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Comcast's 250GB limit?

Wednesday, May 07, 2008 by Dave Winer.

A picture named remote.gifDSLreports piece says Comcast may impose a 250GB monthly limit for customers. If you go over, you pay $15 per 10GB.  Permalink to this paragraph

Since I got shut down last month for being in the top 1/10th of 1 percent of their customers, without notice, I'm in a pretty good position to evaluate this plan from a customer's perspective. Permalink to this paragraph

Comments... Permalink to this paragraph

1. They're stating publicly that they have a limit and what the limit is. This is better than having an unstated limit that's a moving target over time and geography. Permalink to this paragraph

2. They will provide a site where they tell us how much we've used. Permalink to this paragraph

2. It gives other ISPs something to compete against. They can offer plans with a 350GB limit or a 1TB limit.  Permalink to this paragraph

3. It's not fair to customers to change the terms after they sign up. People always argue it from Comcast's perspective, never from the customer's. They may have a right to do it, but it still isn't fair. Permalink to this paragraph

4. How much bandwidth does a product like Slingbox use? Probably not a product Comcast loves very much, btw. Permalink to this paragraph

5. There's a weird connection between this and DMCA notices. Makes me wonder what their real motivation is. Remember Comcast is in the TV business, and video on the Internet is a big bandwidth user. Permalink to this paragraph

6. Do you think Comcast should lease their cable to competitors if they're not going to provide plain vanilla internet access? Permalink to this paragraph

7. I want neutral Internet service, so I can build whatever I want to out of it. I don't mind if there's a meter, but I don't like the deal changing after I sign on, makes me wonder what's coming next.  Permalink to this paragraph




     

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A picture named dave.jpgDave Winer, 53, pioneered the development of weblogs, syndication (RSS), podcasting, outlining, and web content management software; former contributing editor at Wired Magazine, research fellow at Harvard Law School, entrepreneur, and investor in web media companies. A native New Yorker, he received a Master's in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, a Bachelor's in Mathematics from Tulane University and currently lives in Berkeley, California.

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