Comcast activating bandwidth caps
Thrax
🐌Austin, TX Icrontian
The ongoing saga of Comcast and its struggles to manage their network's usage continues with the revelation that the ISP will be enacting country-wide 250GB bandwidth caps. Going into effect on October 1, Comcast defends the decision by noting that it is an "extremely large amount of data."
Comcast asserts that the new bandwidth cap merely publicizes a long-standing internal policy and explicitly defines preexisting limitations. In a response sent to ArsTechnica, Comcast said that a customer using more than 250GB a month "may be contacted by Comcast to notify them of excessive use."
While Comcast claims that this cap has been in place for some years, broadband consumers are expected to be incensed by the announcement. The mention of limitations to a broadband connection in the United States often cultivates public resentment and may further tarnish the ISP's image.
Free Press, the non-profit organization lobbying for broader access to a more open media, has denounced the change as a symbol of the United States' poor broadband market. In a public statement, research director S. Derek Turner noted that bandwidth caps and traffic management are stopgap solutions that belie the larger problem of a poorly-developed network.
"If the United States had genuine broadband competition, Internet providers would not be able to profit from artificial scarcity -- they would invest in their networks to keep pace with consumer demand," he said.
While Turner admitted that the "reasonably high" caps were a better alternative than illegal network management, he reasoned that congestion should be treated as a temporary problem and "one that is managed without discrimination."
Comcast asserts that the new bandwidth cap merely publicizes a long-standing internal policy and explicitly defines preexisting limitations. In a response sent to ArsTechnica, Comcast said that a customer using more than 250GB a month "may be contacted by Comcast to notify them of excessive use."
While Comcast claims that this cap has been in place for some years, broadband consumers are expected to be incensed by the announcement. The mention of limitations to a broadband connection in the United States often cultivates public resentment and may further tarnish the ISP's image.
Free Press, the non-profit organization lobbying for broader access to a more open media, has denounced the change as a symbol of the United States' poor broadband market. In a public statement, research director S. Derek Turner noted that bandwidth caps and traffic management are stopgap solutions that belie the larger problem of a poorly-developed network.
"If the United States had genuine broadband competition, Internet providers would not be able to profit from artificial scarcity -- they would invest in their networks to keep pace with consumer demand," he said.
While Turner admitted that the "reasonably high" caps were a better alternative than illegal network management, he reasoned that congestion should be treated as a temporary problem and "one that is managed without discrimination."
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Comments
WTF, why should Comcast screw over any of them?
I agree with Free Press, we have poured a lot of money and tax breaks into these companies to rebuild our country's networking infrastructure. And it hasn't happened. So now paying customers get caps and limits placed on them. Superlame.
Thrax,
Great info and I'm sorry to hear about that. FIOS has impressed the hell out of me after 10 years of consistent cable and a dabble with DSL. I agree with your statement that "Remarkably, Verizon's ISP division is amongst the most progressive and "Open" national ISPs available. They do not endorse traffic filtering or monitoring of any kind, and have on several occasions resisted MPAA/RIAA subpœnas."
Their service is good (we have the BIG bundle), their speeds are insanely good (20 Mbps/20 Mbps), and their prices are reasonable. When I researched the Verizon services three months ago, they were head and shoulders above all the cable offerings in the DC, VA, and MD area.
No regrets as of yet...
FIOS for President (and BitTorrent for VP)!