Comcast limits internet usage at home

[NoCalMike 0]

250GB might just be the beginning though. If they start tracking what the average internet user is using, they might lower it and then they might start a tier'd system where you have to pay more for what you use.

 

This 250GB thing is probably just the beginning.....

[MrRant 0]

There have never been restrictions beyond running like a web server. If you were to have a busy site it would kill the upstream.

[Golgo 13 0]

High-speed accessibility should be an issue, because we don't have it. Some southeast asian countries have free ISPs that regularly clock at 50MB/s. What do most people have, 2MB/s? Those southeast asian countries are getting 25 times the internet we are, and for free!

 

True. There is far better proliferation, though the landscape is different. I have it easy living in a large, technologically aware city, but I believe 'high-speed' is defined as the minimum DSL speed, which I mistakenly assume to be readily available to everywhere but the most rural of towns.

[Guest Epic Fail Orange]

Eh. Makes me glad that Comcast doesn't do business here, but the limit seems reasonable either way... for now. I'm just glad they stopped fucking with torrents (er... they did do that, right?) like all of them are illegal and free CDs don't exist.

[Youth N Asia 0]

250 is a lot of downloading...but Comcast is a cunt company, so I'll join the hate for no real reason

[haws bah gawd 0]

My mother is considering signing us up for a satellite internet service. We live in the middle of nowhere, and nothing is available but Dialup. Anyways, this service has a 12,000mb a month download threshold and a 3,000 mb upload threshold. For someone who would spend 3-4 hours on the internet daily (including youtube and other sites of questionable morality), how long would it take to burn that up?

[Guest Vitamin X]

A 12GB download threshold would be awful.. per MONTH? Yikes. I mean, I'm a crazy net user so I may do that per week (probably a bit more, actually) but good luck with that.

 

Also, here's a really good article on the Comcast thing that rehashes some of the points I made and makes a couple other good ones as well.

 

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2329532,00.asp

 

Some excerpts..

Basically Comcast lives in fear that it—like many other ISPs—might simply become a dumb pipe provider of bandwidth with its content business being killed by more agile and compelling competitors. After all can anybody say they really enjoy paying for Comcast's ridiculously overpriced "bundles" where you have to buy a set package of channels, most of which you don't even want?

And Comcast may be setting up a "tiered" pricing structure with outrageous monthly fees for more bandwidth. Just think of how Comcast will enjoy charging you double what you're paying right now just to get twice as much as the 250GB bandwidth limit. Think it can't happen? Well think again because there is clearly a method behind Comcast's madness.

Comcast customers are not getting the service they paid for. They are now getting an entirely different service: metered bandwidth. Since Comcast is taking something away from its customers then it ought to give something back and the thing that makes sense is money.

 

Qwest is setting up FiOS in my area soon, as soon as they do it, I'm gonna tell cable to fuck right off, rock the OTA HDTV and just do the Qwest thing. It'll probably be cheaper as well.

[MrRant 0]

Verizon has FiOS.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Verizon isn't in my area because of Qwest.

[MrRant 0]

Qwest hasn't really launched any fiber anywhere as far as I know. The only two that have are at&t and Verizon. Qwest does have DSL up to 20 but that is dependent on how far away from the central office you are.

[Guest Vitamin X]

http://www.qwest.com/residential/internet/fiber-optics.html

 

It's in the works, like I said. The usage of the term "fiber optics" here might be misleading, but it certainly makes me think it is what it is.

[BUTT 0]

Who's still downloading MP3s at 128 kb/s? 192 bare minimum, 256, 320, or VBR when possible.

I like to rip MP3s at 64kbps. Gives it that old-time hiss for a warmer sound. I also use Audacity to insert pops and scratches at random intervals if I'm feeling feisty.