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Comcast To Charge $30 For Unlimited Data Over 300GB Cap
For some time, Comcast has been testing 300 GB monthly data caps in certain markets. An anonymous reader notes a policy change unveiled today that gives customers in those markets the ability to switch back to unlimited data for $30 extra. Previously (and currently, for customers who don't pay the extra $30), Comcast would charge $10 per 50GB above the cap. "Comcast's intent on this front has been clear for some time. Comcast lobbyist and VP David Cohen last year strongly suggested that usage caps would be arriving for all Comcast customers sooner or later. The idea of charging users a premium to avoid arbitrary usage restrictions has been a pipe dream of incumbent ISP executives for a decade." The new policy goes into effect on October 1.
Netflix is always dropping content to rotate in content they didn't already have (note I didn't say "new" content). They've always operated this way. The other option is to charge more and have a larger selection. I think I'm with most people in saying I would rather them rotate in new content than have a totally static library of movies after they hit the limit of what they can afford to license.
Better known as 318230.
The problem is that often they have been granted monopoly status but rarely are they held to the same standards that other monopoly utilities (power, gas, landline phone, etc.) are held to, such as requiring universal coverage within their service area rather than just the most profitable parts, approval required from some governing board before rate hikes, etc.
Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
Anyhow, I went to their local office to sign up for service and get my equipment. I asked the rep specifically and in no uncertain terms, "is there a data cap?" The answer was no. To be sure, I explained what I meant - some limit over which I would be charged extra. The answer was still no. This was in June.
In December, I got an email announcing the "great news" that the cap was being raised from 250 to 300GB! So I called them and pointed out that this was complete and total BS, as I had been assured that no cap existed, so they weren't actually raising it they were creating it. The response was, "Oh, there was always a cap, we just didn't enforce it." I asked who was lying to me, the person telling me there was always a cap, or the manager at the service location. Not receiving an answer, I suggested they fuck themselves, sideways, with a chainsaw. Several later calls ended the same way.
I stopped peering linux and other 100% legitimate torrents just in case. I got a call one month that I was exceeding the cap, and had another long phone battle and had to threaten to take it up with the FTC to get them to waive it. I again recommended chainsaw insertion several times. Most conversations I had with Comcast involved that recommendation, as well as pointing out how they lied to me on several occasions.
My new provider, Charter, makes "No Cap" part of their marketing. They have yet to lie to me about anything. Comcast did try to extract an "early cancelation" fee from me when I moved, despite the fact that I made every effort to retain the service, and it was they who broke the contract by refusing to provide service at my new address. Also, when I told them I was moving, I told the woman they better not try to charge such a fee after I made a good faith effort to continue service. She said they wouldn't, since it was their fault and not mine. I was then transferred to someone who said, "$250". They appear to have dropped it.
Comcast lies. The way they do business is abhorrent, and it needs to stop. If someone is filing a class action suit, let me know. I want in.