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AT&T starts testing bandwidth caps
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The following comments relate to this news article:
article published on 5 November, 2008
Just one month after Comcast began imposing a bandwidth cap of 250 GB on all of its subscribers, AT&T has begun testing a cap of their own, however with a much smaller limit, 150 GB.
The cap will have tiers as well depending on how fast your connection is, slower users will only get 20 GB limit while the fastest users will get the 150 GB cap.
The test, beginning in Reno, Nevada today, ... [ read the full article ]
Please read the original article before posting your comments.
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Senior Member
2 product reviews
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6. November 2008 @ 00:07 |
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While I am not a fan of caps, I do applaud AT&T for giving users a bandwidth monitoring tool as well as notifying them when they hit 80% of the limit.
Unlike AT&T, Comcast doesn't do anything except send you a threat if you go over and then kick you off for a year if you go over again.
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windsong
Member
1 product review
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6. November 2008 @ 00:21 |
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Best to steer clear of such companies. Go with a provider who offers unlimited downloads.
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Member
2 product reviews
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6. November 2008 @ 01:12 |
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I Believe That There Should Be No Banwidth Caps The Internet Bandwidth That We Pay For Should Remain Unlimited
SideNote Its Good they gave you a bandwidth monitoring tool
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b18bek9
Member
1 product review
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6. November 2008 @ 02:26 |
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lol looks like i'll be moving to a new provider as soon as it moves to my state...
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ahiah9
Member
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6. November 2008 @ 03:11 |
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Holy CRAP!!! I almost switched from Comcast to AT&T about a week & a half ago! Good thing my parents ran up that phone bill in my name when I was 16 and didn't tell me! Thanks Mom & Dad!
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Senior Member
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6. November 2008 @ 03:57 |
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We have pretty low limits here in Ireland, my current limit with 3 mb broadband is 30 gb a month. And i believe our fees are expensive compared to yours too! :(
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Member
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6. November 2008 @ 04:14 |
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yeah i guess it is nice that they actually NOTIFY you unlike comcast but i'm still not sold on the cap limits even though I really think they would cut down on piracy
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Junior Member
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6. November 2008 @ 05:47 |
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you should be grateful to have 150GB BW limit.
here in my country, we get
1GB/month = 25USD
50hours/month = 25USD
unlimited = 90USD
its all in very slow ADSL.
512kbps download (about 60KBps)
96 Kbps upload (about 12KBps)
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Senior Member
2 product reviews
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6. November 2008 @ 08:08 |
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IF anybody is applauding the states internet speeds and caps then I'd hate to live in the country you're from, lol. I think the companies suck over here. We pay entirely too much and don't get enough in return.
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SProdigy
Senior Member
5 product reviews
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6. November 2008 @ 09:47 |
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20GB is ridiculous. 150GB for the top tier is okay, but Comcast's 250GB is better... However, NO LIMITS are the best. This is complete crap that these companies are trying to pull.
I pay a bloated price for infrastruce and service that is never upgraded. DSL isn't fast to begin with and my RoadRunner is behind smaller countries, only getting 15mbps down for nearly $60! It's highway robbery and now companies want cap how much I download? Complete bull.
If Comcast and AT&T follow suit, it won't be long before everyone else jumps on board.
The way I see it, they are punishing those who get the most of their service; just another way for the Telcos to squeeze another buck out of the consumer, as more and more services rely on broadband.
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Senior Member
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6. November 2008 @ 09:56 |
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Whilst collusion is not allowed in a regulated competitive economy you will find that the others will quickly fall into line, just like the banks did with fees. 150 GB per month, hah, I would kill to get that at the price you Yanks enjoy! We pay thru the nose in Australia- ALL the ISPs have different plans involving different download amounts. For $70 I get 25 GB per month download at poor (by your standards) ADSL2+. If I exceed that the line will get "shaped" to 64k/s. Believe it or not that is a pretty reasonable deal here, there are much worse available.
Believe me I'm not gloating, it is unfair, but you guys have had it way easy compared to the vast majority of the developed world. I'm not surprised that your ISPs are pulling back having observed what is going on elsewhere. It has nothing at all to do with piracy and everything to do with profit.
I do find the idea that you will get "fined" $1/GB appallingly draconian though. That was tried in the early days here. You'll probably find that won't stick with consumers and shaping will become the norm for you too.
PS. I get a voip account too. Not a regular phone account. My line works out to around 8mbps. Whining about only having 15mbps with an unlimited download and calling that a rip-off just seems laughable. You've been lucky bastards till now.
Its a lot easier being righteous than right.
DSE VZ300-
Zilog Z80 CPU, 32KB RAM (16K+16K cartridge), video processor 6847, 2KB video RAM, 16 colours (text mode), 5.25" FDD
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 6. November 2008 @ 10:43
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AfterDawn Addict
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6. November 2008 @ 10:24 |
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Quote:
The test, beginning in Reno, Nevada today, will "evaluate a usage-based model that could potentially help address today's trend of explosive bandwidth usage
This is typical of all US businesses. Instead of expanding and upgrading their infrasturcture to meet a growing demand, they'll instead degrade the service. It's all about how much $$$ they can put in the share holders pockets.
So now that they're considering switching from an unlimited plan to a limited plan, does that mean the customers monthly bill will go down? After all, like I said, they are offering less service. Of course not... I'm sure a price hike will be follow. The isp will have some kind of excuse about extra costs for them to monitor customers usage.
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SProdigy
Senior Member
5 product reviews
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6. November 2008 @ 11:27 |
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Truth be told, we're damn near trapped in a monopoly. You either get the cable company in your area or telco for broadband. At least with dial-up, there were "other" options available.
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emugamer
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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6. November 2008 @ 12:04 |
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The monitoring system is a must, and I applaud AT&T for realizing that. 2009 will be an interesting year as many ISP's scramble to do whatever they can to exploit the "infrastructure limitations" excuse for as long as possible while filling their pockets as much as possible
I just switched from DSL to Cable because my DSL provider is going to impose a ridiculous cap soon. From what I read, Optimum Online does throttle their basic plan (15Mbps) if there is a constant upload for a long period of time (seeding torrents). And if you complain, they give you the run-around until you finally are told that to lift the cap, you have to upgrade to their Boost (30Mbps) plan, which is another $10/month. But according to many forum posts I've read, it's extremely rare that they throttle Boost customers. I don't really use torrents, so I shouldn't have to worry. I got Boost free for a year for switching over to them, but I may just subscribe to it when the promotion is over. I just hope my downloading doesn't draw too much attention. Even though Cablevision has not implemented caps, I did find out that they would probably follow suit eventually.
I really feel bad for Australian customers. Such a high price for so little. I was able to get 3 receivers, HD channels, VOIP and the Boost plan for internet for a little over $100(USD)/month. $55 less than my DSL plan which included a phone land line service.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 6. November 2008 @ 12:08
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techoter
Junior Member
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6. November 2008 @ 16:51 |
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I wonder if this means they'll start introducing different pay scales for monthly use? I know Virgin was trying to do this.
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Senior Member
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6. November 2008 @ 17:04 |
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Originally posted by emugamer:
I really feel bad for Australian customers. Such a high price for so little. I was able to get 3 receivers, HD channels, VOIP and the Boost plan for internet for a little over $100(USD)/month. $55 less than my DSL plan which included a phone land line service.
Ah well Emu... Australia is possibly the only country in the world that can fake orgasm whilst being raped.
:D
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schneida
Newbie
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6. November 2008 @ 17:46 |
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No..... this trend must stop. hopefully enough customers will change providers and AT&T realizes that most subscribers wont stand for it.
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Newbie
1 product review
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6. November 2008 @ 18:58 |
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Originally posted by SProdigy:
20GB is ridiculous. 150GB for the top tier is okay, but Comcast's 250GB is better... However, NO LIMITS are the best. This is complete crap that these companies are trying to pull.
I pay a bloated price for infrastruce and service that is never upgraded. DSL isn't fast to begin with and my RoadRunner is behind smaller countries, only getting 15mbps down for nearly $60! It's highway robbery and now companies want cap how much I download? Complete bull.
If Comcast and AT&T follow suit, it won't be long before everyone else jumps on board.
The way I see it, they are punishing those who get the most of their service; just another way for the Telcos to squeeze another buck out of the consumer, as more and more services rely on broadband.
Dude, if it makes you feel better, I'm dropping $60 a month for 1.5 mbps download speeds through Alltel's wireless internet. It beats putting up with dialup or Hughesnet though (from what I've heard)
Thankfully though, it is unlimited, even though I don't really download much nowadays.
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Junior Member
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6. November 2008 @ 22:19 |
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Haha for wireless Internet in Australia Optus an ISP, offers a "massive" 2GB of data. But I suppose we pay heaps because we do not have as many people as the US and we are further away
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SProdigy
Senior Member
5 product reviews
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6. November 2008 @ 22:40 |
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Quote:
Originally posted by SProdigy:
20GB is ridiculous. 150GB for the top tier is okay, but Comcast's 250GB is better... However, NO LIMITS are the best. This is complete crap that these companies are trying to pull.
I pay a bloated price for infrastruce and service that is never upgraded. DSL isn't fast to begin with and my RoadRunner is behind smaller countries, only getting 15mbps down for nearly $60! It's highway robbery and now companies want cap how much I download? Complete bull.
If Comcast and AT&T follow suit, it won't be long before everyone else jumps on board.
The way I see it, they are punishing those who get the most of their service; just another way for the Telcos to squeeze another buck out of the consumer, as more and more services rely on broadband.
Dude, if it makes you feel better, I'm dropping $60 a month for 1.5 mbps download speeds through Alltel's wireless internet. It beats putting up with dialup or Hughesnet though (from what I've heard)
Thankfully though, it is unlimited, even though I don't really download much nowadays.
Eww... that does make me feel better! I'm not whining, as what I have is fast... but... not as fast as those little Scandinavian countries or Japan for that matter!
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Newbie
1 product review
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7. November 2008 @ 00:00 |
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Quote:
Quote:
Originally posted by SProdigy:
20GB is ridiculous. 150GB for the top tier is okay, but Comcast's 250GB is better... However, NO LIMITS are the best. This is complete crap that these companies are trying to pull.
I pay a bloated price for infrastruce and service that is never upgraded. DSL isn't fast to begin with and my RoadRunner is behind smaller countries, only getting 15mbps down for nearly $60! It's highway robbery and now companies want cap how much I download? Complete bull.
If Comcast and AT&T follow suit, it won't be long before everyone else jumps on board.
The way I see it, they are punishing those who get the most of their service; just another way for the Telcos to squeeze another buck out of the consumer, as more and more services rely on broadband.
Dude, if it makes you feel better, I'm dropping $60 a month for 1.5 mbps download speeds through Alltel's wireless internet. It beats putting up with dialup or Hughesnet though (from what I've heard)
Thankfully though, it is unlimited, even though I don't really download much nowadays.
Eww... that does make me feel better! I'm not whining, as what I have is fast... but... not as fast as those little Scandinavian countries or Japan for that matter!
Man, I hear ya. I'd love to have your average Japanese internet connection out here in the sticks.
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djgizmo
Member
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7. November 2008 @ 00:31 |
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the question is, is this upload or download bandwidth? or the combination together?
IMO, I'd recommend an UPLOAD cap, not a download cap. This would prevent would be pirates from uploading crap tons of bluray / dvd rips.
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locobrown
Senior Member
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7. November 2008 @ 01:24 |
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The good thing about this is that I made a 1 year contract with ATT. I had comcast prior to ATT, I'm going to have to search for another ISP. I don't upload anything, but I do use Youtube a lot. The cap will affect the way I use the internet.
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warriorp
Junior Member
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7. November 2008 @ 01:36 |
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dont worry....in a little while we will have this dumb new world order crap and then between 2012-2015 some catastrophic disaster will come. they wont have anything to cap then. lol. fuck the banks and the greedy corps! ruining a whole country just to make a few small dick mofos rich. pathetic!
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ripxrush
Junior Member
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7. November 2008 @ 02:23 |
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Caps dont bother me... MUCH... AS LONG as it is FULLY DISCLOSED & you have some sort of MONITORING tool! & maybe even email notifications or txts to who ever has the acct in there name! I am curious how many people like my brother in law use part of that 5% due to d/l "STUFF" i have warned him & i dont think his parents have ANY IDea!
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