AT&T wants you to read more

Barty · 04-30-2011, 12:53 PM

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/...roadband-caps/

Quote:

Come Monday, AT&T will begin restricting more than 16 million broadband users based on the amount of data they*use in a month. The No. 2 carrier’s entry into the broadband-cap club means that a majority of U.S. broadband users will now be subject to limits on how much they can do online or risk extra charges as ugly as video store late fees.

AT&T’s new limits — 150 GB for DSL subscribers and 250 GB for UVerse users (a mix of fiber and DSL) — come as users are increasingly turning to online video such as Hulu and Netflix on-demand streaming service instead of paying for cable.

HarryT · 04-30-2011, 01:05 PM

Hmmm. I'd hardly call 150GB a month a serious restriction. My ISP in the UK has a cap of 60GB/month and I've never come close to hitting it.

tubemonkey · 04-30-2011, 01:05 PM

One way or another, they're going to get their pound of flesh.

Personally, it's time to bust up the providers. Internet providers should not be allowed to be content providers and vice versa. The conflict of interest is glaring.

tubemonkey · 04-30-2011, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Hmmm. I'd hardly call 150GB a month a serious restriction. My ISP in the UK has a cap of 60GB/month and I've never come close to hitting it.

Imagine someone who is a big TV watcher canceling their cable and watching all of their video over the net. How much do you think that comes to? Now toss in one or two more computers/video boxes (all watching at the same time) and it suddenly becomes easy to exceed a 150GB cap.

HarryT · 04-30-2011, 01:13 PM

I actually do watch pretty much all my TV on the BBC iPlayer. As I say, I don't come close to the cap. But, as you say, if you perhaps had 3 or 4 people in the house doing the same thing it might be different.

If I did need a higher cap, then obviously I'd choose a service with one. My ISP offers a different package with a 200GB cap.

tubemonkey · 04-30-2011, 01:24 PM

My ISP has a 250GB cap and I frequently exceed 120GB. I shudder to think what it'll jump to when I completely ditch my TV service.

tubemonkey · 04-30-2011, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

But, as you say, if you perhaps had 3 or 4 people in the house doing the same thing it might be different.

Most definitely. Internet service is metered, whereas TV service isn't.

ardeegee · 04-30-2011, 01:35 PM

On the other extreme, Google is rolling out their first 1 gigabit per second location, where you could use up a 150 GB allotment in 20 minutes...

HarryT · 04-30-2011, 01:36 PM

In which case it would perhaps be a good idea not to give up the TV service.

tubemonkey · 04-30-2011, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

In which case it would perhaps be a good idea not to give up the TV service.

Which is exactly what Comcast has in mind. One way or another they expect to get a certain amount from you. If I ditch TV, my services are no longer bundled and my internet rates will jump substantially.

This is why these big telco's should be busted up. They should be forced to choose between either delivering the content or providing the content; not both like they do now.

Andanzas · 04-30-2011, 01:53 PM

How can I know what my monthly usage is?

tubemonkey · 04-30-2011, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andanzas

How can I know what my monthly usage is?

Download a meter and/or check your ISP account page. Some ISP's keep a running usage total for you. If you download a meter, be sure to download it on each PC you stream from and add their totals to get your final total.

Bitmeter 2

Andanzas · 04-30-2011, 02:16 PM

Thanks!

GlenBarrington · 04-30-2011, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

One way or another, they're going to get their pound of flesh.

Personally, it's time to bust up the providers. Internet providers should not be allowed to be content providers and vice versa. The conflict of interest is glaring.

I don't see anything wrong with what they are doing. The limits seem reasonable. High volume users SHOULD pay more than me.

There is no shortage of ISPs, If you don't like it, don't buy it

vaughnmr · 04-30-2011, 03:10 PM

The issue mainly has to do with streaming video over the internet (like watching Netflix or Hulu or whatever), and causing congestion on their networks. Of course, if you do the exact same thing using the ISP's own video streaming application (that they want you to pay for), there's no problem with congestion. Hmmmm.....

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04-30-2011, 01:05 PM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Hmmm. I'd hardly call 150GB a month a serious restriction. My ISP in the UK has a cap of 60GB/month and I've never come close to hitting it.

04-30-2011, 01:05 PM	#3
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,746 Karma: 158575914 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	One way or another, they're going to get their pound of flesh. Personally, it's time to bust up the providers. Internet providers should not be allowed to be content providers and vice versa. The conflict of interest is glaring.

04-30-2011, 01:13 PM	#5
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I actually do watch pretty much all my TV on the BBC iPlayer. As I say, I don't come close to the cap. But, as you say, if you perhaps had 3 or 4 people in the house doing the same thing it might be different. If I did need a higher cap, then obviously I'd choose a service with one. My ISP offers a different package with a 200GB cap.

04-30-2011, 01:24 PM	#6
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,746 Karma: 158575914 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	My ISP has a 250GB cap and I frequently exceed 120GB. I shudder to think what it'll jump to when I completely ditch my TV service.

04-30-2011, 01:35 PM	#8
ardeegee Maratus speciosus butt Posts: 3,292 Karma: 1162698 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-350	On the other extreme, Google is rolling out their first 1 gigabit per second location, where you could use up a 150 GB allotment in 20 minutes...

04-30-2011, 01:36 PM	#9
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	In which case it would perhaps be a good idea not to give up the TV service.

04-30-2011, 01:53 PM	#11
Andanzas Out of print Posts: 487 Karma: 1549538 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Madrid, Spain Device: Sony PRS-500 (recycled), Pocketbook Inkpad X Pro	How can I know what my monthly usage is?

04-30-2011, 02:16 PM	#13
Andanzas Out of print Posts: 487 Karma: 1549538 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Madrid, Spain Device: Sony PRS-500 (recycled), Pocketbook Inkpad X Pro	Thanks!

04-30-2011, 03:10 PM	#15
vaughnmr Ebook Reader Posts: 605 Karma: 3205128 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Device: Kindle 3, HTC Evo, HTC View	The issue mainly has to do with streaming video over the internet (like watching Netflix or Hulu or whatever), and causing congestion on their networks. Of course, if you do the exact same thing using the ISP's own video streaming application (that they want you to pay for), there's no problem with congestion. Hmmmm.....

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