New York – Some people use the Internet simply to check e-mail and look up phone numbers. Others are online all day, downloading big video and music files.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
For years, both kinds of Web surfers have paid the same price for access. But now three of the country’s largest Internet service providers are threatening to clamp down on their most active subscribers by placing monthly limits on their online activity.
One of them, Time Warner Cable, began a trial of “Internet metering” in one Texas city early this month, asking customers to select a monthly plan and pay surcharges when they exceed their bandwidth limit. The idea is that people who use the network more heavily should pay more, the way they do for water, electricity, or, in many cases, cellphone minutes.
That same week, Comcast said that it would expand on a strategy it uses to manage Internet traffic: slowing down the connections of the heaviest users, so-called bandwidth hogs, at peak times.
AT&T also said Thursday that limits on heavy use were inevitable and that it was considering pricing based on data volume. “Based on current trends, total bandwidth in the AT&T network will increase by four times over the next three years,” the company said in a statement.
the companies imposing the caps say that their actions are only fair. People who use more network capacity should pay more, Time Warner argues. And Comcast says that people who use too much — like those who engage in file-sharing — should be forced to slow down.
This is terrible news highway robbery of the first class!!!!
As a rule communication rates always come down, NOT GO UP! This is a load of hog-wash!
10.48: why is it robbery? Do you know that it actually does cost them more, the more people use it? bandwidth costs money..
don’t worry, competition won’t let us down .. I’m not at all worried! L. dafka
How about sell the biggest fastet pipes possible and reward those who don’t use it during peak times, or at all, by reduced prices, just like an electric water heater with a non-peak-rate reduction… as long as they made the analogy to utilities.
Another benefit would be actual monetary damages from spam email – make spammers liable for the damage they cost in excess email traffic.
1048: Do you mean “The Information SuperHighway” robbery?
Stupid America. There are third world countries with faster, better, and cheaper internet service.
Once again, another company cheating millions of americans. Will I pay less if I use less?? No of course not!
Join Verizon before it’s too late. All companies are going to be doing this by 2012. You will have to pay extra to access non-mainstream web-sites.(like all jewish sites)
All the companies have gotten together to figure out how they could make more money and this is what they came out with!
Spammers, pop ups, crappy ad producers, all should cover the cost.