Comcast confirms 250GB cap to Internet service
updated 10:15 pm EDT, Thu August 28, 2008
Comcast 250GB internet cap
Comcast on Thursday revealed it would enact a 250GB download cap on users' Internet connections on October 1st as part of an effort to combat illegal peer-to-peer exchanges of software and rich media. Ars Technica reveals that Comcast is offering the "extremely large amount of data" to users, and would actively warn top downloaders who exceed the limit to cut back. The move comes after the FCC reprimanded Comcast for manipulating bandwidth or service availability for users running P2P software.
While Comcast insists that 250GB is plenty for users, active Netflix or iTunes video rental customers could chew through their cap fairly quickly. Ars notes that while the cap is unfortunate, it is more generous than other internet service providers, who cap their services at 60GB, or Comcast's previously inconsistent enforcing of unknown caps.
Comcast has not mentioned if there are charges for going over the 250GB limit, after rumblings in May that indicated it could charge $15 per 10GB of excess.
The limit, while higher than for some carriers already implementing caps, has already drawn attention from critics who argue that it discourages legitimate uses such as buying or renting HD videos from online video services or for regular Internet video streaming.
CONcast
08/29, 07:52am reply
I wonder if this will still be advertised as "unlimited" - or if they will have ads for "Our new Capped Service"?
Who do you think will sue them first - consumers or someone like Netflix?
Doofuses.
robttwo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2005
It's easy to solve
08/29, 08:01am reply
Comcast could exempt from the download limit from stores like Apple, Netflix, Amazon and others like them.
Guest
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 1999
250 GB per ...
08/29, 08:29am reply
MONTH. Thank you, MacNN for leaving that out.
ebeyer
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jun 2004
Guest makes sense
08/29, 08:42am reply
There are no obstacles to figuring out what part of user's traffic represents Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and such, and exclude that from the cap (or, if a user exceeds their cap, check to see if any of the traffic was to one of these). That way, the legitimate heavy downloaders would still get what they want.
vasic
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Joined: May 2005
an exemption makes sense
08/29, 08:49am (1 reply) reply
...for services like Amazon, Apple, etc. - but only if Comcast would be fussed to do it in the first place. Seems that they've been lazy about customer service and communication to begin with, so a suggestion like that - which makes perfect sense to the average person - might go unnoticed to a corporation like Comcast, who clearly doesn't care, as long as they keep their own irons out of the fire, so to speak.One can hope.
Guest
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Joined: Nov 1999
contract...
08/29, 09:01am reply
Where in the contract does it define that they can up and change their "unlimited" service that you signed up for into what ever arbitrary cap they want to define. What stops them from lowering this next month and the month after that until all you get is 1GB per month and a $25/GB charge there after? Class action lawsuite in 3...2...1...
rmoody
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Joined: Jul 2008
sure sure
08/29, 09:51am reply
...but there's no cap to comcast hd on-demand. so pay up that $4.99 per movie instead of free from netflix, or go over your cap after 20 movies.
what's the cap on FiOs and when is it coming to central CT?
desarc
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Joined: Oct 2005
P**** the Man
08/29, 10:12am (1 reply) reply
This is ridiculous, my friends and I just moved into an apartment off campus this semester and had to get comcast because it was our only option since AT&T or Verzion aren't in the area and we aren't allowed to have dishes on the building. There are 6 of use in this place it doesn't seem to unreasonable to say we could eat through 250gb in a month.
Proghog
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Joined: Aug 2008
Verzion
08/29, 10:16am reply
Also as desarc said when is Fios coming to CT? I know its in Greenwich but I live outside New Haven in one of Cablevision's last strongholds before Comcast takes over.
Proghog
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Joined: Aug 2008
Drop COMCAST!!!!
08/29, 10:36am reply
If you're smart you'll call up COMCAST and drop them as your internet provider. Obviously they don't want to provide ANYTHING!!!!!!
I know I would, fortunately I don't use Comcast because I know they're like that to begin with. Cable companies SUCK!!!
horvatic
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Joined: Apr 2002