12/03/2008, 4:30pm, EST
Wednesday, December 3rdComcast to intro bandwidth use tracker in January
Comcast will soon provide its subscribers with a tool to monitor how close they are to the 250GB cap imposed by the Internet service provider at the end of August. The online bandwidth meter will be available on January 5th, according to an anonymous tip, and will have a three-hour delay as opposed to real-time monitoring. The meter will retain up to three months of usage records and will allow users to monitor multiple MAC addresses.
Currently, Comcast is instructing its users to find bandwidth meters on their own via Internet searches or use the meter included in the McAfee Security Suite provided to subscribers by Comcast. Comcast claims the cap is generous and it believes less than 1 percent of its users will ever hit it.
Comcasts' competitors, including AT&T and Time Warner Cable, already offer their customers an online web usage tool in certain markets where they have introduced bandwidth caps. Their maximums are much lower, with AT&T topping out at 150GB and Time Warner Cable at 40GB. Also, the two companies charge fees to users who go over these limits, and the meter is necessary if Comcast ever introduces similar methods. [via BBR]
Filed under: industry, networking
Other story tags: AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner Cable
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Comcast Boycott
People should boycott Comcast and any other provider that imposes a cap on your internet service use. This is equivalent to the old PacBell charging you a monthly fee and then throttling your use of the phone. Consumers refused to tolerate that and yet they are rolling over in droves and accepting Comcast's ultimatum. Realize that down the road 250G will be nothing when you start viewing all TV, mail and movies and other video online. Comcast is doing this to destroy those third party services and force the consumer to buy movies, etc., from Comcast and only Comcast. If you refuse to boycott them then you should not whine your head off a year from now when Netflix, BlockBuster and the rest of the online movie services go out of business because of bandwidth capping.
Comcast Boycott
People should boycott Comcast and any other provider that imposes a cap on your internet service use. This is equivalent to the old PacBell charging you a monthly fee and then throttling your use of the phone. Consumers refused to tolerate that and yet they are rolling over in droves and accepting Comcast's ultimatum. Realize that down the road 250G will be nothing when you start viewing all TV, mail and movies and other video online. Comcast is doing this to destroy those third party services and force the consumer to buy movies, etc., from Comcast and only Comcast. If you refuse to boycott them then you should not whine your head off a year from now when Netflix, BlockBuster and the rest of the online movie services go out of business because of bandwidth capping.
Well..
I would just love to, but seeing as I have two choices for high speed internet in my area, Comcast and BellSouth, I am SOL. I actually only have one choice, Comcast, now one block down the street...that's a different story, been that way for 8 years too. EIGHT fraking years and BellSouth has not gotten DSL on my block!
still not fair
If I had another equivalent option, I would have already switched. I called and asked for a link to download an application to monitor my usage and I was told to look at the web address for more information which just repeated their usage policy. They were very nasty and I didn't argue with the cap - I just asked how to measure it. I am glad they are finally doing this. They also need to stop advertising themselves as unlimited Internet. There are very legitimate reasons why you could go over the limit like downloading Linux virtual machines or downloading HD videos from iTunes. And they have been disconnecting users without warning them and then banning them for a year from their service before they ever announced the limit.
Switched
On Verizon Fios now and have never looked back. F Comcast...
And I feel for all of you who dont have a choice!
Call your Congressmen
After Jan 20th we all need to get on the phone to our Congressmen or write letters to them explaining how this isn't Comcast just managing it's traffic. The bandwidth cap is specifically targeted at their competitors in the video delivery market and this has to be nipped in the bud!
Local Monopoly
They can because just like others have said what are we going to do? USE QWEST DSL? FT! I'm just glad Comcast bought out Time Warner in this area... 250G sucks but 40G limit is insane! I agree with dmwalsh568. We need to band together to stop this crap. Cable companies have had this hold over us for years. Something needs to be done.
and
I wonder how many people complaining even come close to using 250GB a month.
I know, I know, it's the 'principle' of the thing.
As for video, if a HD TV show goes at 1GB, you're talking 250 shows in a one month period. If you're downloading that much, you might want to think of spending some cash on a dish and a TV set.
Good
I'm glad they are providing a bandwidth tracker. That way people can't complain they don't know how much they are using.
I have no problem with the limit. 250GB is a lot of data- and I also realize that bandwidth is a finite resource. This is a good way to limit it.