Comcast sets usage cap for Internet users

[The Sushi Bandit]

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/comcast-quietly-sets-usage-cap/story.aspx?guid={1F49F282-E1D5-40AC-A603-BA4E6576BFA0}

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Comcast Corp. is up to its old tricks, as it seeks to rid its network of customers who use peer-to-peer networks that clog up bandwidth.
Last month, Comcast was ordered by the Federal Communications Commission to disclose its current and future network management practices and to stop blocking Internet traffic by the end of the year. The company had been blocking users of peer-to-peer networks by delaying their accessing to certain Web sites such as BitTorrent and others. See full story.
The cable giant quietly posted a new policy on its Web site, telling customers it has updated its "Acceptable Use Policy." Comcast (CMCSA:comcast corp new cl a
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4:00pm 08/29/2008

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CMCSA 21.18, -0.48, -2.2%) told customers that starting on Oct. 1 it will set a new monthly usage threshold for customers, of 250 gigabytes a month of data usage, for all Comcast residential customers. See Comcast's disclosure here.
But Comcast did not issue a press release or send direct announcements to consumers. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Comcast customer, and I did not receive any kind of e-mail notification of this news, which would be a more direct and timely manner of disclosure
The company says on its Web site that it is taking several steps to notify customers, including running banners on Comcast.net and it will include an insert, or a "billing stuffer" in their next bill. In my opinion, Comcast's headline on Comcast.net, saying it has updated its "Acceptable Use Policy," is not exactly a headline many consumers will see.
Granted, the cap of 250 gigabytes covers a huge amount of data. Comcast says consumers would have to send 50 million e-mails, or download 62,500 songs of 4 megabytes each, or download 125 standard movies at 2 gigabytes each, or upload 25,000 high-resolution photos of 10 megabytes each.
What is the penalty if a consumer surpasses the monthly cap of 250 gigabytes? Comcast said 99% of its customers will not exceed the bandwidth limitations. However, if one exceeds the limit, they may receive a call from Comcast to notify them of excessive use. If they surpass the limitation two times within a six-month period, their service is subject to termination.
Comcast is clearly trying to get rid of those unwanted customers who use its network to download fat files of movies, videos and music, some of which are probably pirated. But its indirect disclosures are likely to lead to more ire among consumers toward a company that is already challenged in the customer service department.
-- Therese Poletti

[oldtime dfl_er]

1. wtf?

Didn't they also recently announce intentional slowdowns during busy times? Man, they suck.

[fascisthunter]

3. and they were sued for it, because it's illegal

they do suck... I know personally.

[fascisthunter]

2. go to another service provider

[DJ13]

4. The PC (& Xbox/PS3) industry is moving to a download business model

Many new games are in the 10 GB range.

It wont take many downloads before Comcast cuts those customers off.

[rosesaylavee]

5. Wow. Here I was thinking of switching to them this fall

At the moment, we are using the "other" choice here which is AT&T. Do you know if they have established caps on usage too?

[tkmorris]

6. So far, no.

I have AT&T (Bellsouth) and I have been waiting to see what they will do. If they implement anything like this it will be time to flee.