IF YOU HAVE COMCAST DITCH IT NOW!!!!

[Vteckidd]

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Comcast Corp, the largest U.S. cable operator, said on Thursday it will cap customers' Internet usage starting October 1, in a bid to ensure the best service for the vast majority of its subscribers.
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Comcast said it was setting a monthly data usage threshold of 250 gigabytes per account for all residential high-speed Internet customers, or the equivalent of 50 million e-mails or 124 standard-definition movies.

"If a customer exceeds more than 250 GB and is one of the heaviest data users who consume the most data on our high-speed Internet service, he or she may receive a call from Comcast's Customer Security Assurance (CSA) group to notify them of excessive use," according to the company's updated Frequently Asked Questions on Excessive Use.

Customers who top 250 GB in a month twice in a six-month timeframe could have service terminated for a year.

Comcast said up to 99 percent of its 14 million Internet subscribers would not be affected by the new threshold, which it said would help ensure the quality of Internet delivery is not degraded by a minority of heavy users.

U.S. Internet subscribers are typically not aware of any limit on their Internet usage once they sign up to pay a flat monthly fee to their service provider.

As Web usage has rocketed, driven by the popularity of watching online video, photo-sharing and music downloading services, cable and phone companies have been considering various techniques to limit or manage heavy usage.

But Comcast has come under fire from a variety of sources for its network management techniques.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission investigated complaints by consumer groups that it was blocking peer-to-peer applications like BitTorrent, and earlier this month ordered Comcast to modify its network management.

Comcast has said that by the end of the year it will change its network management practices to ensure all Web traffic is treated essentially the same, but has also been exploring other ways to prevent degradation of its Internet service delivery.

One consumer group said while Comcast's new 250 GB limit was "relatively high," it could eventually ensnare customers as technology progresses.

"If Comcast has oversold their network to the point of creating congestion problems, then well-disclosed caps for Internet use are a better short-term solution than Comcast's current practice of illegally blocking Internet traffic," said S Derek Turner of Free Press, a Washington, D.C.-based consumer advocacy group that filed a complaint about Comcast's network management practices earlier this year.

The Philadelphia-based company is not alone in trying to come up with ways to limit heavy Internet usage.

Time Warner Cable Inc, the second-largest U.S. cable operator, said in January it would run a trial of billing Internet subscribers based on usage rather than a flat fee.

Comcast spokesman Charlie Douglas said Comcast was also considering so-called consumption-based billing, but no decisions had been made.

[Vteckidd]

it means they want to charge you for using the internet say $50 a month.

And if you use that specified bandwidth 24 hours a day 7 days a week, there will be penalties.

What does it matter? YOU ARE PAYING FOR IT.

Its like paying for a movie and then halfway through it they say you have to close your eyes and you cant watch the rest of it.

Its like buying a car and if you cross 12,000 miles in a year they limit you to 5 miles a day.

WHO CARES, YOU OWN IT!!!

WHat they should be doing is looking at ways to expansd their network capabilities

[DJ Maestro]

How much information is sent and received over the course of a month for people who use Xbox Live or PS3 online services? I would imagine the video games eat up a decent amount of bandwidth. :thinking:

[Ed]

lol thats such bull****

[Leisa]

250 mg is alot of damn bandwidth...

[BlueHatch]

f comcast. they overcharged us for a few m onths, we ended up having to file a complaint with the bbb to get our money back. got direct tv now

[Lizbiz101]

**** Comcast I closed my account with them 2 days ago, and the guy is coming to pick up their crap Tuesday. They started coming with some BS. I'm going to AT&T.

[1SICKLEX]

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:NI2G9QMQ-2hLAM:http://bp3.blogger.com/_jgyugzLdbng/Rx2YRrTeaZI/AAAAAAAAA6o/lPCFAZwZabE/s320/comcast-logo-big%2Btxt.jpg
http://badluckcity.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/f-comcast.jpg

[Vteckidd]

250 mg is alot of damn bandwidth...
ahem its 250 GB

Well considering :

1) If you download movies and music (THIS INCLUDES ITUNES) or illegally

2) If you use Torrents

3) If you watch YOUTUBE Videos

4) If you watch PORN Videos (*cough brett*Cough*)

5) If you watch or view any form of streamed media

6) GOing to webpages counts as DL content

It wont affect MOST people, but its the beginning. Where will they draw the line? so now you can pay for my service but i get to tell you how you can use it?

THATS BULLSH!T.

Comcast is making MILLIONS if not BILLIONS and they refuse to upgrade their pipelines.

[Friggintitsman]

tl/dr

[4dmin]

dude 250gb of usage is a sh!t ton and all major providers have limits and caps to bandwidth this is nothing new.

i would highly surprised if 1% of the people on this site event come close to that in a months time. to give you a rough idea that is 1/6 of the traffic of IA in one months time. if you are doing that from home you need to be charged :lmao:

[Vteckidd]

i do that a month , most of my movies are 10gigs or bigger :)

[ironchef]

250gb is a lot, and true the majority of people won't even come close to touching it. Nevertheless putting a restriction on it is, to put it simply, gay.

[ATK_Designs]

GAYYYYYYYYY comcast. I'll quit.

[Brett]

I just wonder for those of us who use the 360 live what the eats up when we play for hours at a time online.

[Mike Lowrey]

ahem its 250 GB

Well considering :

4) If you watch PORN Videos (*cough brett*Cough*)


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

NOT MY PORN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



oh, wait......I have AT&T

Phew!

[Brett]

Leisa watches more porn than me :lmfao:

[BobbyFresco]

Damn. I'm glad I don't have Comcast!

[Brett]

I do, But im not to worried, as long as the 360 doesnt eat to much up, im good.

[Jimmy B]

i HATED at+t,... so far, no complaints from comcast from me.. so.. ill keep it

[willum14pb]

250gb's a month is extremely effecient bandwidth usage.. that's about equivalent to 120ish movies downloaded.. who does that anyways? It would be ridiculous to use that much up every month, unless you constantly uploading/downloading things, in which case, you're making everyone elses **** slower and you need to get a better service.

[Got Milk?]

250gb, i dont even come close to that.

[4dmin]

comcast destroys at&t and rest of competition in atlanta

[Revmaynard]

How can we figure how much we use? We have three computers going in my house. I might have to drop Comcast if we're going to break that.

[BanginJimmy]

How can we figure how much we use?


x2. I spent alot of time playing COD4 online.

[Nismo]

it means they want to charge you for using the internet say $50 a month.

And if you use that specified bandwidth 24 hours a day 7 days a week, there will be penalties.

What does it matter? YOU ARE PAYING FOR IT.

Its like paying for a movie and then halfway through it they say you have to close your eyes and you cant watch the rest of it.

Its like buying a car and if you cross 12,000 miles in a year they limit you to 5 miles a day.

WHO CARES, YOU OWN IT!!!

WHat they should be doing is looking at ways to expansd their network capabilities

Wow your dumb, you dont purchase the bandwidth, your renting it from them. At the end of the month they dont send you a little envelope filled with extra bandwidth.

[rizzler]

thats whack.

[Vteckidd]

Wow your dumb, you dont purchase the bandwidth, your renting it from them. At the end of the month they dont send you a little envelope filled with extra bandwidth.
ok dumbass, do they tell you HOW MUCH IM RENTING WHEN I SIGN UP?

KTHNXBYE

PS: Comcast was shutting people down for uploading and hogging bandwidth, and the FCC what they were doing was ILLEGAL. They now decide to do this.

THe problem isnt the bandwidth, im well under 250 gigs a month, but still , its the first shot. whats next?

They should be upgrading their pipelines, not limiting usage

[Jimmy B]

comcast destroys at&t and rest of competition in atlanta
+11 troof!

[joseph dale]

bellsouth/at&t isnt too reliable, i would always get disconnected from XBL, with att.. comcast i got a better connection and very consistent.

[collins]

im running bellsouth and havent had any issues other than being too far away from the router lol

[.blank cd]

If your not downloading demos and games on XBL, you can keep it under 20gigs/month. Seen some reports of people running up on that 250gig mark that were constantly DL'ing games and stuff and chatting and whatnot

[.blank cd]

Comcast is making MILLIONS if not BILLIONS and they refuse to upgrade their pipelines.


Revenue increased 11% in the second quarter of 2008 to $8.6 billion while Operating Cash Flow (as defined in Table 7) increased 11% to $3.4 billion and Operating Income increased 19% to $1.8 billion. This growth was due to solid operating results at Comcast Cable and in the Programming segment, as well as the positive impact of cable acquisitions. For the six months ended June 30, 2008, revenue increased 12% to $16.9 billion, Operating Cash Flow increased 13% to $6.5 billion, and Operating Income increased 21% to $3.3 billion, all compared to the same time period in 2007.

High-speed Internet revenue increased 10% to $1.8 billion in the second quarter of 2008 from $1.6 billion in 2007 reflecting a 12% increase in subscribers and a 3% decline in average monthly revenue per subscriber to $42.01, reflecting the impact of additional bundling and the recent introduction of new offers and speed tiers.

some info for ya

[YoTa_BoX]

US sucks as far as so called ( HIGH SPEED ) internet goes

http://www.betanews.com/article/US_Internet_speeds_still_slow_compared_to_the_rest _of_the_world/1218831113

A survey by the Communications Workers of America indicates that the median download speed for US Internet connections has changed little, and remains far slower than the rates experienced in other developed nations.

The typical US Internet connection delivers 2.3 Mbps downloads, according to the CWA's annual survey -- 400 Kbps over the previous year.

Compare this to Japan, whether the median download speed now stands at 63 Mbps. South Korea also is much higher at 49 Mbps, as is Finland (21 Mbps), France (17 Mbps), and even Canada, which has a median speed of 7.6 Mbps.

About 230,000 US residents participated by testing out their connections at a special Web site set up to meter broadband connections and lobby for broadband policy called "Speed Matters."

CWA officials cautioned that America's apparent speed constraints weren't just about downloading movies, but may also have economic implications on the country.

"Speed matters to our economy and our ability to remain competitive in a global marketplace," union president Larry Cohen said. "Rural development, telemedicine, and distance learning all rely on truly high-speed, universal networks."

The union plans to use the data to help convince the Senate to pass a bill called the Broadband Data Improvement Act, which calls for better definitions into what can really be considered true broadband. The bill would issue grants to states for studying the problem of how to roll out broadband lines to more customers, especially in rural areas. The House passed a similar measure earlier this year.

Cohen argues that the US needs a national broadband policy. "We are the only industrialized nation without a national policy to promote universal, high-speed Internet access -- and it shows," he mused. About 15 percent of Americans still use dial-up to connect to the Internet, which means the true median speed could even be lower than what is being presented here.

[kpc2593]

lets just hope at&t doesn't get the same idea...

[green91]

Now that many other providers are offering high speed options comcast may see some competition. for a while most dsl connections were maxed at 1.5-3megabits but even in rural dahlonega i can get 12mb service.

[HeLLo iM iZzY]

**** Comcast I closed my account with them 2 days ago, and the guy is coming to pick up their crap Tuesday. They started coming with some BS. I'm going to AT&T.If I was you, I'd "accidently" drop it, kinda stomp on it a little bit, then beat it with a hammer aswell. Let them know they come to pick up your trash.

LOL.

[redrumracer]

i like this vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q

the relevant part is where they talk about the switches for the comm lines.

[Jecht]

I'm annoyed that they have introduced a cap, especially when Comcast is the ONLY choice in some places around the country. I have gone over 250gb worth of downloads in a month before, but that is with 7 computers constantly running and using the net as well as our excessive downloading habits. Even if you played Xbox live all day everyday you wouldn't go over that limit.