Time Warner Axes Tiered Bandwidth Plans

[outacontrolpimp]

YES! I was thinking this would never end. Thank god! Hopefully this is a example of the power comsumers have.


We should also learn as a consumer, this if we make a stand as a group, we will win. Quantity over quality.

 

[DarkMatterBT]

Don't think the consumer has won, if there's one thing I've learned in life it's that these greedy bastards in corporate America will bleed you any way they can. Sure they put there plans on "hold" for now because of the bad pr there getting on this but they will "educate" you on there new plans shortly, they will introduce something that won't cause as much outcry and will lull you into a false sense that you won. The only way we win is for this shit to never appear again, but I'm all too afraid we haven't seen the last of this. I only hope when this is revisited again that no matter how much "better" it appears to be that customers will perform a mass exodus to other providers that aren't playing ball with said provider in providing tiered plans. That is the only thing big companies like this understand, they could care less about our "whining", they only see more or less $$$ at the end of the day and move accordingly.

 

[Thunderfox]

[citation][nom]cliffro[/nom]Unfortunately Ilive in an area where AT&T is the only other option, and having been a customer in the past, from experience its not an option for me. The main deal breaker for me is, Uploading a file while downloading at the same time. I'm not even referring to Bit Torrent, if I am uploading a few files to my website, and I'm also downloading lets say a patch, my download speed is nearly crippled while uploading.Sure it may seem minor to some people, but to me I can't stand it. Oh and their equally unsavory "up to" 3Mbit down and 512Kbit up statement, When I had them I was lucky to get 2Mbit down and my up speed never got close to 512Kbit. I was close enough to the CO to get 6mbit speeds, yet couldn't actually get the full 3mbit.(6mbit tier has limited slots available)So no AT&T please.[/citation]

This sounds like upload bandwidth saturation. Basically, a little bit of your upload bandwidth needs to be used to request new packets to download, and if it is all being used to upload a file, your download speeds gets crippled like that.

The solution is to use a file transfer program which allows you to cap the upload speed a few KB below maximum, so that you have some upload bandwidth left to be used to request new parts to download. There are FTP programs which can do this, and any decent filesharing program or bittorrent client can do this.

I have the same problem if I don't limit my upload speed during uploads. Doing so eliminates it.

 

[duzcizgi]

Traffic caps are used in countries where the infrastructure isn't as developed. (Like Ukraine, where I live.) But as the competition increase and the ISPs build their infrastructure, the price for internet goes down and traffic cap goes away. For example, 3 years ago, I was using Cable internet, with traffic cap of 2 GB for about $200/mo. Now I have 10 MBit unlimited traffic fiber channel to home for a mere $50/mo

I think TWC is out of cash to keep its infrastructure fulfilling demand.

 

[Pei-chen]

I want to see someone fired for suggesting such an idiotic and consumer unfriendly plan.

 

[hillarymakesmecry]

Horray~

 

[randomizer]

Looks like the US took some drugs to slow the spread of the bandwidth cap infection. Good, hopefully (and I know I'm speaking of the impossible) it will cause a trickle-down effect on Australia.

 

[mustwarnothers]

It's so hard not to envision a South Park style group of corporate swine making that lughlughlughlughlugh sound around a big boardroom table, so angry that the consumers have spoken out against them.

I guess the profit margin graph, with the 75 degree arrow will have to wait for next year.

 

[trinix]

I never knew Belgium had such a bad infrastructure just kidding. It's corporate greed that provide these stupid caps. It makes no sense. If they need more money, it's fine, I don't mind paying a bit more, but not to fill the pockets of the exec's. If they upgraded to a 100 or 1000 package while they roll out this stupid idea, but a bit better thought out, I could see it having use.

But why do we have to pay the superfat paycheck of people who just sit in an office. That's why I don't like it. And caps don't make sense at all. What's next paying to use the highway, blegh, someone thought about that stupid idea too.

If they just upgraded their network, this wouldn't be a problem. We are moving all the services to the internet and we can't use stupid caps, that will only prevent innovation, not increase it. And I don't need to know how much bandwidth I use, I use what you provide, sometimes I use more and sometimes I use less. What's the point? So you want me to know I shouldn't be downloading a file, because it's a few gigs (like the eve client that doesn't work, I downloaded it 10 times, that's already 20gigs of lost bandwidth).

You see, caps make no sense, don't implement it, it will only hurt the consumers.

 

[bjmarler]

It just goes to show that there is fundamentally something very wrong with the "business strategy" of most BIG corporations in the U.S. It's called blind greed. It's the same thing that cost us all so much with the Banking and Auto industries. This is the same we just caught it sooner.

 

[tenor77]

Thank god. I wasn't in their target zone for a cap but I would have jumped ship if they did for those areas. The only power I have as a consumer is whom I conduct business with. If I were to leave now as some suggest due to likelyhood this will be resurrected I would loose that power.

 

[Guest]

You will all be sorry when you are downloading a file at 6KB a sec because your stupid neighbors are downloading 9 million torrents and taking up all your bandwidth.

40GB/month is not enough, but boy would I like to make people pay $$$ for being a jerk about their Internet connection.

 

[Parrdacc]

Just when I thought the peoples voice in the U.S. had been cut off. Just goes to show that when it comes right down to it, the best thing in the world is the voice of the people and not greed corporate big shots, who lie, cheat, and steal from their customers. Now if we can only make the ones in Washington remember the phrase "A government by the people for the people." Maybe I am reaching high.

 

[tenor77]

Parrdacc-
Capitalism at its finest. The power of greed will always triumph. This is also wny our govt sucks.

 

[njalterio]

“It is clear from the public response over the last two weeks that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about our plans to roll out additional tests on consumption based billing"

Lack of consumer education? Screw you Time Warner.
What exactly am I misunderstanding? I am getting charged more for less; in addition to paying for bandwidth speed, I also have to pay for my total usage. If it truly does cost an ISP more depending on how much the user downloads, why don't other ISPs have similar caps?

As a TW customer, I am glad that they finally got some sense. IMO, the CEO is just covering his own ass with statements like "misunderstanding about our plans" in a vain attempt to make it seem like tiered billing was a good idea.

The damage is done though. I will still switch to FiOS as soon as it's available in my area. TWs service sucked enough as it was with all the slowdowns and loss of service.

 

[knickle]

I personally think this was a smoke screen to cover up other issues by manufacturing a bigger one. First the corporation makes the customer panic, then they quickly resolve the issue. The customer breaths a sigh of relief, and as a result feels like all of the other issues were small in comparison.

In my opinion, you have all "been had".

 

[bourgeoisdude]

TW will not cancel the tiered plans in my area: http/www.kfdm.com/news/warner_31201___article.html/time_tiered.html

It appears that everyone EXCEPT Southeast Texas are in the clear...looks like I'll have to start sending letters.

 

[jacobdrj]

HughesNet Satilite service is starting to sound very good right about now, at least to those poor abused Time Warner 'customers'.

 

[wiyosaya]

Continuing consumer education on the matter. HA!!!!!

Some day, these CEOs will get the message that screwing the customer just because they can is not the way to do business. They should educate themselves by studying the sub-prime mortgage failure, or by living a few years on the average American citizen's salary. That might teach them a lesson.

However, I suspect that it was more along the lines of someone like the Netflix CEO calling up the Time Warner CEO and asking them if TW could afford the publicity of an anti-trust suit since the TW "pay as you download" plan would have made a Netflix internet subscription prohibitively expensive.

 

[jacobdrj]

Blind greed is what makes the economy run. That is why government exists: To make sure the blind greed is nudged in the right direction, and in worst case scenerios, stopped from hurting the public.

Corporations are government mandated imaginary people. Think of it as a legal protection racket. They have certain privaleges of real people, and as a concequence also have certain restrictions and even taxes levied against them.

The problem is not the corporations doing what they are supposed to be doing. The problem is the government not enforcing anti-trust laws, or having AT laws that are too weak.