Broadband data caps are having their intended effect: punishing cord-cutters

[cliffordcooley]

Do you know if you watch just one HD movie on Netflix a day. in about 20 days you will be OVER your 300GB's limit.

Exceeding 300GB would be your own fault, if you choose to stream a service that doesn't use media compression.

And that's not to mention an HD movie is not 15GB (300/20) in size.

 

[beachbowi]

That's why I prefer to stick to company's such as Centurylink or Boingo that do not limit the amount of bandwidth you use.

CenturyLink does, infact, have data cap limits of 150GB and 250GB, depending on your connection speed. They only enforce the data caps if your repeatedly abuse the limits... so, they say. I probably push the limit frequently. But, when they give me any grief, I won't be a CenturyLink customer any longer.

 

[deemon]

Can someone explain to me, how is broadband data cap somehow related to cord-cutting? I mean if you have your "cord cut" you don't have any broadband to start with... WHAT CAP are you then talking about.... is there some wireless broadband? For any broadband cap you actually have to have your cord still intact, no? What am I missing here?

 

[beachbowi]

In what way are consumers getting the shaft? ... Cord cutters are not being punished, they are just being asked to live in the real world and pay for the services they consume. How is a provider being unfair when they do not provide unlimited service just because their band width would allow it. How are they not supposed to be able to monetize their services.

Cable companies bundle a package of worthless channels and make you pay for a hundred channels you don't watch, don't need and don't want. Then, they repeatedly raise your monthly rate until you are forced to make a choice. And, they do this because they are a monopoly, in many cases. My heart bleeds pure piss for the cable companies. Cable companies are one of the most hated businesses in America, and for good reason.

As long as I pay for 100 cable channels I never watch, they price my internet at $49. But, if I drop my cable tv, my internet suddenly goes up $20-$30??? Does the cost of providing internet service to go up because I drop the crappy TV crap? I don't think so.

Cable companies are greedy, manipulative crooks. There's a reason we hate you.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Can someone explain to me, how is broadband data cap somehow related to cord-cutting?

The cord-cutter is disconnecting a satellite or cable television service. It is not cutting yourself from Internet service. Cord-cutters move from paying for TV services to streaming online sources or OTA(over-the-air) antennas. Cord-cutters migrate their TV demands into their ISP service, which was never authorized to be a television service.

 

[TheDreams]

CenturyLink does, infact, have data cap limits of 150GB and 250GB, depending on your connection speed. They only enforce the data caps if your repeatedly abuse the limits... so, they say. I probably push the limit frequently. But, when they give me any grief, I won't be a CenturyLink customer any longer.

That's quite odd, in my region, everyone around me has unlimited bandwidth. I've even checked about a year ago when there were six people living at home we were using over 400GB a month and we never got a letter or even a phonecall, our plan was unlimited.

 

[deemon]

The cord-cutter is disconnecting a satellite or cable television service. It is not cutting yourself from Internet service. Cord-cutters move from paying for TV services to streaming online sources or OTA(over-the-air) antennas. Cord-cutters migrate their TV demands into their ISP service, which was never authorized to be a television service.

Around here, ISP-s ARE actually only TV providers ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPTV ) ... also telephone if you want it, in a form of VoIP. Base service is Internet and TV is served over ISP intranet. So "cutting the cord" here would mean you disconnect yourself from internet in the first place.

 

[cliffordcooley]

So "cutting the cord" here would mean you disconnect yourself from internet in the first place.

In that case, cord-cutting is irrelevant to your location. That's not the case elsewhere.

 

[Shawn Knight]

You shouldnt be going over for college football. even if you cut the cord all you need to do is buy a damn hd antenna for 20-50$ and you should be able to pick up all the local channels that will be showing college football. and unlike cable or satellite OTA is actually 1080p. no compression bs and still no monthly subscription.

Most of the games I'm interested in air on an ESPN channel or the SEC Network, neither of which you can get with an antenna.

 

[psycros]

You shouldnt be going over for college football. even if you cut the cord all you need to do is buy a damn hd antenna for 20-50$ and you should be able to pick up all the local channels that will be showing college football. and unlike cable or satellite OTA is actually 1080p. no compression bs and still no monthly subscription.

If you actually watched sports you'd know how wrong you are. Its becoming harder and harder to find games the schools in your region are playing carried by OTA channels. Cable pays BIG BUCKS for exclusivity because they know those games sell sports packages.

 

[Draconian]

I pay $40 for unlimited, completely unthrottled LTE from MetroPCS, and with a proper Tether app, I can avoid any sort of cap. I use 300+GB every month for just about everything, and no repercussions.

How? I checked MetroPCS's website and they say "For unlimited smartphone LTE data plan, full available speeds apply to 8 GB of hotspot data per payment cycle, then speeds slowed for remainder of payment cycle."

And also:

"Customers who use more than 25 GB of data in a payment cycle will have their data usage de-prioritized compared to other customers for that payment cycle at locations and times when competing network demands occur, resulting in relatively slower speeds."

 

[gzowner]

Can someone explain to me, how is broadband data cap somehow related to cord-cutting? I mean if you have your "cord cut" you don't have any broadband to start with... WHAT CAP are you then talking about.... is there some wireless broadband? For any broadband cap you actually have to have your cord still intact, no? What am I missing here?

Problem is not network congestion, its simple fact that nobody is watching there 20 mins of tv commercials., or paying for higher tier packages just to get that one channel you want. This is money they are losing, so they are forcing caps on us that watches what we want to watch..

 

[gzowner]

Problem is not network congestion, its simple fact that nobody is watching there 20 mins of tv commercials., or paying for higher tier packages just to get that one channel you want. This is money they are losing, so they are forcing caps on us that watches what we want to watch.. So the more people who depend on netflix or any other streaming services, they will find a way to recoup there money by putting limits on your data usage. Pretty much they are adapting to VOD that we so much love.. Remember cable tv is like your old cell phone plans.. First you pay by the mins, than your mins are base on your region if you travel alot.. than they went to unlimited mins to charge you by the text when text was feasible because people found out it was cheaper to txt somebody vs calling them and get charged 49 cents a min vs 10 cent per txt. Now Voice and Txt is unlimited because pictures are being shared along with video.. So companies are adapting to the demand to keep from having a lose on other products.. Business 101.. I hate it, but that is there intentions.

 

[gzowner]

I pay $40 for unlimited, completely unthrottled LTE from MetroPCS, and with a proper Tether app, I can avoid any sort of cap. I use 300+GB every month for just about everything, and no repercussions.

How? I checked MetroPCS's website and they say "For unlimited smartphone LTE data plan, full available speeds apply to 8 GB of hotspot data per payment cycle, then speeds slowed for remainder of payment cycle."

And also:

"Customers who use more than 25 GB of data in a payment cycle will have their data usage de-prioritized compared to other customers for that payment cycle at locations and times when competing network demands occur, resulting in relatively slower speeds."

They posted those terms per laywers so incase they do throttle you, they can legally do it. However I have to be throttle as well, I have teather my phone and ate up nearly 200 gig last month and still managed 50mb consistently. xbox updates and games dlc eat up most of it.

 

[Hanfufu]

I for one seriously cannot fathom why there in this Day and Age even exists data caps..

And 300GB is like nothing with todays Standards. There is like 25 gigs used to stream a 4k film.

My monthly use averages around 3TB Lol and have hit 4 sometimes.. Get into this decade ffs.

 

[Rippleman]

Incorrect assertion... the "intended effect" is not to punish, it is meant to deter people from using excessively high amounts of bandwidth no matter the source.

 

[Kibaruk]

In Chile used to pay close to $40 for unlimited 40mbs. In Canada I'm paying close to $70 for unlimited 30 =(

 

[wiyosaya]

I'm with Cable One here in southwest Mississippi and proud to be on a cable. I presently pay $200 mo for t.v. and internet after dropping my land line to go to the widest bandwidth they offer -- 7/70mbps which they doubled(I average 12mbps uploads/120mbps downloads) with a 500gb data cap that I use an average of 70gbs of.

This is after leaving an apparently unfixable problem with AT&T - 1 year, my phone got seriously staticy and my internet fell to kbps -- 14(+/-) months later, I totally lost phone and bandwidth hit less than 100kbps. This is after paying for 7mbps bandwidth and only getting 2 to 3.

My only regret these days is Cable One doesn't do cell, too -- I use Verizon for $100 mo for unlimited calls and 3gbs data . . . and, here I have roughly 400gbs I never touch with C.O.

We had something like this with a landline a couple of years ago. Unlike you, it sounds, the phone company came down and found that a bird had created a nest in one of their junction boxes a few houses down. The tech removed the nest and repaired the cable. The phone has been fine since.

I suspect that you were given a line of total BS from your phone company. Write a letter to their CEO. If that does not get them off their A$$, write a letter to your state public service commission.

In any event, you are off them now, but my bet is that they were giving you sh!t because they did not want to fix their line.

 

[wiyosaya]

Looks like another challenge for the FCC and Govt. regulators....sounds like it possible case of monopoly similar to the price fixing issues that came up a couple of decades ago. Might be exactly the push they need to force the cable companies to offer their ware's on an a la carte basis as most would like.

I agree, and we have just become the favorites of people who think of this type of stuff as "nanny nation." If companies and other people knew how to be ethical, we would not need "nanny nation."

For me, also a cord cutter, I have TW, and there is presently no cap. Plus, my area has a small, local fiber provider that is building fiber-to-the-home infrastructure. $50/mo 100 Mbit/ no caps. As soon as they are on my street, I am subscribing. TW is complacent right now, but if they don't watch out, they will be out on their collective a$$e$.

Plus, ATSC 3.0, the new OTA spec that should be released in the next few years, has an IP side of it - IP as in Internet Protocol. This will enable delivery of "OTA" TV over the internet. When that happens, I bet both content providers and subscribers will have much more reason to rebel against data caps.

TW, in my area and I suspect in others, is a bunch of lying, monopolistic thugs who think they can get away with whatever they want - in part because of the century plus aged telco laws they abuse and no lawmakers have yet decided to change them. Nanny nation created that mess, and nanny nation will be needed to rectify it unless, of course, TW decides to change their ways and become ethical. TW suddenly becoming ethical is as likely to happen as a person who never goes to the ocean getting bitten by a shark - IMHO.

 

[wiyosaya]

Shawn, why not start a petition at whitehouse.gov ?? I bet it would become popular very quickly.

 

[Jeremy Ward]

Er.... uh, um... do you think a little more competition might change this? Oh, right, they control the wiring to your house... so I guess there won't be any competition unless someone wants to put in another wire.

Er.... uh, um... do you think a little more competition might change this? Oh, right, they control the wiring to your house... so I guess there won't be any competition unless someone wants to put in another wire.

Actually, the wiring in your home (and in most states, up to 18" extending away from your home) is owned by the property owner and can be used by any provider.

I know this because I'm an engineer in the telecommunications industry.

On the question about competition: yes, more competition in the broadband markets will make the difference on data caps. Right now we have a duopoly between the Telcos and the MSOs (cable).

More competition may be coming down the pike soon. With 5G wireless deployments rolling out in the next few years, you will have a third (possibly even a fourth) option for residential and small business broadband. One of the major business cases for 5G is fixed wireless broadband. Verizon Wireless is starting to trial the technology in the 28GHz band in the coming months.

So stay tuned...

 

[Jeremy Ward]

In what way are consumers getting the shaft? ... Cord cutters are not being punished, they are just being asked to live in the real world and pay for the services they consume. How is a provider being unfair when they do not provide unlimited service just because their band width would allow it. How are they not supposed to be able to monetize their services.

Cable companies bundle a package of worthless channels and make you pay for a hundred channels you don't watch, don't need and don't want. Then, they repeatedly raise your monthly rate until you are forced to make a choice. And, they do this because they are a monopoly, in many cases. My heart bleeds pure piss for the cable companies. Cable companies are one of the most hated businesses in America, and for good reason.

As long as I pay for 100 cable channels I never watch, they price my internet at $49. But, if I drop my cable tv, my internet suddenly goes up $20-$30??? Does the cost of providing internet service to go up because I drop the crappy TV crap? I don't think so.

Cable companies are greedy, manipulative crooks. There's a reason we hate you.

As far as bundling channels is concerned -- you can place the blame on the programming conglomerates for getting all the channels you don't watch. Don't get me wrong, the cable industry has plenty of faults from a consumer perspective, but bundling isn't on them.

 

[Jeremy Ward]

I'm with Cable One here in southwest Mississippi and proud to be on a cable. I presently pay $200 mo for t.v. and internet after dropping my land line to go to the widest bandwidth they offer -- 7/70mbps which they doubled(I average 12mbps uploads/120mbps downloads) with a 500gb data cap that I use an average of 70gbs of.

This is after leaving an apparently unfixable problem with AT&T - 1 year, my phone got seriously staticy and my internet fell to kbps -- 14(+/-) months later, I totally lost phone and bandwidth hit less than 100kbps. This is after paying for 7mbps bandwidth and only getting 2 to 3.

My only regret these days is Cable One doesn't do cell, too -- I use Verizon for $100 mo for unlimited calls and 3gbs data . . . and, here I have roughly 400gbs I never touch with C.O.

We had something like this with a landline a couple of years ago. Unlike you, it sounds, the phone company came down and found that a bird had created a nest in one of their junction boxes a few houses down. The tech removed the nest and repaired the cable. The phone has been fine since.

I suspect that you were given a line of total BS from your phone company. Write a letter to their CEO. If that does not get them off their A$$, write a letter to your state public service commission.

In any event, you are off them now, but my bet is that they were giving you sh!t because they did not want to fix their line.

I think CableOne will likely institute broadband caps -- after Altice acquires them.

 

[Jeremy Ward]

Incorrect assertion... the "intended effect" is not to punish, it is meant to deter people from using excessively high amounts of bandwidth no matter the source.

Actually, the intended affect is an increase in revenue for the MSOs. Don't kid yourself, I work in the industry.

 

[Jeremy Ward]

The cord-cutter is disconnecting a satellite or cable television service. It is not cutting yourself from Internet service. Cord-cutters move from paying for TV services to streaming online sources or OTA(over-the-air) antennas. Cord-cutters migrate their TV demands into their ISP service, which was never authorized to be a television service.

Around here, ISP-s ARE actually only TV providers ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPTV ) ... also telephone if you want it, in a form of VoIP. Base service is Internet and TV is served over ISP intranet. So "cutting the cord" here would mean you disconnect yourself from internet in the first place.

Sorry, but that doesn't make any sense. You can subscribe to broadband separately from television, regardless of whether the video portion is delivered over IP or QAM (digital cable). The delivery method has nothing to do with what services are bundled together.

Just have to ask -- Do you work for a cable company? Seems to be a suspiciously high amount of pro-cable posts in the comments here.