Comcast’s data caps are ‘just low enough to punish streaming’

[Maxxam]

People who think 300GB is fine need to wake up.



http://bgr.com/2015/10/28/why-is-comcast-so-bad-57/
If you’re a cord cutter who lives in an area where Comcast has implemented its data caps and you constantly find yourself running up against your monthly limit, there may be a good reason for that. The Associated Press recently published an interesting report on Comcast’s plan to meter the Internet through data caps and what really stuck out for me was a quote from one Comcast customer who pointed out that these caps are just the right size to discourage people from getting all their television through streaming services instead of through a traditional cable TV package.

RELATED: Comcast’s brilliant plan to make you accept data caps: Refuse to admit they’re data caps

“I think the idea of limiting your usage is absolutely insane,” Comcast customer Matthew Pulsipher told The Associated Press. “It would make sense if the cap was 2 terabytes, but 300 is just low enough to punish streaming.”

This isn’t just the anecdote of some broadband hog who’s streaming 4K porn through his computer all day. I’ve been seeing lots of stories of cord cutters who suddenly find themselves facing the threat of overage fees because their decision to watch TV over the web is now being subjected to limits.

Take this report from Stop the Cap earlier this month about Florida residents who suddenly found that they had to adjust their streaming habits after Comcast started subjecting them to a 300GB monthly cap.

“It’s no surprise what they are targeting with these caps,” explained Florida-based Comcast subscriber Austin Chilson. “If you watch Netflix or Hulu on a regular basis, 300GB is not enough. Netflix alone is responsible for about 17GB of video usage during the first three days of the month.”

The FCC also recently published a series of complaints about data caps from Comcast customers who similarly said that watching Netflix and downloading PlayStation 4 games from the web was easily enough to blow through their monthly limits.

Comcast, of course, would like us to believe that these caps are all about “fairness” and limiting the negative impact that all those greedy data hogs are having on its network, which apparently is as fragile as a tulip on a chilly winter’s eve. In reality, of course, this is all about trying to mitigate the effects that cord cutting is having on Comcast’s traditional pay TV business.

Comcast tells the AP that roughly 8% of its customers go over 300GB per month but you can definitely expect that number to increase the more people rely on streaming services for television. And once more people start buying 4K TVs and watching Netflix streams in 4K, then 300GB per month will seem like absolutely nothing.

It’s not just cord cutters that will increasingly feel the pinch but gamers as well. Consider that the digital download of Grand Theft Auto V weighs in at just under 49GB, which means that downloading just one game can blow through 16% of your monthly cap.

So it’s not entirely accurate to say that Comcast’s data caps are just low enough to punish streaming because they’re also low enough to hinder advances in online commerce such as digital game downloads as well. That may be Comcastic news for at least one company but the rest of us shouldn’t be happy about it.

Comcast data caps so low they hurt competing video providers

Sling TV reportedly streams at speeds of 1.8Mbps to 4.5Mbps. At 4.5Mbps, it would take 148.15 hours to use 300GB. In a 31-day month, that's 4.8 hours of online TV streaming per day. That might sound like a lot, but Nielsen last year found that the average American adult spent four hours and 32 minutes watching live TV per day and another 30 minutes watching time-shifted TV each day.

related threads:
Comcast is Exempting its New Streaming Service From Usage Caps

Average Netflix User Eats 45 GB Per Month... Data caps are going to rape you with 4K


Most won't read this either, but you should:
Big Cable’s Sledgehammer Is Coming Down

 

[rebel]

its fucked up how FTC/FCC let these companies bleed consumers by taking steps back. The cost of connectivity in the US is more than other developed countries with lower bandwidth speeds.

A customer using 100GB or data vs 10GB of data a month doesn't affect them as they don't pay per GB usage.

"On average users in your area only utilize 50GB of data monthly so were going to introduce a cap of 300GB" fuck off

 

[nibbs]

Why is everyone mad? How long did people think the "pay one price - eat all you want" structure was gonna last?

You don't pay one price and get to use all the water you want.

You don't pay one price and get to use all the electricity you want.

You don't pay one price and get to use all the gas you want.

You don't pay one price and get to walk out the store with all the produce you want.

Is what it is. It's a business and they're changing the model to a consumption based model - which is fair to me. Why should my prices have to go up because some family of 5 wants to stream Netflix, play XBOX, and run 8 internet devices in the house using them at least 4hrs a day every day?!

Why should I have to pay the same prices they do if I only have 2 internet devices and stream movies / TV a few times a month.

Better compression algorithms will make better / lower use of your bandwidth.

 

[nibbs]

its fucked up how FTC/FCC let these companies bleed consumers by taking steps back. The cost of connectivity in the US is more than other developed countries with lower bandwidth speeds.

off

That much is true, but you skirted the infrastructure and service costs.
America is 10x the footprint of most of the other high speed countries with 20-30x the population and 100x the traffic (commercial + consumer + military/gov). Buildings to house the equipment spread out over the country, laying high speed line , permits and approvals, hardware, routers, network switches, back up generators, cooling, operations personnel etc etc all have significant costs.

 

[JtheKing]

Why is everyone mad? How long did people think the "pay one price - eat all you want" structure was gonna last?

You don't pay one price and get to use all the water you want.

You don't pay one price and get to use all the electricity you want.

You don't pay one price and get to use all the gas you want.

You don't pay one price and get to walk out the store with all the produce you want.

Is what it is. It's a business and they're changing the model to a consumption based model - which is fair to me. Why should my prices have to go up because some family of 5 wants to stream Netflix, play XBOX, and run 8 internet devices in the house using them at least 4hrs a day every day?!

Why should I have to pay the same prices they do if I only have 2 internet devices and stream movies / TV a few times a month.

Better compression algorithms will make better / lower use of your bandwidth.

You are comparing limited resources to an unlimited resource. Comcast wants to control how,when, and what you watch. Not to mention the ads revenue.

 

[JtheKing]

That much is true, but you skirted the infrastructure and service costs.
America is 10x the footprint of most of the other high speed countries with 20-30x the population and 100x the traffic (commercial + consumer + military/gov). Buildings to house the equipment spread out over the country, laying high speed line , permits and approvals, hardware, routers, network switches, back up generators, cooling, operations personnel etc etc all have significant costs.

That argument is valid for mobile networks not wired ones, that's why "dark" fiber exists and Google is buying it up.

 

[rebel]

That much is true, but you skirted the infrastructure and service costs.
America is 10x the footprint of most of the other high speed countries with 20-30x the population and 100x the traffic (commercial + consumer + military/gov). Buildings to house the equipment spread out over the country, laying high speed line , permits and approvals, hardware, routers, network switches, back up generators, cooling, operations personnel etc etc all have significant costs.

doesn't providers in Europe and other countries that offer HSI have to account for infrastructure and high service costs as well? Do you believe infrastructure and service costs are considerably cheaper? If you're in the slow lane then offer a lower plan for those users. Comcast isn't claiming that they are placing a cap because of data consumption issues but to be "fair" to consumers.

 

[nibbs]

That argument is valid for mobile networks not wired ones, that's why "dark" fiber exists and Google is buying it up.

Why is it not valid for wired networks?
It's infrastructure that was built 50 years ago.
Old copper and networking equipments cannot handle today's data traffic needs for speed. The latency would be horrible.
So they have to replace it all - and it's not cheap to dig up or run moles to lay new fiber

Google is buying up backhaul. This was additional extra lines the networks laid either for redudancy reasons or as bandwidth that could later "light up" as more demand surfaced in a region.

It doesn't mean their cost went down? They still had to spend to lay the fiber and they would still have the spend to make it operational once it's lit.

 

[Africanama]

That much is true, but you skirted the infrastructure and service costs.
America is 10x the footprint of most of the other high speed countries with 20-30x the population and 100x the traffic (commercial + consumer + military/gov). Buildings to house the equipment spread out over the country, laying high speed line , permits and approvals, hardware, routers, network switches, back up generators, cooling, operations personnel etc etc all have significant costs.

Man, that is a tired excuse. This country is operated as a bunch mini-countries and those wires are not stretched from Cali to NY but town to town and city to city. Just with anything, there's upfront cost but they often get to recoup that quickly. Don't let them fool you.

 

[nibbs]

doesn't providers in Europe and other countries that offer HSI have to account for infrastructure and high service costs as well? Do you believe infrastructure and service costs are considerably cheaper? If you're in the slow lane then offer a lower plan for those users. Comcast isn't claiming that they are placing a cap because of data consumption issues but to be "fair" to consumers.

The costs are the same but the amount of spend is many order of mangnitudes less in European nations.

You can drive 5
hours in Europe and cross through 2-3 counties. You can drive 5 hours in the U.S. and still be in the same state!

It's an issue of scale and breadth that adds to the higher service costs in the U.S.

Also don't forget taxes. 15-18% of your internet bill is mostly Federal and state taxes.

 

[nibbs]

You are comparing limited resources to an unlimited resource. Comcast wants to control how,when, and what you watch. Not to mention the ads revenue.

How is bandwidth or the equipment needed to run the networks an unlimited resource?

The network has a fixed capacity at any given time.

 

[BronxBomber]

I just know my comcast sucks at this point... It use to be very fast. Now its crap. I can't even use my iPad in my room lol

 

[Lehigh]

All cable cutters can't eat for free.

 

[nibbs]

All cable cutters can't eat for free.

How do you eat for free with no internet?

Huh?

 

[Lehigh]

I pay for my services. It sucks to be a Comcast customer but I'm good that's all I care about.

muthafuckas swear they were pulling a fast one cutting the cord. Now they crying cable cutter tears black and white are delicious.

 

[JtheKing]

Why is it not valid for wired networks?
It's infrastructure that was built 50 years ago.
Old copper and networking equipments cannot handle today's data traffic needs for speed. The latency would be horrible.
So they have to replace it all - and it's not cheap to dig up or run moles to lay new fiber

Google is buying up backhaul. This was additional extra lines the networks laid either for redudancy reasons or as bandwidth that could later "light up" as more demand surfaced in a region.

It doesn't mean their cost went down? They still had to spend to lay the fiber and they would still have the spend to make it operational once it's lit.

There is a ton of fibre already laid down not in use, once you build it the cost of maintaining it is extremely low.

How is bandwidth or the equipment needed to run the networks an unlimited resource?

The network has a fixed capacity at any given time.

Bandwidth is literally enclosed radio waves and flashes of light, and we use a very small percentage of out.

All cable cutters can't eat for free.

I'm not cord cutter, but I'd rather have everything streaming instead of wires and cable boxes which seriously holding quality of content. Prime example is Netflix and YT @4k, also I have found bootleg sites that stream nba/nfl @ 1080p 60fps. Shit, I hate even watching porn in anything less than 1080p these days.

 

[Lehigh]

There is a ton of fibre alre



Bandwidth is literally enclosed radio waves and flashes of light, and we use a very small percentage of out.



I'm not cord cutter, but I'd rather have everything streaming instead of wires and cable boxes which seriously holding quality of content. Prime example is Netflix and YT @4k, also I have found bootleg sites that stream nba/nfl @ 1080p 60fps. Shit, I hate even watching porn in anything less than 1080p these days.

Streaming an NBA from a site . I can't do it that shit it ain't for me. I must have all 82 games from every damn team every damn night.

I also have Netflix 4K. For me personally I don't want to touch a pad, phone or p.c. to stream. I always have to have constant access which I get from a box.

 

[Maxxam]

doesn't providers in Europe and other countries that offer HSI have to account for infrastructure and high service costs as well? Do you believe infrastructure and service costs are considerably cheaper? If you're in the slow lane then offer a lower plan for those users. Comcast isn't claiming that they are placing a cap because of data consumption issues but to be "fair" to consumers.

They did for years, only recently have they switched their story. And thats all it is, another BS story
Cable Industry Finally Admits That Data Caps Have Nothing To Do With Congestion

They want tiered pricing with overages just like our shitty wireless industry. 300 GB is perfect for ensuring overages occur.

 

[KingAddies]

Why is everyone mad? How long did people think the "pay one price - eat all you want" structure was gonna last?

You don't pay one price and get to use all the water you want.

You don't pay one price and get to use all the electricity you want.

You don't pay one price and get to use all the gas you want.

You don't pay one price and get to walk out the store with all the produce you want.

Is what it is. It's a business and they're changing the model to a consumption based model - which is fair to me. Why should my prices have to go up because some family of 5 wants to stream Netflix, play XBOX, and run 8 internet devices in the house using them at least 4hrs a day every day?!

Why should I have to pay the same prices they do if I only have 2 internet devices and stream movies / TV a few times a month.

Better compression algorithms will make better / lower use of your bandwidth.

The average bandwidth in S. Korea is 1000mbps up from 100mbps with no data caps. South Korea!
FOH with that business model bullshit. It's an artificial construct that exists solely because consumers let it happen.
If there was a choice, and you could simply choose another company then your argument would be valid.

 

[nibbs]

The average bandwidth in S. Korea is 1000mbps up from 100mbps with no data caps. South Korea!
FOH with that business model bullshit. It's an artificial construct that exists solely because consumers let it happen.
If there was a choice, and you could simply choose another company then your argument would be valid.

South Korea's internet has a total addressable market 1/6th that of Americas while also being partially funded, run by, and controlled by the Government.
At least compare apples to apples here, sir. If our internet was being stipend by tax dollars we should be upset - but since it's a private service, why are you bent out of shape? No one forces you to use the service they provide.

However, please have your facts correct - you presented bullshit unfortunately.
Akamai's State of the Internet reported based on the through put that SK's average bandwidth is around 23mpbs.
https://community.akamai.com/docs/DOC-4389
That's far far far away from the 1,000mps you just quoted.

The 1,000mpb is a rare speed package only available in limited cities like Seoul and for which the subscribers must pay more for.


As for choice, there are plenty of choices. Most communities in major metro regions now have at least 2/3 providers. I can choose from FIOS, Comcast, or Roadrunner.
If you're not happy w/your landline internet service provider you can get a wireless card.
LTE easily approaches and surpasses the speed of many residential home plans 20up/20down.
5G due to roll out late next year will hit near Gigabit speed in ideal conditions.
Not happy with wireless, you can choose from the satellite internet providers.
Not happy with that option, run your own lines and look for a direct node to UUNet / Verizon Business.

 

[Maxxam]

As for choice, there are plenty of choices. Most communities in major metro regions now have at least 2/3 providers.

http://arstechnica.com/business/201...oadband-competition-at-25mbps-fcc-chair-says/
80% of Americans have 1 choice for broadband. Broadband is defined as 25Mbps by the FCC... and like the FCC Chairman said : “A 25Mbps connection is fast becoming ‘table stakes’ in 21st century communications"

 

[nibbs]

http://arstechnica.com/business/201...oadband-competition-at-25mbps-fcc-chair-says/
80% of Americans have 1 choice for broadband. Broadband is defined as 25Mbps by the FCC... and like the FCC Chairman said : “A 25Mbps connection is fast becoming ‘table stakes’ in 21st century communications"

Again, please read carefully, I said they have access to 2/3 providers. This article only defines a provider as someone who can offer a package at 25mpbs or >

There are other MVNO's who resell and offer the lower 20/20 packages which is still broadband speed.

Not everyone has a need for a 50/50 or 100/100 in their home. 20/20 is still a highly serviceable speed. If you need more/faster, you pay more. Simple as that.

 

[fonzerrillii]

Man google fiber can't get here quick enough.

 

[Efkie]

The problem is choice IMO. When there is little choice Comcast can get away with their behavior.

 

[Maxxam]

The problem is choice IMO. When there is little choice Comcast can get away with their behavior.

True, competition would make a huge difference. Up until Feb. of this year, it was illegal in many states to even offer municipal broadband... cable lobby works hard. Comcas and TWC have the nation split and Verizon took the subsidy money and ran and never built out fios.

FCC overturns state laws that protect ISPs from local competition

 

[J Storm]

I remember binging on BREAKING BAD.. All Seasons... in 2 Weeks.. Internet Bill was like $150.00

 

[gene cisco]

Yet people will still make excuses for these companies gouging customers(they actually like turning 'light' users against 'heavy' users and idiots fall for it). Billionaires don't need your fucking help. They have lawyers and puppets in Washington helping them.

 

[thismybgolname]

South Korea's internet has a total addressable market 1/6th that of Americas while also being partially funded, run by, and controlled by the Government.
At least compare apples to apples here, sir. If our internet was being stipend by tax dollars we should be upset - but since it's a private service, why are you bent out of shape? No one forces you to use the service they provide.

However, please have your facts correct - you presented bullshit unfortunately.
Akamai's State of the Internet reported based on the through put that SK's average bandwidth is around 23mpbs.
https://community.akamai.com/docs/DOC-4389
That's far far far away from the 1,000mps you just quoted.

The 1,000mpb is a rare speed package only available in limited cities like Seoul and for which the subscribers must pay more for.


As for choice, there are plenty of choices. Most communities in major metro regions now have at least 2/3 providers. I can choose from FIOS, Comcast, or Roadrunner.
If you're not happy w/your landline internet service provider you can get a wireless card.
LTE easily approaches and surpasses the speed of many residential home plans 20up/20down.
5G due to roll out late next year will hit near Gigabit speed in ideal conditions.
Not happy with wireless, you can choose from the satellite internet providers.
Not happy with that option, run your own lines and look for a direct node to UUNet / Verizon Business.

I'm in an area with Google Fiber, AT&T 1GB, Comcast, Charter and a bunch of other MVNO type providers.

None of them compete in the same area.

LTE isn't realistic because of data caps imposed by wireless carriers.

We're not seeing anything 5G on a consumer device for another five years at the least, we're not on the next generation of LTE.

 

[nibbs]

I'm in an area with Google Fiber, AT&T 1GB, Comcast, Charter and a bunch of other MVNO type providers.

None of them compete in the same area.

LTE isn't realistic because of data caps imposed by wireless carriers.

We're not seeing anything 5G on a consumer device for another five years at the least, we're not on the next generation of LTE.

To the contrary, 5G is rolling out Q4 2016. Small pockets of Asia are already testing 5G and 5G devices although a protocol has yet to be locked down by the group of RF Manufacturers responsible for agreeing upon a standard.

 

[thismybgolname]

To the contrary, 5G is rolling out Q4 2016. Small pockets of Asia are already testing 5G and 5G devices although a protocol has yet to be locked down by the group of RF Manufacturers responsible for agreeing upon a standard.

I can see it possibly as an M2M solution or a business solution but I will have to believe it when I see it in consumer devices before 2020.

We shall see.

 

[Maxxam]

Again, please read carefully, I said they have access to 2/3 providers. This article only defines a provider as someone who can offer a package at 25mpbs or >

There are other MVNO's who resell and offer the lower 20/20 packages which is still broadband speed.

Not everyone has a need for a 50/50 or 100/100 in their home. 20/20 is still a highly serviceable speed. If you need more/faster, you pay more. Simple as that.

Providers of what? sub par internet access that doesn't qualify as broadband? A 6Mbps DSL connection isn't going to cut it. And those upload speeds are barely available to anyone... Comcast doesn't offer anything like that on their most popular plans... it is usually 5-8 up. There is no competition in most markets. That is just a fact.

 

[GhostWriter]

I set up a business account for home because my caps kept going over. Business accounts have no limit and I pay 60 a month for that. not bad

 

[thismybgolname]

I set up a business account for home because my caps kept going over. Business accounts have no limit and I pay 60 a month for that. not bad

What type of speed?

 

[durham]

I wonder who has the power to appoint and fire the leader of the FCC hmm???

Ahh fuck it, nothing is the President's fault while these telecoms are recreating Mabell, selling our data and charging us for shit that costs them nothing. They only improve or limit when then have competition.

Made Netflix pay billions for bandwidth protection, yet still limit the consumers that pay for Internet service.

 

[Rembrandt]

I am scared to look at my usage but my wife been streaming hulu constantly for the past three weeks. I know it's going up. come home and connect phone to wifi. it's crazy. hell I use 30GB a month in my phone. and there is no competitors where I live only comcast.