lol...that reminds me of that commercial (forget what it was for) the guys tapping away at the computer, then he gets a pop-up that says..."You Have reached the end of the Internet."

Cheese
Premium Member
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL

Cheese

Premium Member

Re: to quote ol' William Shatner

said by KiddChrisaddict :

Lol...that reminds me of that commercial (forget what it was for) the guys tapping away at the computer, then he gets a pop-up that says..."You Have reached the end of the Internet."
DirecPC.

kamm
join:2001-02-14
Brooklyn, NY

kamm

Member

Well, it's not that much actually...

... it's only 20GB per day. If you use newsgroups, 20 gig per day isn't an extreme amount, you just need a good connection.:D

superht1
join:2001-02-22
Kennesaw, GA

superht1

Member

Re: Well, it's not that much actually...

That user that used 600gb only utilized 1/3 of his speed cap 24hrs a day. That's 2mbit. I think they expect users to pay more for Cable television programs rather then try to use their internet as entertainment. This not only encourage others to use less, those subscribed to it is gonna cut their usage by at least half due to fear of being labeled as excessive user. They should encourage people to use more bandwidth, not less. There's so much that it's almost infinite.

Martindziad
Premium Member
join:2002-04-04
Chicago, IL

Martindziad

Premium Member

LoL Ok 600 gigs wow!

Like many of you here has stated that, it is a lot of data I agree. But Comcast should draw the line and say sir, madam lets just say

"3% of our cases we have bandwidth users that compromise the network availability to other users which means using accessive amount of bandwidth. We do have a limit on our internet service on how much you can transfer and that limit is 100 gigs. Once you reach this limit we will throttle your speeds to 256k down and 128k up"

Now if they stated this do you think users would still sign up for the service?
Please improvise here with me.

This is what I think of the word

unlimited
Main Entry: un·lim·it·ed
Pronunciation: -'li-m&-t&d
Function: adjective
1 : lacking any controls : UNRESTRICTED
2 : BOUNDLESS, INFINITE
3 : not bounded by exceptions : UNDEFINED
- un·lim·it·ed·ly adverb

As you can see Not Bounded By Exceptions.

Well anyways my views are explained here and I hope we share the same ones.

For example just look at how much I transfer here.

••••••••••••••••••••
phantom6294
join:2002-02-27
Abingdon, MD

1 recommendation

phantom6294

Member

I'll say it again...

I said this last time we had this discussion. Read the Comcast AUP:
"Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to, using the Service, Customer Equipment, or the Comcast Equipment to:
...
vii. restrict, inhibit, or otherwise interfere with the ability of any other person, regardless of intent, purpose or knowledge, to use or enjoy the Service, including, without limitation, posting or transmitting any information or software which contains a worm, virus, or other harmful feature, or generating levels of traffic sufficient to impede others' ability to send or retrieve information;

viii. restrict, inhibit, interfere with, or otherwise disrupt or cause a performance degradation, regardless of intent, purpose or knowledge, to the Service or any Comcast (or Comcast supplier) host, server, backbone network, node or service, or otherwise cause a performance degradation to any Comcast (or Comcast supplier) facilities used to deliver the Service;"
So, I did the math last time as well and I will do it again. 600GB in a 31 day month would require a 2Mbps stream NON-STOP the entire month. I think most reasonable people would say that kind of activity is going to cause a performance degradation. So, if you use Comcast, you agree to these terms. If you don't like them, SHUT-UP, and go find another ISP. Also, if Comcast got one complaint from a customer about performance issues and is using the same node as this clown, Comcast has all the more right to terminate someone for failing to adhere to the AUP.

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