Perhaps TWC capping internet usage is a way to keep cable subscribers in the not-so-distant future? Can't imagine it will be too much longer before pretty much all worthwhile tv is available online.

4/8/2009 11:26:59 AM

I have no clue how much internet I use per month.. I could see this being a huge disaster... think of the normal person who knows nothing about "bandwidth" and just browses the net at their leisure...they aren't going to know how much they are using without having a running counter somewhere on the screen...

Let's say that I refresh TWW, does that count ever time i refresh? how much is that?

4/8/2009 11:43:48 AM

^depends whats being cached and what isn't.

4/8/2009 12:08:39 PM

I just read that this won't apply to the customers who did the "price lock guarantee".. that's where you lock in your current plan and rate for 2-3 years

4/8/2009 12:10:49 PM

^ but once you are out of it, it will apply to you

And no matter what they say, this is to combat canceling your tv subscription because every show you could want to watch is probably online or will be shortly

4/8/2009 2:10:38 PM

I hate TWC so much i once almost got "Honk if you hate TWC" bumper stickers made to put on my car.

4/8/2009 2:19:58 PM

so if greensboro does well as a test market

how long do you think before we see something similar in raleigh?

4/8/2009 2:33:32 PM

probably soon

i just found the uverse thread, and hoping that AT&T realized they need that service here now, because a lot of people are severely pissed at TWC right now

4/8/2009 2:39:55 PM

Quote :

"Greensboro Mayor Wants Options for Cable Internet Users Posted by: Kerri Hartsfield Created: 4/7/2009 11:30:29 PM Updated: 4/7/2009 11:59:32 PM Greensboro -- In the fall, Time Warner Cable plans to test metered billing for its broadband internet service in Greensboro. After hearing concerns from residents, Mayor Yvonne Johnson would like to see more than one cable internet provider operating in Greensboro. "I do know that there are providers of other services to us that could also provide cable service and internet service," explained Johnson. "Personally, I'm going to be talking to a couple of those businesses to see if they are in place now to do in this particular area." Time Warner Cable wants to regulate customers who use excessive downloading space through metered billing. Customers would choose a tier ranging from 5 GB to 40 GB. If customers exceed their limits, they would be charged $1 for each additional GB used. "A lot of people are very concerned that their bills are going to go sky high," said Johnson. According to a spokesperson for Time Warner Cable, 86% of customers will not see an increase in their bill. However, heavy gamers and video streamers will likely be impacted. The metered billing will be applied to residential customers only."

http://www.digtriad.com/news/local_state/article.aspx?storyid=122149

4/8/2009 3:01:05 PM

yeah apparently it has become a topic in the austin, tx mayoral race (with both candidates strongly against the caps)

4/8/2009 3:03:00 PM

How soon before TWC tanks and gets our money anyway through a bail out?

4/8/2009 3:12:50 PM

i predict this gets cancelled before it is mainstreamed into the raleigh area

4/8/2009 3:53:43 PM

Now does this garbage effect people living in Greensboro or anyone that has TWC in the Triad?

4/8/2009 9:09:18 PM

is this gonna kill internet radio?

4/9/2009 2:05:37 AM

Quote :

"i predict this gets cancelled before it is mainstreamed into the raleigh area"

i predict you are wrong

4/9/2009 7:36:24 AM

I have DU Meter and it says I usually download between 40 and 130GB a month and I have never downloaded more than 413GB in a month (and that was January '06). That said, I am not the only one sharing our RR connection as I do have a roomate.

4/9/2009 10:05:25 AM

http://tiny.cc/K4NFi

Another interesting write up comparing what TWC would be getting per GB as compared to some other companies.

4/9/2009 10:12:15 AM

^ Maybe I missed something, but that's retarded. They're comparing the price/GB of a 4GB cap against other plans and an "illustrative" 400GB cap.

4/9/2009 10:43:39 AM

Yeah I was wondering about that too, but I am guessing that is because those specific companies don't have caps and you would therefore be more likely to pull a larger amount of information.

4/9/2009 11:10:39 AM

Quote :

"i predict this gets cancelled[sic] before it is mainstreamed into the raleigh area"

It will be interesting to see if the implementation of this maps to availability of uverse at all. I'd be willing to bet they won't be dumb enough to pull this in areas where uverse will be widely available.

4/9/2009 11:13:07 AM

I don't get why that is retarded. Those plans don't have any caps, would you rather them use infinity, or maybe 24/7 pegging of the bandwidth?

They did point out Comcast has 250GB caps, they probably should have used that since the market has set that level, but the point still stands, TWC is charging $6GB per month versus Comcasts .17. That's gouging by most measures. I still think that TWC is banking on

#1 Keeping current low bandwidth using customers from being tempted to switch by offering them a slight rate cut
#2 Profiting on marginally higher bandwidth users that might not be motivated enough to move
#3 Forcing really high bandwidth users to pony up the dough or switch to another provider lowering their overall costs

4/9/2009 11:13:47 AM

I agree mostly failboat, except that even the marginal bandwidth users will probably be smart enough to see that they could go to a dsl carrier that costs about the same as the lowest cap and get no caps, even with a slightly slower speed.

4/9/2009 11:20:31 AM

You'd be surprised at how entrenched people get. I can imagine a lot of them will call up and wonder why their bill went up a little and TWC will explain to them and then sell them on the higher cap. Much easier to make one phone call than to go through the trouble of switching providers.

Hell, it took me about 3-4 months before I was fully fed up with TWCs shitty HD service to get around to switching over to dsl/dish.

[Edited on April 9, 2009 at 11:26 AM. Reason : .]

4/9/2009 11:25:55 AM

That's funny cause I was more ready to call and cancel than to wait for an hour on hold to try and get answers to problems that they didn't really know how to fix.

Most of the people I know are only using them at this point because they don't have caps. Although much like me, they watch most of their tv online rather than actually using TWC's cable anymore, so a cap for them would pretty much be the end of it. Not to mention online gaming, general browsing, and downloading songs. Yeah TWC wouldn't have a real good option for them.

4/9/2009 11:32:46 AM

All the ISPs in Australia use caps, its a freaking joke. I was paying $70 a month for 35GB/35GB plan per month. They have separate quotas for on and off peak hours. That means 35GB from 10am-2am and 35GB from 2am-10am. It sucked.

I was always like "Back in the US we didnt have this bullshit."...

4/9/2009 11:42:09 AM

I say let's look at these numbers from another perspective. The standard internet plan has something like a 7 mbs pipe. At let's say 80% efficiency, that leads to about 700 KBs. You would hit the 4 GB cap in ~ 1 hour and 36 minuets of downloading. You would hit the 40 GB cap in just under 16 hours.

I just don't like the idea that I can be over the cap on the lowest tier just by downloading a single linux ISO.

4/9/2009 12:00:20 PM

Quote :

"But the only favors being done here are to TWC's bottom line. That base rate works out to a truly jaw-dropping $6 per GB per month, and it's so far out of line with competitors' plans as to shock even the most cynical heart. Comcast offers Internet service starting at $42.95 per month and has a 250GB cap in place; this works out to 17¢ per GB."

4/9/2009 6:09:15 PM

this is going to kill digital downloads like Steam, fileplanet, direct2drive, hell even legally downloading software like Adobe products etc.

4/9/2009 6:44:50 PM

Is there any way to see how much I currently use, like an average for the month? Would it be on my bill, or available in a log file somewhere from my router?

That's my biggest complaint with this, is I have no idea how much I use. This summer I am planning to get gold for the 360, so that right there should probably throw me into the highest bracket.

4/9/2009 7:02:38 PM

^^ That and legal streaming video. Hell, there's a chance watching a few episodes of House, maybe a few episodes of Lost in HD on ABC's site, and reinstalling World of Warcraft on one computer (with all those patches and the expansion) would put you well over your 30GB limit. That is not a particularly unreasonable usage of bandwidth and would also be entirely legal.

How foolish I was to think I could not hate TWC more than I already did.

[Edited on April 10, 2009 at 12:08 AM. Reason : ]

4/10/2009 12:06:08 AM

I'm not gonna read all 6 pages of this thread, but has anybody pointed out that it's entirely possible to use a lot of bandwidth by downloading large iso linux images, playing lots of online games, and watching movies and tv shows from sites such as hulu or netflix. Because that is something that surely needs to be addressed in this discussion. Perhaps more than once even.

4/10/2009 12:29:16 AM

TWC has changed their minds

sorta

http://a.longreply.com/109511

Quote :

"Statement from Landel Hobbs, Chief Operating Officer, Time Warner Cable RE: Consumption based billing trials 4-9-09 Some recent press reports about our four consumption based billing trials planned for later this year were premature and did not tell the full story. With that said, we realize our communication to customers about these trials has been inadequate and we apologize for any frustration we caused. We’ve heard the passionate feedback and we’ve taken action to address our customers’ concerns. With the ever-increasing flood of content on the Internet, bandwidth consumption is growing exponentially. That’s a good thing; however, there are costs associated with this increased Internet usage. Here at Time Warner Cable, consumption among our high-speed Internet subscribers is increasing by about 40% a year. As a facilities based provider, we’ve built a network that must be maintained and upgraded. We have increasing variable costs and we have to continue to invest in the network itself. This is a common problem that all network providers are experiencing and must address. Several other providers have instituted consumption based billing, including all major network providers in Canada and others in the U.K., New Zealand and elsewhere. In the U.S., AT&T has begun two consumption based billing trials and other providers including Comcast, Charter and Cox are using varying methods of monitoring and managing bandwidth consumption. For good reason. Internet demand is rising at a rate that could outpace capacity within a few years. According to industry analysts, the infrastructure may not be able to accommodate the explosion of online content by 2012. This could result in Internet brownouts. It will take a lot of money to fix the problem. Rather than raising prices on all customers or limiting usage, we think the fairest approach is to move to a tiered model in which users pay more if they use more. If we don’t act, consumers’ Internet experience will suffer. Sitting still is not an option. That’s why we’re beginning the consumption based billing trials. It’s important to stress that they are trials. The feedback we’ve received from our customers has been very helpful. We’ve made changes to the terms in our current and upcoming trial markets as follows: • To accommodate lighter Internet users and those who need a lower priced option, we are introducing a 1 GB per month tier offering speeds of 768 KB/128 KB for $15 per month. Overage charges will be $2 per GB per month. Our usage data show that about 30% of our customers use less than 1 GB per month. • We are increasing the bandwidth tier sizes included in all existing packages in the trial markets to 10, 20, 40 and 60 GB for Road Runner Lite, Basic, Standard and Turbo packages, respectively. Package prices will remain the same. Overage charges will be $1 per GB per month. • We will introduce a 100 GB Road Runner Turbo package for $75 per month (offering speeds of 10 MB/1 MB). Overage charges will be $1 per GB per month. • Overage charges will be capped at $75 per month. That means that for $150 per month customers could have virtually unlimited usage at Turbo speeds. • Once we implement this trial, we will not immediately start billing customers for overage. Rather, we will first provide two months of usage data. Then we will provide a one-month grace period in which overages will be noted on customers’ bills, but they will not be charged. So, customers will have an opportunity to assess their usage and right-size their service packages before usage charges are applied. • Trials will begin in Rochester, N.Y., and Greensboro, N.C., in August. We will apply what we learn from these two markets when we launch trials in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, in October, but we will guarantee at least the same level of usage capacity in these trials. • As we launch DOCSIS 3.0 in the trial markets, we plan to offer a 50/5 MB speed tier for $99 per month. Again, the Internet is dynamic and continually evolves, so our plans will evolve as well and aren’t set in stone. We appreciate the feedback we’ve received. We’ll look forward to more dialogue as we progress in these trials. You can send your comments and feedback to us at realideas@twcable.com. Landel Hobbs COO Time Warner Cable For questions, etc: Jeff Simmermon Director, Digital Communications Time Warner Cable Find us on Twitter at: @jeffTWC, @MsmarTWC, @MelissaTWC_TX "

4/10/2009 12:50:05 AM

So realistically, due to the outcry, they are now pushing 100GB for $75 @ 10 MB/1 MB

or

Unlimited for $150 @ 10 MB/1 MB

4/10/2009 1:02:15 AM

Quote :

"That means that for $150 per month customers could have virtually unlimited usage at Turbo speeds."

Wow. thanks. That's so kind of you.

4/10/2009 1:16:53 AM

i would switch immediately if this happened, even to DSL

4/10/2009 2:14:54 AM

Quote :

"virtually unlimited usage"

wtf does that mean

4/10/2009 7:34:43 AM

Quote :

"Our usage data show that about 30% of our customers use less than 1 GB per month."

I've got to think that these are the people that are relatively new to the net and just haven't discovered all they can do with it. I would expect that number to change as those people got more tech savvy. But given the 'overages' fees I expect TWC expects that as well.

4/10/2009 8:46:58 AM

so when my twc dvr fucks up, or they fuck up a show etc, and I have to go online to watch that show, are they going to refund me any subsequent charges? I have asked a twc rep the reverse idea, saying if I am not getting the full speed as laid out in my plan, will i get the BS explanation that the wiring is bad etc, or can I pay a reduced rate, guess the answer I got. The solution to this is simple though, if you don't like what they are charging, switch providers.

On another note, this would be the end of non-protected wireless signals from neighbors, if not from TWC explaining to them how to set up a password or from one outrageous bill.

Also, I wonder how many "reminder' or "usage update' emails they will send out to customers loaded with images and all kinds of mess to suck out those extra KB's, haha



[Edited on April 10, 2009 at 8:53 AM. Reason : sp]

4/10/2009 8:50:03 AM

Quote :

"As we launch DOCSIS 3.0 in the trial markets, we plan to offer a 50/5 MB speed tier for $99 per month. "

Whats the pricing on the same speeds for fios?

4/10/2009 9:09:23 AM

^U-Verse's 18down/1.5up is ~$65 which is their top tier speed right now. I know fios offers higher speeds than that.

4/10/2009 10:43:11 AM

Quote :

"Overage charges will be capped at $75 per month. That means that for $150 per month customers could have virtually unlimited usage at Turbo speeds."

Oh well that sounds so reasonable. Currently RR Turbo is $59 per month. So for the low low "upgrade" price of $91 additionally I can get the exact same shit I get now.

What a load of bs.

4/10/2009 12:48:55 PM

TWC = Totally Worthless Cable

[Edited on April 10, 2009 at 12:59 PM. Reason : .]

4/10/2009 12:59:10 PM

HAHA 1GB/month...what a load of shit. My wife and I push about 250MB for 2 hours of 25-man raiding in WoW...not to mention the Hulu she watches during the day and Elmo videos on youtube for our daughter. So can't wait for UVerse, even though AT&T isn't high on my list after the whole wiretapping bullshit with the Bush administration. Guess you gotta choose your battles though...

4/10/2009 1:41:00 PM

So just like that, they've essentially doubled what they were offering before. Isn't their whole argument for this is that their balls are about 2" from the buzzsaw and if they don't do it, their whole network will fail? That's pretty damn hard to buy if they can just double their offerings at the drop of a hat.

4/10/2009 2:53:06 PM

Yeah this report has the most updated info. Along with links to the latest press release from TWC and reports from NY Times and some other online spots.

http://tinyurl.com/cjmwco

4/10/2009 3:01:03 PM

my thoughts: if they cap... and they're lucky enough that myself and the high majority of their turbo subscribers don't immediately switch... i better get every last drop of that speed until i hit my cap or they owe me the texa$ they plan to charge for this garbage.

it won't happen that way, but i like to think it would sometimes for my own sanity

[Edited on April 10, 2009 at 5:06 PM. Reason : ]

4/10/2009 5:05:47 PM

Post from ArsTechnica (same as dubus' link above):
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/04/time-warner-cable-to-press-stop-questioning-our-caps.ars

I love that everyone is essentially swarming on this across the internet. I hope the main stream media pick this up soon and blow the issue out of proportion to slam this thing into the ground.

From the Ars article:

Quote :

"And yesterday, Wired followed up on both pieces with a look of its own at TWC revenues, showing that broadband costs had decreased by 12 percent in 2008 even as broadband revenues had increased by 11 percent."

It's all bs, TWC is just being greedy.

Quote :

"TWC's revenues are going up while its costs are going down—making it look like the tiered pricing scheme (with its quite small caps) is more about 1) squeezing cash out of broadband users and 2) keeping TWC's cable TV operation alive by making Internet video less desirable."

[Edited on April 10, 2009 at 8:07 PM. Reason : -]

4/10/2009 8:03:28 PM

Quote :

"I just read that this won't apply to the customers who did the "price lock guarantee".. that's where you lock in your current plan and rate for 2-3 years"

I was wondering about this as the "price lock guarantee" would save us about $60/month. Is there any more information on this? I'm just afraid to be stuck with TWC for the next two years if they decide to pull some bullshit like this.

4/10/2009 8:29:03 PM

not sure about the TWC rate lock thing; however here in SC with Charter I did their price lock for 2 years. immediate savings of $25 a month with a $50 prorated early termination fee (which was waved if I moved out of their service are), so basically I'm only locked in for 2 months, after 2 months I've broken even with the early termination charge

4/10/2009 9:01:06 PM

If TWC is so bad get DSL. This is how our economy functions.

4/11/2009 10:53:23 AM