With Comcast declaring 250gb Bandwidth caps for those using their Internet Service. I am calling for a Boycott of Comcast. This move by Comcast is not a surprise but in the modern utilization of the Internet the 250gb Cap will destroy Internet Innovation.
As a business owner that helps media creators this will cause a decrease in consumption of new media and will result in comcast customers being locked into Comcast services. This is Anti–Competitive as people will now have to curtail normal usage of their Internet Connection.
As an Example My family of 5 are all active Internet users, we down-load movies through our Apple TV and Vudu box many of them High Definition. My kids are connected to educational resources that requires them to download videos. We watch and listen to a variety of programming that requires downloading of legitimate content. We produce content and push it online. We are a true digital family.
Prediction of Sites that will see declines in Usage:
- Video Streaming Sites
- Audio Streaming Sites
- Podcast Content Creators
- Educational Site
- Vudu
- Apple TV
- Flickr
Or any other site that create a high amount of data traffic
If I were a Comcast user, I would easily blow through the 250gb cap. Many Comcast users do not have secondary choices for service and their decision to cap bandwidth is borderline anti-competitive.
If you are a Comcast user you need to call Comcast today, and register your complaint about their new policy. If you have a alternative company you can switch to cancel your service and tell them you are canceling due to the 250gb cap.
Something tells me that more than 1 percent of Comcast subscribers use more than 250 GB of bandwidth each month. I’m thinking of switching to Knology, which has no bandwidth limits.
I think, this is the perfect time for one or, all of Comcast’s competitors to start advertising that they are not restricting bandwidth or, putting a cap on use.
The moment a huge Corporation like Comcast see they are loosing market shares they will quickly change there tune. A lot of bad press never hurts. A few protests at the Shareholders meeting will really get the ball rolling. lol
I don’t have Comcast, but this 250GB cap has me wondering.
Many people on this page are stating that they use less than 250GB per month right now. What is going to happen if new technologies come out in the next few years that require larger amounts of bandwith. Ten years ago, I never imagined that I would use the amount of bandwidth I currently use. Just think of the possible applications that are just around the corner that may possibly require enormous amounts of data trasfer.
We cannot just think about the here and now. The future is at stake.
I agree that this is a major problem and goes way beyond Comcast. I’m sure other IPs are looking at this and to see if Comcast sticks with this policy. For some who have a choice in IPs, there will be no real choice if they all are allowed to head in this direction.
I wrote up my thoughts about this on my blog. http://fogview.com/index.php?post_id=372895
Thanks for taking up the fight Todd.
-Tom
I would agree with Comcasts stance on this (bandwidth costs money, as we all know) but thinking about your situation with 5 users Todd I can see that is actually unworkable. For a single user the average 8-9 Gb per day cap would still allow you to download several hours of movies (pretty much the most bandwidth-hungry thing you can do) which is clearly ample for the average single user.
For you? I don’t know but evidently 50Gb per user per month is unworkable but then if everybody had such high demands of the internet it really would grind to a halt with the present infrastructure.
Some people are more ahead of the times than others I guess…
The problem is that in many areas you can not boycott Comcast because they are the only provider available, and what about Charter Communications, they are owned by comcast and will be enforcing the very same limits, as a user you realize how little power you have in this matter, myself am a fairly heavy user and I blow through about 100gig a month, and that is between a desktop, a laptop and a tivo, I am also a very active video logger but still I am in no danger, so I guess I stay observant and chill for now, at least until they lower the limit which they probably will soon..
Comcast’s recent inability to live up to their contractual service obligations has caused them to grasp at straws for indirect solutions to thier problems. Rather than reinvesting the considerable profits they gather into upgrading and maintaining their data networks, they would rather invest in lawyers and shoddy business practices. As their customers become more aware of their limiting behaviors, the intelligent (and most profitable) customers will leave. Having a network capable of delivering uninterrupted service to their subscribers should be their focus, and it is not. They will suffer the long-term consequences of their shortsightedness, and in my opinion, the sooner the better.
I just talked to frank Eliason at Comcast about this very thing.
Read my blog post to learn what he had to say:
http://cawfeetawlk.blogspot.com/2008/08/comcasts-250gb-bandwidth-cap-real-deal.html
As a Comcast user I’m very concerned about this and it could be the start of a trend for other Internet providers if it’s allowed to continue. I also wrote about it on my blog. http://fogview.com/index.php?post_id=372895
Thanks Todd.
On second thought I wonder how much bandwidth XBox Live uses…that could sway my vote. I’m with SDC, I want a meter to know where my usage actually stands.
I’m going to have to agree. Our studio streams four (or five if the planets align) 3-hour episodes a month, four one-hour shows, plus all the uploading for the shows and all the home usage, and I doubt we’re going anywhere near 250 GB. There aren’t many content creators putting out more than we are. You’d have to be serving your own show or downloading a lot of illegal stuff for that to be much of an issue. And that should remain true until bandwidth speeds triple, which they won’t for a while, and not on cable at all.
Mind you, I loathe Comcast and treat it in my life as a necessary evil. I would love nothing more than dumping them, I’ve already cut my TV plan down to the minimum. But until something comes along that’s more reliable, it’s what there is.
Keep in mind, too, that the longer the economy stays in the toilet, they’re going to have to do something to keep from losing customers. They may well lift the cap in a couple months.
250 GB is ALOT of data…if it is only affecting 1%, then how is this affecting the 99%?? They should have a way for you to check your own usage stats before everyone goes off complaining, only to realize that they have never used more than 20-30 GB in a single month anyway….
I have Time Warner broadband so this does not affect me (well not yet anyway) and I am kind of on the fence. I see their point, they have users cranking on bit torrent 24/7 and downloading everything they can get their hands on (often they don’t even watch the content) and those users DO indeed degrade the network. Nice, paying, family customers who just want fast access…suffer. And often do not even realize it.
Most typical users, I would say even power users, would have to try really hard to burn through 250GB a month. I have Apple TV and love it, but HD moves are only 5GB, 10 at the most. If someone is renting hourly yes, that would be an issue. I am lucky to sneak in one rental in a busy week.
I do believe it when Comcast says it will not affect 99% of their customers. But those 1% dragging the network down will have a wake up call. They should have handled this differently, dealt with the 1% rather than getting everyone all upset.
I love unlimited of course, I remember the dial-up days when I was anxiously checking my “minutes” every day to see what I had left for the month. I do think there needs to be some discussion on how to handle bandwidth hogs, but this way was not the best that is for sure. However I always try to look at both sides and I do see Comcast’s point.
Of course if my provider did this nonsense I may not be so calm and collected ;)