Time Warner to test charging Internet by usage

[Kittrick]

Time Warner Cable Inc said on Wednesday it is planning a trial to bill high-speed Internet subscribers based on their amount of usage rather than a flat fee, the standard industry practice.


The second largest U.S. cable operator said it will test consumption-based billing with subscribers in Beaumont, Texas later this year as a part of a strategy to help reduce congestion of its network by a minority of consumers who pay the same monthly fee as light users.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080117/...er_internet_dc

I don't know about you guys, but I'm probably going to make the switch to another ISP if Oceanic implements this, because I like Youtube and music videos online.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Time Warner to test charging Internet by usage

Wow, I guess that's one way to reduce congestion...when subscribers start dropping offline in search of another ISP.

[DaFerret]

Re: Time Warner to test charging Internet by usage

It must be a sign. I saw the Clearwire commercial last night.

[LocalMotion]

Re: Time Warner to test charging Internet by usage

I highly doubt they usage cap ALL their plans. I'm sure they are aware that if they did that people would be dropping them for DSL, etc in a heartbeat.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Time Warner to test charging Internet by usage

There's gotta be an advantage to high volume users. When I worked for the Gas Company we used to have special rates for high consumption commercial users. If they used the bulk of their gas needs while the rest of the planet sleeps they got a lower rate. We installed demand recorders that monitored usage 24-hours a day.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Time Warner to test charging Internet by usage

I've got mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it's clear that the cost to the ISP is not based on what rate the subscriber has but how much they use it. Still, I see it as a likely move to do a price hike.

It certainly casts a shadow over things like Torrent, IPTV and other emerging trends. This could put a crimp in the US's ability to compete in the global marketplace - particularly since out we're falling in the manufacturing area and our main export seems to be our technical ability.

What's ugly is something as vital as the Internet is in the hands of so few companies.

[MixedPlateBroker]

Re: Time Warner to test charging Internet by usage

What a horrible idea.

I'm sure market forces will scuttle that plan right quick. You can almost hear the home broadband customers in Japan and S. Korea chuckling behind their 1Gbps connections.