http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/technology/30comcast.html?em
Oh no! This reminds me of when I first signed on for dial-up. They had two plans, one which allowed for X number of hours online per month, and one which allowed for unlimited time online. The guy who was helping me set up for the net said I should sign up for the limited access deal because there was no way a normal person would spend more time than that online. Well, I knew I wasn't normal, I signed up for the unlimited access, and I haven't looked back since. Now I have Road Runner Turbo. I'd have Business Class if I could afford it. Time Warner has also been conducting trials of internet metering and I assume that we can expect them to folow suit.
Anyway, as the article states, this isn't about the amount of time you spend online, it's about the amount of data that you download. And I really don't know how much I download on average. I used to use a peer-to-peer file sharing program similar to the old Napster to download music. (Forgive me RIAA, for I have sinned.) I still have it installed, but don't use it anymore. Turns out that I just don't have the time/inclination to listen to much music.
And last week I downloaded the Olympics opening ceremony for a friend. Over 4GB of data, downloaded overnight, but that's very rare for me. I had to reinstall the BitTorrent software on the spare computer to do it. What I'm much more likely to go after these days are flash files from YouTube, or other video files that I encounter or which friends send me. Most of those are under 10MB.
I don't think a 250GB monthly limit would affect me, but I don't like what this portends: internet service charges based upon usage of the net, not a one-size-fits-all policy. That's only fair, I suppose. I'm going to install some sort of bandwidth monitoring software to get an idea of my monthly usage. Anyone have any suggestions? A Google search turned up this: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1B2GGGL_enUS177US177&q=bandwidth+monitor&btnG=Search
And I'm going to hurry up and download all 6 seasons of The Sopranos before Time Warner cuts me off. Geez, now I gotta get some larger hard drives to store all this stuff.
And it gets worse...according to the Buzz Out Loud podcast on Friday, Comcast does NOT have any metering software to allow you to keep track of how much you use so its all a guess.
ReplyDeleteIf you go over your limit once, you get a warning. Second time, they cut you off for a year and they have no way of allowing you to buy more bandwidth!
At this point, few people will use 250gB per month. However, as more video, especially HD video, goes online, more and more people will run into that limit. I see a trainwreck coming.
I just see higher prices for more bandwidth. No, maybe you're right, there will be a Bandwidth Crisis, like the Oil Crisis of the 70's, and they'll limit our online time to every other day, etc., until they say they can import more bandwidth, but it's going to cost us more. Then we'll see the higher (and higher) prices.
ReplyDeleteGuess we are the only two who download enough to care, right orbs?
ReplyDelete