Comcast wants to mandate monthly bandwidth caps for all

According to Comcast executive David Cohen, the U.S.' largest cable and Internet provider is looking to make bandwidth caps mandatory for every customer within the next five years.

Within the time frame, Cohen says he expects the company to move completely to the controversial "usage-based model."

"I would also predict that the vast majority of our customers would never be caught in the buying the additional buckets of usage, that we will always want to say the basic level of usage at a sufficiently high level that the vast majority of our customers are not implicated by the usage-based billing plan," Cohen added. "I don't think that's the model that we are heading toward, but five years ago I don't know that I would have heard of something called an iPad. So, very difficult to make predictions."

Comcast started testing a 250GB bandwidth cap in a few pilot cities in 2011, but it did not go over too smoothly with the greater population. The company is still testing in certain cities, but with larger 300 or 600GB caps. In some places, Comcast offers a ridiculous 5GB 'flexible' data account where subscribers get a credit back to their accounts for every month they stay under the amount, and pay overages if they can't.

The company is trying to acquire Time Warner Cable, which is the second largest cable company in the U.S., making the caps almost a guarantee for most Americans if the deal is allowed to go through.

Source:
Verge

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 May 2014 22:52

ivymike

Time for me to look for a different ISP.....

16.5.2014 22:53 #1

bobiroc

WTF Comcast?? Your customers pay for pipe speed and not what is sent down that pipe. Bandwidth is not a consumable item like water or gas or electricity. It is just an open pipe for speed of data transfer to content on the internet which you do not control. Why these ISPs cannot get that through their thick skull is beyond me.

I can say for sure that any house that is a gamer that downloads games digitally will go over that cap by downloading 1 game and seeing as consoles and PCs are going digital and media content is going streaming even 5GB will not be enough. Bandwidth caps are a joke and ISPs pushing them are nothing but greedy a-holes because they think they can charge you for content that is not theirs. It is like selling a water hose but only allowing so much water to go through it before you have to pay a fee. The hose maker does not supply the water, just the pipe to allow the water to flow.

AMD Phenom II 965 @ 3.67Ghz, 8GB DDR3, ATI Radeon 5770HD, 256GB OCZ Vertex 4, 2TB Additional HDD, Windows 7 Ultimate.

http://www.facebook.com/BlueLightningTechnicalServices

16.5.2014 23:37 #2

Clam_Up

Just a little clarification here: bandwidth is a measure of speed, not quantity. All ISPs that I know of have implemented bandwidth caps, measured in bits per second, since forever. That's really nothing new.

The article is really referring to a data cap, or a limit of overall data allowed.

It's a pet peeve of mine. It's kind of like misrepresenting a light year to be a measure of time rather than what it really is: a measure of distance.

Ignorance en masse is still ignorance.

17.5.2014 00:06 #3

MagengarZ

Comcast can go F themselves. There will be ways around it.
I hope TWC (the lesser of two evils) turns down Comcast
and tells them to go eat s#1t.

17.5.2014 03:06 #4

Motomatt

How about a refund every month on all the stupid channels they make me pay for that I don't watch.. Comcast go f yourself..greedy pricks.

17.5.2014 08:25 #5

KillerBug

Originally posted by Motomatt: How about a refund every month on all the stupid channels they make me pay for that I don't watch.. Comcast go f yourself..greedy pricks. Nope...they have a government enforced monopoly and they are going to use it. Charge Netflix to stream to you, then charge you extra for going over your cap by watching Netflix, then charge you for 150 channels when you only watch 5, 3 of which you could get with rabbit ears. The fact is that they can get away with it because they have a monopoly in most areas, and even if they don't buy TWC, TWC will probably do the same thing because they have monopolies in most areas too. Of course anywhere that you can get FiOS or Google Fiber, or some other service TWC and Comcast will drop rates, increase or eliminate the caps, and then talk about how much competition is hurting them in spite of still making a killing.

17.5.2014 12:20 #6

Motomatt

I just figured since they were buying time Warner for 42 billion they could throw a few bucks my way for the services I don't use.

17.5.2014 13:07 #7

KillerBug

Originally posted by Motomatt: I just figured since they were buying time Warner for 42 billion they could throw a few bucks my way for the services I don't use. You got that backwards...you have to throw in some of the 42 billion.

17.5.2014 13:55 #8

Motomatt

I do every month. Almost 160$ for 5 channels and a internet connection that works sometimes.

17.5.2014 14:16 #9

KillerBug

Originally posted by Motomatt: I do every month. Almost 160$ for 5 channels and a internet connection that works sometimes. Yes...but they want to do this buyout without affecting their current profit margins.

17.5.2014 15:28 #10

mightyzog

Being a time warner customer... If the merger happens, I'm glad that Fios is already installed in my house. All these douchebags can go "F" themselves. I have no loyalty and am ready to switch.

18.5.2014 16:02 #11

ZippyDSM

Originally posted by Clam_Up: Just a little clarification here: bandwidth is a measure of speed, not quantity. All ISPs that I know of have implemented bandwidth caps, measured in bits per second, since forever. That's really nothing new.

The article is really referring to a data cap, or a limit of overall data allowed.

It's a pet peeve of mine. It's kind of like misrepresenting a light year to be a measure of time rather than what it really is: a measure of distance. Not to them thus it either means the totality of the service or data cap.

Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Lets renegotiate them.

---
Check out my crappy creations
http://zippydsmlee.deviantart.com/

18.5.2014 16:24 #12

brianp480

ComCRAP blows. Everyone knows this. However, bandwidth caps are not a big deal. This will not affect 95% of their customers what so ever. Myself, I have Uverse and use the shit out of the internet...I've never once hit the cap. I have the choice of Comcrap, WOW, Uverse and satellite. WOW has no caps, but their t.v. service sucks...even the "Ultra Service" I wouldn't have Comcrap if it was the last company on earth. As a business, they are pure evil. Satellite is nice tv picture but slow and expensive internet. Uverse is beautiful tv picture, no lag between channels and very user friendly. Their internet has a cap and isn't the fastest...I have 24 mb/s. My kids game with it and I download movies etc. Works fine. I'm sorry, I'll sacrifice some speed any day of the week, as long as I don't have to have Comcrap!!!

18.5.2014 16:34 #13

ivymike

I guess my days of downloading Blu-Ray movies off of Usenet are over, LOL.

18.5.2014 20:13 #14

MagengarZ

Originally posted by ivymike: I guess my days of downloading Blu-Ray movies off of Usenet are over, LOL. Ditto; but I don't use those netflix-type sites.
I get my flix off trrent.
Now on That note, my question is: would this
komcast invasion affect my Uploads (I also share
stuff back to trrent)

19.5.2014 01:12 #15

KillerBug

Originally posted by brianp480: ComCRAP blows. Everyone knows this. However, bandwidth caps are not a big deal. This will not affect 95% of their customers what so ever. Myself, I have Uverse and use the shit out of the internet...I've never once hit the cap. I have the choice of Comcrap, WOW, Uverse and satellite. WOW has no caps, but their t.v. service sucks...even the "Ultra Service" I wouldn't have Comcrap if it was the last company on earth. As a business, they are pure evil. Satellite is nice tv picture but slow and expensive internet. Uverse is beautiful tv picture, no lag between channels and very user friendly. Their internet has a cap and isn't the fastest...I have 24 mb/s. My kids game with it and I download movies etc. Works fine. I'm sorry, I'll sacrifice some speed any day of the week, as long as I don't have to have Comcrap!!! Uverse has a 250GB monthly cap...and yes, I am guessing that with only 24mbps it is rather difficult to go over that (netflix can't even run at high quality with such low speeds). But all of comcast's caps have been under 20GB...that's pretty easy to go over. Heck my phone has a 12GB cap and I am usually at 75% before the 17th of the month (with cycle resetting on the 2nd). Why? Netflix and remote desktop. And no...these services are not excessive when you consider that a single bluray can be 50GB and a gamer can easily download that many games from the Xbox/Playstation stores in a single month (and then use a lot more data playing online, while someone else in the house is watching netflix).

Data caps are always sold as, "95% don't go over this much"...this is perhaps the worst part, as it is based on past data of casual users. Technology doesn't stop. Video gets bigger, software gets bigger, devices get faster, and mobile devices get bigger screens. The cost of operating an ISP (at least in terms of $/GB) drops and drops while bills go up and up, and now they even charge services like Netflix to do the ISP a favor by integrating their networks in order to lower the overhead costs of the ISPs...and yet they still want limits to make sure no one customer costs them more than 2% of that they are charging! It is Ma Bell all over again.

19.5.2014 17:30 #16

hearme0

Originally posted by ivymike: Time for me to look for a different ISP.....
WHATEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

300 or even 600 is more than enough for ANYONE (some essential exceptions of course) on a monthly basis.

Get a job, or a girlfriend and stop pirating shit like a leech and playing online video games all day while living rent-free at your mommy's house and perhaps you won't exceed the as-is MASSIVE limit.

Or perhaps you're just complaining to complain and making a stance against Comcast for doing this........which I doubt as it's been in place for a long time for many people and few complaints have been made. I know, I live in an area such as this.

Keep this in mind.......if this move from Comcast angers or offends you.....it's likely because you're a rampant pirate that really doesn't ever "buy" anything.

20.5.2014 23:52 #17

MagengarZ

Originally posted by hearme0: Originally posted by ivymike: Time for me to look for a different ISP.....
WHATEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

300 or even 600 is more than enough for ANYONE (some essential exceptions of course) on a monthly basis.

Get a job, or a girlfriend and stop pirating shit like a leech and playing online video games all day while living rent-free at your mommy's house and perhaps you won't exceed the as-is MASSIVE limit.

Or perhaps you're just complaining to complain and making a stance against Comcast for doing this........which I doubt as it's been in place for a long time for many people and few complaints have been made. I know, I live in an area such as this.

Keep this in mind.......if this move from Comcast angers or offends you.....it's likely because you're a rampant pirate that really doesn't ever "buy" anything. LOL! I admit, I have to agree with THAT!
In fact, every cable company that has existed, while providing Internet service (usually in their cable TV bundles) has always capped bandwidth from the get-go...

Credit that to the foresight of evolving data technology in the form of home electronics connecting wired or wirelessly to the internet in some way. And it's happening already, with lazy home bodies playing games online, Sexting online, sending emails, sharing torrent files, streaming movies, Xbox live online, cellular and mobile pads online, even granny's vibrator downloading the latest and greatest titilations from the net,
you name it, all that stuff going on in a single home at one time will certainly use up lotsa bandwidth.
And ISPs have to keep up with all that mad traffic!
I could be wrong, but that's what it all looks like to me.

So then, this Comcast thing is nothing new. I just look at them as a greedy company looking to take over the internet/cable TV industry. Sooner or later two or more companies will buy one another out, merge, become one giant company, and will
conquer all and of course cap bandwidth to avoid server overload, and to protect us all from (some new stupid trendy buzzword)
"Electronic Pollution"... just wait and see.

21.5.2014 01:17 #18

ZippyDSM

Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Lets renegotiate them.

---
Check out my crappy creations
http://zippydsmlee.deviantart.com/

21.5.2014 08:03 #19

MagengarZ

Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Originally posted by hearme0: Originally posted by ivymike: Time for me to look for a different ISP.....
WHATEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

300 or even 600 is more than enough for ANYONE (some essential exceptions of course) on a monthly basis.

Get a job, or a girlfriend and stop pirating shit like a leech and playing online video games all day while living rent-free at your mommy's house and perhaps you won't exceed the as-is MASSIVE limit.

Or perhaps you're just complaining to complain and making a stance against Comcast for doing this........which I doubt as it's been in place for a long time for many people and few complaints have been made. I know, I live in an area such as this.

Keep this in mind.......if this move from Comcast angers or offends you.....it's likely because you're a rampant pirate that really doesn't ever "buy" anything. Nope, add a family of 2+ MMO plus streaming film plus streaming music all that adds up very quickly, unless you keep your kids off the net you are doomed to hit their magical limit and pay more money. BOOM! So it seems I was right about a few things.

That's the thriller-killer right there: so many kids in the home online...... definite data eaters.

21.5.2014 08:21 #20

ZippyDSM

Originally posted by MagengarZ: Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Originally posted by hearme0: Originally posted by ivymike: Time for me to look for a different ISP.....
WHATEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

300 or even 600 is more than enough for ANYONE (some essential exceptions of course) on a monthly basis.

Get a job, or a girlfriend and stop pirating shit like a leech and playing online video games all day while living rent-free at your mommy's house and perhaps you won't exceed the as-is MASSIVE limit.

Or perhaps you're just complaining to complain and making a stance against Comcast for doing this........which I doubt as it's been in place for a long time for many people and few complaints have been made. I know, I live in an area such as this.

Keep this in mind.......if this move from Comcast angers or offends you.....it's likely because you're a rampant pirate that really doesn't ever "buy" anything. Nope, add a family of 2+ MMO plus streaming film plus streaming music all that adds up very quickly, unless you keep your kids off the net you are doomed to hit their magical limit and pay more money. BOOM! So it seems I was right about a few things.

That's the thriller-killer right there: so many kids in the home online...... definite data eaters. Sure the nerds use it more but thats only because we know how to use it and Comcast hates that. Ussssssssss....one of uusssss...... er sorry...

"Us" aside kids eat data like mad you have more than 1 and they use the net more than you you'll be paying out your ass just to keep the internet going.

So metered rates and data caps should be illegal.

Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Lets renegotiate them.

---
Check out my crappy creations
http://zippydsmlee.deviantart.com/

21.5.2014 08:38 #21

MagengarZ

Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Originally posted by MagengarZ: Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Originally posted by hearme0: Originally posted by ivymike: Time for me to look for a different ISP.....
WHATEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

300 or even 600 is more than enough for ANYONE (some essential exceptions of course) on a monthly basis.

Get a job, or a girlfriend and stop pirating shit like a leech and playing online video games all day while living rent-free at your mommy's house and perhaps you won't exceed the as-is MASSIVE limit.

Or perhaps you're just complaining to complain and making a stance against Comcast for doing this........which I doubt as it's been in place for a long time for many people and few complaints have been made. I know, I live in an area such as this.

Keep this in mind.......if this move from Comcast angers or offends you.....it's likely because you're a rampant pirate that really doesn't ever "buy" anything. Nope, add a family of 2+ MMO plus streaming film plus streaming music all that adds up very quickly, unless you keep your kids off the net you are doomed to hit their magical limit and pay more money. BOOM! So it seems I was right about a few things.

That's the thriller-killer right there: so many kids in the home online...... definite data eaters. Sure the nerds use it more but thats only because we know how to use it and Comcast hates that. Ussssssssss....one of uusssss...... er sorry...

"Us" aside kids eat data like mad you have more than 1 and they use the net more than you you'll be paying out your ass just to keep the internet going.

So metered rates and data caps should be illegal. I'm glad I don't have any kids.

However.... I have 3 roommates. One is on facebook most of the day, and her boyfriend plays Xbox all evening, and her mom is on facebook playing games online all night.
And I go online whenever I can. Yeah, we're 4 bigazz 'kids'! lol

21.5.2014 09:46 #22

ZippyDSM

Originally posted by MagengarZ: Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Originally posted by MagengarZ: Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Originally posted by hearme0: Originally posted by ivymike: Time for me to look for a different ISP.....
WHATEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

300 or even 600 is more than enough for ANYONE (some essential exceptions of course) on a monthly basis.

Get a job, or a girlfriend and stop pirating shit like a leech and playing online video games all day while living rent-free at your mommy's house and perhaps you won't exceed the as-is MASSIVE limit.

Or perhaps you're just complaining to complain and making a stance against Comcast for doing this........which I doubt as it's been in place for a long time for many people and few complaints have been made. I know, I live in an area such as this.

Keep this in mind.......if this move from Comcast angers or offends you.....it's likely because you're a rampant pirate that really doesn't ever "buy" anything. Nope, add a family of 2+ MMO plus streaming film plus streaming music all that adds up very quickly, unless you keep your kids off the net you are doomed to hit their magical limit and pay more money. BOOM! So it seems I was right about a few things.

That's the thriller-killer right there: so many kids in the home online...... definite data eaters. Sure the nerds use it more but thats only because we know how to use it and Comcast hates that. Ussssssssss....one of uusssss...... er sorry...

"Us" aside kids eat data like mad you have more than 1 and they use the net more than you you'll be paying out your ass just to keep the internet going.

So metered rates and data caps should be illegal. I'm glad I don't have any kids.

However.... I have 3 roommates. One is on facebook most of the day, and her boyfriend plays Xbox all evening, and her mom is on facebook playing games online all night.
And I go online whenever I can. Yeah, we're 4 bigazz 'kids'! lol

Thats why I don't have kids either, besides I am too immature and crazy(mostly crazy) to have kids.

Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Lets renegotiate them.

---
Check out my crappy creations
http://zippydsmlee.deviantart.com/

21.5.2014 09:55 #23

dfordcraw

A bandwidth cap will make it very difficult to back up much data over the web. The proposed caps will not even cover the back up a single hard drive of modest size.

23.5.2014 10:19 #24

MagengarZ

Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Originally posted by MagengarZ: Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Originally posted by MagengarZ: Originally posted by ZippyDSM: Originally posted by hearme0: Originally posted by ivymike: Time for me to look for a different ISP.....
WHATEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

300 or even 600 is more than enough for ANYONE (some essential exceptions of course) on a monthly basis.

Get a job, or a girlfriend and stop pirating shit like a leech and playing online video games all day while living rent-free at your mommy's house and perhaps you won't exceed the as-is MASSIVE limit.

Or perhaps you're just complaining to complain and making a stance against Comcast for doing this........which I doubt as it's been in place for a long time for many people and few complaints have been made. I know, I live in an area such as this.

Keep this in mind.......if this move from Comcast angers or offends you.....it's likely because you're a rampant pirate that really doesn't ever "buy" anything. Nope, add a family of 2+ MMO plus streaming film plus streaming music all that adds up very quickly, unless you keep your kids off the net you are doomed to hit their magical limit and pay more money. BOOM! So it seems I was right about a few things.

That's the thriller-killer right there: so many kids in the home online...... definite data eaters. Sure the nerds use it more but thats only because we know how to use it and Comcast hates that. Ussssssssss....one of uusssss...... er sorry...

"Us" aside kids eat data like mad you have more than 1 and they use the net more than you you'll be paying out your ass just to keep the internet going.

So metered rates and data caps should be illegal. I'm glad I don't have any kids.

However.... I have 3 roommates. One is on facebook most of the day, and her boyfriend plays Xbox all evening, and her mom is on facebook playing games online all night.
And I go online whenever I can. Yeah, we're 4 bigazz 'kids'! lol

Thats why I don't have kids either, besides I am too immature and crazy(mostly crazy) to have kids.
You're not immature nor crazy... you made what you felt was a wise decision. You'll have kids someday when you feel you are ready to start a family, because that choice will come from your heart and not from 'either head'. lol

But that goes to show what this current and future generations are faced with, as far as having additional members in the household connecting online in some electronic form.
As long as this electronic data exchange technology continues to grow and evolve, most everything will be done online and more bandwidth will be in high demand...

...perhaps to a point when folks in the same house will hardly
get to see each other; because the kids are in their rooms online,
or boyfriend's up all night in the other room playing Xbox while the girlfriend is stuck all alone Waiting for him to finally shut the game off and come to bed, or Dad's in the den doing his business reports online, or mom's in the kitchen downloading cookbooks and recipes.
Jeez, as if That isn't happening already! lol

23.5.2014 15:33 #25

Tarsellis

Originally posted by ivymike: Time for me to look for a different ISP.....
Good luck with that. Most places they exist they are a state or city inforced duopoly with the phone company that does the same d@mned thing.

23.5.2014 21:48 #26

sternrulez

Originally posted by Clam_Up: Just a little clarification here: bandwidth is a measure of speed, not quantity. All ISPs that I know of have implemented bandwidth caps, measured in bits per second, since forever. That's really nothing new.

The article is really referring to a data cap, or a limit of overall data allowed.

It's a pet peeve of mine. It's kind of like misrepresenting a light year to be a measure of time rather than what it really is: a measure of distance. You're correct in this, and I've always wondered why people constantly use that misnomer myself...

24.5.2014 09:14 #27

sternrulez

OK, so let me get this straight here...(1) you're encouraged by you cell provider to use wifi whenever possible to take the load off their networks, (2) As many others have stated, the volume of streaming and/or digital downloading is only on the rise, not diminishing, and (3) Comca$t recently installed a "separate" band on my modem/router that provides wifi service for guests without you having to give out your passwords.

In summation your honor, what people want or need more than ever now is MORE data, not the fear of going over and being charged for it. So much for my Roku box that I dearly love, and I can't imagine Amazon being happy either since they just rolled out their Fire TV box, console manufacturers won't be pleased either as was previously stated, and even Netflix is going to have a hissy cow for their streaming. I wonder if I can glom off a neighbor's wifi account if I stand on one leg and hold my phone or TV out the window? lol! You SUCK, Comca$t!!

24.5.2014 09:23 #28

Jemborg

Originally posted by sternrulez: Originally posted by Clam_Up: Just a little clarification here: bandwidth is a measure of speed, not quantity. All ISPs that I know of have implemented bandwidth caps, measured in bits per second, since forever. That's really nothing new.

The article is really referring to a data cap, or a limit of overall data allowed.

It's a pet peeve of mine. It's kind of like misrepresenting a light year to be a measure of time rather than what it really is: a measure of distance. You're correct in this, and I've always wondered why people constantly use that misnomer myself...
Perhaps the confusion arises because greater bandwidth allows for more data to be transferred per sec?

At the moment 200GB download (my limit) is way more than I use in general per month but I can foresee a time when everything shifts to content "on demand" and it will deliver, in at least 4K images, movies and real-time cloud computed gaming etc. ....... This is assuming, of course, that bandwidth improves from my shitty speed. :)

PS: We in Oz have always put up with data limits, it does get better over time I suppose... Also uploads is unlimited for me but upload speed is even slower.

24.5.2014 11:46 #29

sternrulez

Originally posted by Jemborg: Originally posted by sternrulez: Originally posted by Clam_Up: Just a little clarification here: bandwidth is a measure of speed, not quantity. All ISPs that I know of have implemented bandwidth caps, measured in bits per second, since forever. That's really nothing new.

The article is really referring to a data cap, or a limit of overall data allowed.

It's a pet peeve of mine. It's kind of like misrepresenting a light year to be a measure of time rather than what it really is: a measure of distance. You're correct in this, and I've always wondered why people constantly use that misnomer myself...
Perhaps the confusion arises because greater bandwidth allows for more data to be transferred per sec?

At the moment 200GB download (my limit) is way more than I use in general per month but I can foresee a time when everything shifts to content "on demand" and it will deliver, in at least 4K images, movies and real-time cloud computed gaming etc. ....... This is assuming, of course, that bandwidth improves from my shitty speed. :)

PS: We in Oz have always put up with data limits, it does get better over time I suppose... Also uploads is unlimited for me but upload speed is even slower. Well, for the moment at least I have no data cap with Comca$t, and haven't for over a year now. However my girlfriend has Service Electric Cablevision, and is burdened under a 250GB cap/mo...that includes both uploading AND downloading BTW. Worse yet, the cap is effective between 3PM and 11PM (not sure about weekends since nothing was mentioned in the material I researched), which of course would be the time everyone get home from work or school and wants to settle down with some TV viewing or gaming.

I found some formulas online to compute streaming (If anyone is interested, just perform a speed test, convert your download results to MB or GB, then multiply that figure by 3600 to obtain your standard-def data usage/hr - HD will easily double or triple that figure.), and 1 hour of standard-def movie or TV show streaming works out to roughly 2GB of data at her speed - which is rather low compared to what I get here.

That may not seem like a lot with a 250GB cap, but realize that is for 1 hour of streaming at standard def. If you go to the other end of the spectrum, you're talking 6GB/hr, and since most movies are 2 hours long that works out to be 12GB/movie...not so small anymore. On a monthly basis, at HD you're looking at about 41 hours of streaming...per MONTH, which is an average of just over 10 hours per WEEK. Not saying that everyone watches 5 movies/wk of course, but consider these points:

1) With the web-exclusive series that are available via portals like Netflix, Amazon, etc. they REQUIRE that they be streamed, obviously.

2) That doesn't take into account at all ANY PC and/or smartphone wifi usage during that month, and

3) I based the #s above solely on an average of her speed test ratings, which as I said is rather poor compared to mine. I just performed a speed test on this wifi-connected laptop, and 1 hour of streaming video for me works out to be a hair under 6.76GB for standard def, so I'm looking at anywhere from roughly 13.5 to 20.28GB for HD. Just because my network is much faster obviously doesn't mean the videos play faster, it just means I have virtually zero chance of frameskipping or sound stuttering...lol! In my case at the maximum amount, I'm looking at about 12 hours of streaming video per month, not counting point 2 above.

Those #s seem incredible even to me, but I got the formulas from a very respected source, and if anyone would like to double check I can certainly find the site again for you.

Finally, I'm really sorry for the long-winded post, but this capping issue is as much of a pet peeve for me as the bandwidth misnomer is for you. I've been messing with numbers for data caps for several years now, even while I was still under their previous data cap which was long before I started streaming with Amazon, Redbox, and of course my beloved Roku. One more point I'd like to make, then I promise I won't waste any more of your time. I'm disabled and work part-time for extra income from home as a tech support assistant for a software company, so even my WORK digs into whatever data cap they may eventually impose. Now you can see the position I'm in, and it's not a good one. Thanks for your time! :)

25.5.2014 11:13 #30

MagengarZ

Long-winded posts or not, any and all educative input is welcome.
I'm learning new stuff as I read here, so keep it coming!

Lately I've been adjusting my online data back-n-forth habits,
especially trrents and media streaming. I don't watch Netflix,
but I do watch enough YouTube (full-length movies) to raise a concern.
Trrents: I just browse once a month to see what's new, download it only if it's a holy grail I've been after (classic anime) that has been finally English-subtitled after years of hoping to acquire it for my collection.
YouTube and similar vid sites: I use a browser plugin to download a video and watch it offline, then I either save it to disc or dump it if I'm the least interested.

I've experienced roommate shared-internet situations in which I've often had a roomie question me if I was downloading large files, because somehow the bandwidth got capped for a few hours.
So I try to be conscientious about that.

Some folks can be real fiendish about watching stag flicks online;
keep in mind them flicks can also use up bandwidth after spending
hours watching one after another.
I don't see how anyone could be so addicted to it, if I've seen just one stag flick I've seen 'em all-- same plot same ending. lol

25.5.2014 12:07 #31

KillerBug

Originally posted by sternrulez: so even my WORK digs into whatever data cap they may eventually impose. Remote Desktop really does it...makes streaming HD look small. It chugs and jitters along on connections that happily run netflix at max quality.

25.5.2014 16:17 #32

MagengarZ

Originally posted by KillerBug: Originally posted by sternrulez: so even my WORK digs into whatever data cap they may eventually impose. Remote Desktop really does it...makes streaming HD look small. It chugs and jitters along on connections that happily run netflix at max quality. Wow, come to think of it.... jeez, I never thought those online Work-At-Home type telecommute jobs would be affected as well!
And I was thinking about signing up for LiveOps as a part-time job to supplement my income.

25.5.2014 16:26 #33

sternrulez

Originally posted by MagengarZ: Originally posted by KillerBug: Originally posted by sternrulez: so even my WORK digs into whatever data cap they may eventually impose. Remote Desktop really does it...makes streaming HD look small. It chugs and jitters along on connections that happily run netflix at max quality. Wow, come to think of it.... jeez, I never thought those online Work-At-Home type telecommute jobs would be affected as well!
And I was thinking about signing up for LiveOps as a part-time job to supplement my income. As I stated previously, this topic has been both a pet peeve and a minor side project of mine for several years, so I was 100% truthful when I said I did my research Magen..lol! :)

I work behind a VPN, which unfortunately drops my speeds to about 1/7 (wired, no less) of my normal throughput (from usually around 7.8MB/sec to about 1.1...basically like working on this old beat-up lappy on wifi...lol), but still after several hours/day of use the GB add up.

Something else I forgot to mention in my prior post: Woe to those who use Vonage or some such for their VoIP needs. I have Comca$t Voice on my Triple Play, but the rest are getting slammed for making phone calls as well....and people wonder why some choose to forsake a landline altogether...

What it basically boils down to is this: Data is rapidly becoming Bitcoin 4.0, but the difference is that you can't mine for data the way you do BCs (and yes I'm aware of the term "data mining", which doesn't pertain to this topic...lol). No matter what you do or where you go, you either MUST use data or can use it to make your life easier, so to paraphrase Frank Herbert: "He who controls the data controls the universe".
Likewise, I firmly believe that cablecos like Comca$t are penalizing you for streaming more varied and better quality content that what we're given. I dropped all of my "premium channels" and am actually saving money by subscribing to streaming services while getting the same (and most of the time better quality) content...and more of it to boot.

I hate to compare this situation to the movie "In Time", where people in the future pay for everyday things with minutes of their life, but I can't help but be reminded of it...that, and Dune of course...lol!

26.5.2014 11:13 #34

AfterDawn: News