Shooting yourself in the foot: Time Warner's usage caps

jmke · 25th January 2008, 10:27

Last week, we learned from a leaked memo that Time Warner Cable is preparing to roll out usage-based broadband service tiers to new customers in Beaumont, TX. The company has since confirmed its plans, with monthly bandwidth caps set at 5GB, 10GB, 20GB, and 40GB. Customers who exceed their cap would be hit with an undetermined per-gigabyte charge, but Bell Canada's overage fees, which range from CAN$1.00 to CAN$7.50 per gigabyte, may give some inkling of where Time Warner's overage fees will end up. Usage caps are a short-sighted response to capacity constraints, one that's likely to hurt the company more than it will help in the long run—especially with new broadband options on the horizon.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...sage-caps.html

jmke · 25th January 2008, 10:28

welcome to Belgium, where all major providers have very low caps (10gb)

geoffrey · 25th January 2008, 17:31

@ John: Scarlet, not one of the smallest providers, does offer up to 30gb/month. It does not cost noticeable more then others.

jmke · 25th January 2008, 18:35

@Geoffrey: that's a usage CAP, right there. In the US they have no restrictions on how much content one can download, much like other countries here in Europe.

Scarlet's offering is not the best around, check Dommel & EDPnet for better offers if you are on ADSL.

unfortunately where I live, I'm too far away to get ADSL signal above 1mbps, so no good, Internet over Cable costs €54/month for 15gb,

26th January 2008, 09:03

I'm sorry, but that is just wrong. Both TWC's plans and the situation in Belgium. Just because y'all must put up with caps doesn't make it right.

I'd be curious to know what my usual monthly limit is at, but as a power user I frequently have to download items. Reinstalling OS's semi-frequently involves frequent OS and programs downloads/updates, not to mention several GB just for Steam games alone just for benchmark and review purposes.

I'm hoping TWC will reconsider, if they don't I'll be switching to AT&T's U-verse.... 10mbps down 1mbps up, no limits and a declared statement of no plans to implement any. Same price as I currently pay for 6mbps/364kbps TWC internet, but not entirely sure on that yet.

jmke · 26th January 2008, 11:34

oh, I never said it was right, in fact, all the dedicated internet users (who use it more than just to check their email) are quite pissed off at the Belgian ISP and their ridiculous limits.

I first got Internet through cable in 1997, it was 10mbps download '300megabyte limit' !!! in the contract it was stipulated that the monthly limit was 300Mb on a 10Mbps line, doesn't take long to get over that. Luckily they also realized this and they didn't implement the limits, but without actual limits followed, we didn't really know how far we could go. so we ventured to 30gb/month, we got calls from the ISP asking us to "tone it down", in the end they implemented new limits and new contracts, 10gb/month, it hasn't changed much for 7 years now, unless you pay way more than usual (~€35/month in the beginning, for more you pay up to €70/month and more).

we have had enough of ISP with downloadlimits, that's for sure

27th January 2008, 02:03

Ouch!! AT&T only just now started offering 10mbps down speeds, they originally were 6mbps. 300mb limit on a 10mbps line makes zero sense, it sounds more like they are just arbitrarily picking limits.

It sounds so bad that it might be cheaper to pay for two ISP connections to your house... that situation is ridiculous!

25th January 2008, 10:27	#1
jmke Madshrimp Join Date: May 2002 Location: 7090/Belgium Posts: 79,021	Shooting yourself in the foot: Time Warner's usage caps Last week, we learned from a leaked memo that Time Warner Cable is preparing to roll out usage-based broadband service tiers to new customers in Beaumont, TX. The company has since confirmed its plans, with monthly bandwidth caps set at 5GB, 10GB, 20GB, and 40GB. Customers who exceed their cap would be hit with an undetermined per-gigabyte charge, but Bell Canada's overage fees, which range from CAN$1.00 to CAN$7.50 per gigabyte, may give some inkling of where Time Warner's overage fees will end up. Usage caps are a short-sighted response to capacity constraints, one that's likely to hurt the company more than it will help in the long run—especially with new broadband options on the horizon. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...sage-caps.html __________________

25th January 2008, 10:28	#2
jmke Madshrimp Join Date: May 2002 Location: 7090/Belgium Posts: 79,021	welcome to Belgium, where all major providers have very low caps (10gb) __________________

25th January 2008, 18:35	#4
jmke Madshrimp Join Date: May 2002 Location: 7090/Belgium Posts: 79,021	@Geoffrey: that's a usage CAP, right there. In the US they have no restrictions on how much content one can download, much like other countries here in Europe. Scarlet's offering is not the best around, check Dommel & EDPnet for better offers if you are on ADSL. unfortunately where I live, I'm too far away to get ADSL signal above 1mbps, so no good, Internet over Cable costs €54/month for 15gb, __________________

26th January 2008, 11:34	#6
jmke Madshrimp Join Date: May 2002 Location: 7090/Belgium Posts: 79,021	oh, I never said it was right, in fact, all the dedicated internet users (who use it more than just to check their email) are quite pissed off at the Belgian ISP and their ridiculous limits. I first got Internet through cable in 1997, it was 10mbps download '300megabyte limit' !!! in the contract it was stipulated that the monthly limit was 300Mb on a 10Mbps line, doesn't take long to get over that. Luckily they also realized this and they didn't implement the limits, but without actual limits followed, we didn't really know how far we could go. so we ventured to 30gb/month, we got calls from the ISP asking us to "tone it down", in the end they implemented new limits and new contracts, 10gb/month, it hasn't changed much for 7 years now, unless you pay way more than usual (~€35/month in the beginning, for more you pay up to €70/month and more). we have had enough of ISP with downloadlimits, that's for sure __________________ Last edited by jmke : 26th January 2008 at 11:58.

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25th January 2008, 17:31	#3
geoffrey [M] Reviewer Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 4,127	@ John: Scarlet, not one of the smallest providers, does offer up to 30gb/month. It does not cost noticeable more then others.

26th January 2008, 09:03	#5
Kougar Posts: n/a	I'm sorry, but that is just wrong. Both TWC's plans and the situation in Belgium. Just because y'all must put up with caps doesn't make it right. I'd be curious to know what my usual monthly limit is at, but as a power user I frequently have to download items. Reinstalling OS's semi-frequently involves frequent OS and programs downloads/updates, not to mention several GB just for Steam games alone just for benchmark and review purposes. I'm hoping TWC will reconsider, if they don't I'll be switching to AT&T's U-verse.... 10mbps down 1mbps up, no limits and a declared statement of no plans to implement any. Same price as I currently pay for 6mbps/364kbps TWC internet, but not entirely sure on that yet.

27th January 2008, 02:03	#7
Kougar Posts: n/a	Ouch!! AT&T only just now started offering 10mbps down speeds, they originally were 6mbps. 300mb limit on a 10mbps line makes zero sense, it sounds more like they are just arbitrarily picking limits. It sounds so bad that it might be cheaper to pay for two ISP connections to your house... that situation is ridiculous!