Time Warner Cable tries metering Internet use

[Mugu]

By Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer via Yahoo

NEW YORK (AP) -- You're used to paying extra if you use up your cell phone minutes, but will you be willing to pay extra if your home computer goes over its Internet allowance? Time Warner Cable Inc. customers -- and, later, others -- may have to, if the company's test of metered Internet access is successful.

On Thursday, new Time Warner Cable Internet subscribers in Beaumont, Texas, will have monthly allowances for the amount of data they upload and download. Those who go over will be charged $1 per gigabyte, a Time Warner Cable executive told the Associated Press.

Metered billing is an attempt to deal fairly with Internet usage, which is very uneven among Time Warner Cable's subscribers, said Kevin Leddy, Time Warner Cable's executive vice president of advanced technology.

Just 5 percent of the company's subscribers take up half of the capacity on local cable lines, Leddy said. Other cable Internet service providers report a similar distribution. "We think it's the fairest way to finance the needed investment in the infrastructure," Leddy said.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080602/tec_time_warner_cable_internet.html?.v=4">Complete article

[Indenturedebtor]

1. Assholes

How about cutting your salaries to pay for internet expansion. Fair to who? I pay 65 bucks a month for internet access... just to use the damn pipe. I don't even pay nearly that much for electricity FFS!

Who are they kidding?

[Eurobabe]

2. Hey TWC, and Comc-ASSED

[lame54]

3. Here is what an ownership society will get us...

[Hydra]

4. Bastards

You don't see them offering to charge people less for using less, do you? "Up to 25 gig for $25"

No, how about we say that you pay the same rate, but instead of 100 gig per month, you get 50 and we charge you after that!

:rant:

[meegbear]

5. Gee ... I wonder if it'll be a success?

:eyes:

By year's end, it'll be used by them all.

[pacalo]

6. If there's a way to squeeze the little guy for more money, these corporations will find it.

Just the other day, I was complaining to my hubby about gas stations having the nerve to charge $.75 for putting AIR into tires. It costs me a little over $50 to fill up my car with gas; the least they could do is graciously provide free air.

[liberal N proud]

7. $1 per gigabyte is damn steep

If you are watching a movie on line or even a television show. You are screwed.

[Uncle Joe]

8. This is the corporate media's latest attempt at neutralizing the growing power of the Internet,

they want their monopoly on information back.

[bbernardini]

9. Yeah...this isn't going to go well.

When Leddy says "we think it's the fairest way to finance the needed investment in the infrastructure," he really means "we think it's the fairest way to finance our top executives summer homes and yachts."

[MidwestTransplant]

10. Oh so you will give the others a break on there bills? Ah didn't think so.