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Comcast May Raise Prices On "Internet Hogs"

Posted by timothy on from the easier-than-raising-actual-hogs dept.

lunartik writes: "According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Comcast may raise rates on users of their @home service who download a significant amount of audio or video files. Comcast claims that 1 percent of users use 30 percent of capacity. With the flat fee possibly flying out the window for users who utilize the service's speed, one wonders if US broadband is heading the same way as the Aussies." Time Warner has said much the same, and the spiral has probably just begun.

3 of 571 comments (clear)

  1. About Time Warner ... by dougmc · · Score: 5, Informative
    I put this in the previous /. article mentioned in this article -- it still seems relevant, so I'm including it again ...
    An official response to this ... by dougmc on Tuesday April 09, @03:05PM (#3311828) This has been discussed in the Austin, TX `cable' mailing list, and this was added by Peter Gregg, who's a manager of some sort at the local TW office --
    This was something that was mentioned in passing months and months ago. We immediately screamed and didn't hear another word. I would be very surprised if this were accurate. There would need to be a whole new polling infrastructure on the network as well as billing interfaces not to mention all of the legal stuff that would need to be done. I will forward the article to corp and see what kind of response I get. I would guess that as long as another ISP were on our pipe, then they would have to abide by the agreement also. At any rate, I will try to get a better answer for you as soon as I can. Don't freak out until then.....lol.
  2. Re:similar logic should apply to driving by jd142 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Equally so, if I only drive 100 miles per month, I should pay a pro-rated insurance fee


    Our insurance company asks how far we live from work for exactly that reason. Our rates would be slightly higher if we lived 20 miles from work instead of 2.


    As far as the internet usage goes, the same thing. The isp that I use for my email account has a 5 dollar a month e-mail only account, which I've used for years. You get something like 5 hours of dialup service a month with that. Or I could pay 10 for 40 hours and some web space or 20 for unlimited. I believe AOL has a similar 5 hour a month plan as well as a bring-your-own-connnection plan for people with cable modems. Most ISP's have low end, low hour accounts.


    Ting!! Your wish has been granted.


  3. Re:Easy Solution. by gad_zuki! · · Score: 5, Informative

    Crappy analogy. First make sure you oversell your service, then make sure you advertise the crap out of the the beauty of always on, fast internet with applications in video and faster gameplay. Now keep overselling until the accountants send a very mean memo.

    This is when you do a 180 and screw your customers because you never had a viable business plan to begin with. Sorry, but the warez kiddie bought your service because of how you offered it to him. May your customers leave for a company with a working business plan and you can have the T1 all to yourself.