So Time Warner is finally making their caps official...

Are you in a contest???

 

I download a lot of stuff, I think a few gigs every couple of days. So far ATT has been good to me.

On a semi-related note, I wish phone companies wouldn't charge us so much for text messaging. 20/month for a few megabytes is ridiculous.

 

dude what sort of home internet you have to get speeds that lets you download that much content that fast?

 

So it's YOUR fault?

 

damn! JV got owned!

 

I've had great service with Windstream...it's actually been faster than Comcast for me...but then I'm pretty close to their hub. But it's been reliable (only spotty during during one 2-3 week period since I've had it), you pay 15 dollars less than Comcast and their customer service has improved (shifted their overseas customer service back to the states).

I did have problems initially trying to set up the modem to work with Xbox live...but once I got it figured out it's been pretty smooth sailing.

Unfortunately though I gotta go back to Comcast since I'm moving...why the hell can't Windstream and ATT get out to Missouri City already!

 

You become increasingly screwed as you perform more of each of the following:

Upload/download high-res photos regularly
Use streaming media (youtube, tv shows on the major stations' websites, etc)
Download music, movies, or other media (netflix, apple store, PS/XBox stores, etc)
Play online games
Have multiple computer users on the same internet connection (roommates, kids, etc)

The other problem I have is that if every company does this, does it stifle innovation? We are entering an age where more and more media is being sent over internet connections in increasingly higher definition. I was considering not buying cable TV next year after I graduate from school. Between working a lot of hours per week and with the major companies putting most of their shows either on their websites or downloadable via iTunes, it seemed like I could save myself a little money doing this.

 

AT&T might not be faster than crapcast, but it's infinitely more reliable and user-friendly. Having caps on bw is utter bull****.

 

the deal is they are just trying to make the people who use more bandwidth to pay for more bandwidth.

Otherwise everyone pays the same even if 10% of users suck up 60% of the services.

I think it would be cool if they offered another option in their plans. RIght now you just pay for speed, they should offer speed and BW packages so people who just access webpages can get super fast speeds without paying so much.

 

Time to switch to FiOS it seems...

 

I think someone already mentioned it...but I just dont see this business model working. I think wants this hits nationwide and cities that have other options, so many people will jump ship that they'll be forced to re-think what they did. By either offering more reasonable GB or back to unlimited.

 

Except the people that jump ship will be the highest bandwidth users. That will do two things. One, it will dramatically improve the quality of service from TW because they free up a ton of bandwidth. And then whatever service these people latch on to is going to suffer the same challenges of having a small portion of its userbase sucking up most of its resources and would eventually probably move to this model too.

The issue here is that the amount of bandwidth consumed today is substantially higher than it was 2-3 years ago, but the price for the service is basically the same. That's not really sustainable without an increase in infrastructure or a tiered pricing structure. If high bandwidth users cost Time Warner more than it gets in revenues, then it may be intentional to drive those users away.

 

As others have posted here, there were government funds provided that were supposed to go toward new infrastructure to ensure that the bandwidth would be available to all.

 

I'm not sure about the details, but didn't these companies get billions of dollars worth of tax breaks to upgrade their infrastructure?

 

You need to look into bargaining for cheaper/free data plan or text messaging next time you reup with your carrier. It's common for carriers to give freebies or discounts in order to retain customers.

 

Is it irony when one Time Warner wants to convince you to download/stream movies and television shows while another Time Warner wants to convince you to stop?

 

No, that's weird. If you don't have a contract, a provider can increase your rate 20% from one month to the next. But, all the providers do this (as the market allows). Same with the other charges, DrewP, everyone has those extra charges. If there's any in particular you're wondering about, I can explain them.

 

And Time-Warner's greed fest continues....

 

Sure - but do we know whether the cost of the upgrades is more or less than the money that was provided? The gov't funds were a one-time thing, but bandwidth usage is increasing at ever-faster amounts, especially now with so many more places broadcasting streaming video in HD.

 

Well I just ordered U-Verse. They had a discount I couldn't pass up... 18 mbit download speeds for $40/month. I'm switching from TimeWarner Cable to them for tv, sticking with them for DSL and telephone... I'm going from 6 mbit download speeds to 18 and saving about $50/month combined for all 3 services. Of course I'm waiting for the bad news... I'm sure when they get here, I won't see the 18 megabit speeds (or won't qualify) and my tv service will suck... lol.