More Internet providers cap data use

[humble3d]

More Internet providers cap data use

With growth of streaming services, customers could increasingly feel effects

The days of streaming unlimited movies on Netflix may be coming to an end, and it’s not the online video service’s fault.

Internet service providers across the country have implemented data-usage limits as part of paid packages they offer, meaning a customer can receive only so many gigabytes of data — the building blocks of online content such as movies and songs — in a month.

Mediacom’s residential Internet customers who accrue more than 250 gigabytes per 30-day billing cycle will pay more for going over. The policy went into effect Saturday.

Mediacom officials say the move affects about 3 percent of its users, based upon past experience. But some experts say an exponential growth in data usage means limits will eventually affect many more customers.

“The growth of streaming services, that is the next hot thing on the Internet,” Iowa State University professor Doug Jacobson said. “We are looking at systems designed and put in place 10 to 20 years ago. The demand on the Internet, well, the raw volume of individuals has dramatically increased, but so has their usage.”

The issue has become a competitive one for the cable industry and others, such as cellphone service providers, that have started to phase out unlimited data plans. As more people expect to go online anywhere, the added traffic strains companies’ networks, which cost money to maintain or bolster.

In April 2011, a Wired magazine story said more than 50 percent of broadband subscribers nationwide had plans that limited data usage. In October 2012, a GigaOm story placed that number at 64 percent.

Some consumers say data limits punish those who watch movies and television shows online for leaving cable.

“It does not make sense to tick off 100 percent of your customer base by implementing this and making people worry,” said Tej Dhawan, who received a notification about the limits from Mediacom, Iowa’s largest cable provider. “These companies grew because people could see the value of the data they received. I think companies are becoming greedier because people are seeing less value in cable services.”

But industry officials say that is not the case. In fact, they say, even someone using Netflix constantly will struggle to reach the monthly data caps set by each company.

As more customers wrap their head around limits to data, companies are being careful with their terminology.

Mediacom does not call its limits “caps,” but rather “allowances” customers have in a given month.

CenturyLink officials don’t call them caps either, instead saying that customers have signed up for the wrong service if they reach their limit.

Mediacom’s limits range from 250 gigabytes to three terabytes of information, depending on the package.

CenturyLink customers can choose between 150 gigabytes per month or 250, depending on download speeds they choose when they sign up.

“We want to make sure our network is operating at proficiency,” CenturyLink spokesman Mark Molzen said. “When we identify an excessive user, it means they signed up for the wrong service.”

The company will contact the customer and suggest an alternative plan, such as a small business plan, which costs more but gives a higher limit.

As much as industry leaders insist data caps do not target Netflix or Hulu users, some experts say it’s only natural that they do because bandwidth is a finite resource.

“The Internet was never designed to deliver television,” Iowa State University technology professor Doug Jacobson said. “There is only so much data you can put down that pipe, and Netflix and other streaming video services consume large amounts of that bandwidth. The infrastructure was not designed to support it.”

In markets with little competition, there is not much consumers can do, Jacobson said.

“Mediacom or whomever can put in more towers or a cable plant,” he said. But “competition forces you to improve your infrastructure. Lack of competition means you don’t have to do that.”

Cable companies and cellphone companies have had to grapple with the increasing bandwidth demands.

Jacobson compares it to the freeway system, which had to improve its infrastructure as more cars were sold. In this case, the more users online, the wider or stronger the cables that wire the Internet need to be to handle the increasing amounts of data passed through it.

“The industry is moving more towards a ‘pay what you use’ instead of ‘one size fits all’ approach,” Mediacom spokeswoman Phyllis Peters said. “By giving customers choices (or) options to fit their needs, these policies fit individual households or customers’ needs. It is not an approach that puts restrictive caps on anyone but, instead, gives choices and options.”

On Aug. 1, 2012, Mediacom implemented the usage caps of 250 gigabytes per month to all customers, with very few ever reaching that number. On Saturday, the company introduced tiers that give customers a different limit based upon the download speeds in their package.

Mediacom’s basic residential rate for Internet service is $49.95 per month and includes an allowance of 250 gigabytes. A more advanced package is $59.95 and includes 350 gigabytes. With either package, customers can buy extra data at $10 for every 50 gigabytes.

Peters said broadband use has increased severely in the past two years.

“How many new apps have come to the marketplace in the past 18 months or 18 weeks?” she said. “The things our friends and family are doing on the Internet aren’t the kinds of things they were doing less than two years ago because of all of the new capabilities and tools.”

But Dhawan said the company’s tune would change if they faced stiffer competition locally.

“If Google Fiber came into Des Moines, Mediacom wouldn’t dare come up with this plan,” he said. “This is purely coming from the ability to be monopolistic. They are saying we are going to say what price we think is right. A third entrant would change the playing field.”

_http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130908/BUSINESS/309080018/More-Internet-providers-cap-data-use

Reached for comment from his Pricey Mansion, Playboy Hugh Hefner says he's depressed that
America has the worst internet service in the whole word...

At least I have my babes, he added... :lol:

[KamenRiderBlack]

data capping is becoming a trend it seems. isp's should be able to provide max bandwidth without compromise.

[locoJoe]

CenturyLink customers can choose between 150 gigabytes per month or 250, depending on download speeds they choose when they sign up.

“We want to make sure our network is operating at proficiency,” CenturyLink spokesman Mark Molzen said. “When we identify an excessive user, it means they signed up for the wrong service.”

It should say the wrong Company. F*** CenturyLink, I had them as my ISP awhile back. I dropped them after 1st month and refused to pay the bill. Yes, they suck that bad.

[CODYQX4]

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Edited April 28, 2019 by CODYQX4

[mikie]

"US infrastructure should have been updated a long time ago"

www.broadband.gov About 100 million homes in usa today have broadband.

By the year 2020 we should be much faster - which means 'new stuff is comming'

Edited September 14, 2013 by mikie

[MidnightDistortions]

I used to pay $30 for internet, now it's close to $80. If my provider wants to put a cap on mine, they should lower the price first.