digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

See the original image at gizmodo.com

Rumor: Comcast Considering Monthly Data Caps,Overage Fees

gizmodo.com — Other than Time Warner's single-city foray into monthly data caps, consumption-based billing has mostly been little ISPs with little monopolies, and given the market, we thought it'd stay that way. Broadband Reports is, uh, reporting that now Comcast is mulling monthly caps —something in the 250GB range, and then $1.50 for every GB over that.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • Neticule, on 05/08/2008, -2/+250***** ridiculous, japan has 100mbit connections with prices dropping all the time, and here in america our services are just being crippled instead of improved.

    Shame on you comcast, if you go through with this deal you will just be stifling the growth of your user base, as well as the growth of the internet. If you are stupid enough to go through with this plan, atleast be smart and offer an UNCAPPED service. Charge triple if you need to, but it will ***** me off if I buy the top tier service available to me, and am still capped. I have heard of you doing this ***** to comcast customers that have went over your "hidden" bandwidth limit, when confronted you would not even offer them an unlimited service, no matter what they paid, that is just stupid business.

    /end_rant
    • gaapgod, on 05/08/2008, -30/+1Um, I'm pretty sure we have plenty of excess capacity here in the good ole USA; our companies are just way better at nickel and dimeing us. I hate Comcast because of bad customer service, not for trying to make more money.
      • theaceoffire, on 05/08/2008, -0/+22I hate them for trying to make more money while taking away what we had.
        • Magillicutti, on 05/08/2008, -0/+7Yea, the service isn't costing them that much more. And their customers surely aren't making any more money. The thing is, most companies raise fees for better services. However, while Comcast raises prices and fees, their services continue to worsen.
      • ThugThrasher, on 05/08/2008, -0/+6I wouldn't hate them for trying to make more money, and trying to screw us over in the process, if I had any options. I can't get FiOS, DSL is not as fast (although it's looking more and more acceptable every day), so if I want cable internet speeds, I HAVE to use Comcast. So, why do they get to keep providing worse service and less GOOD options? I think they're just trying to find out how LITTLE they are required to do in areas like mine and sitll not lose too many customers to DSL....
    • blankoboy, on 05/08/2008, -0/+85100MB (up and down) FTTH here in Tokyo, with no data caps/overage fees for ~$45/month which includes IPTV and IP Telephony services. Welcome to the Internet America. Don't you think it's time you stood up and made a change in your country? You guys are getting royally reemed (same goes for Canada, f*cking Rogers and Bell).
      • theaceoffire, on 05/08/2008, -0/+15How much is the cost of living? Average apartment cost?
        I am getting desperate for a land of Anime, Video Games, and fast internet...
        • FatLoser, on 05/08/2008, -2/+12At first I thought you were making a dig at blankoboy, then I realized you simply didn't realize.... apartments in Japan generally require 6+ months deposit/fee. Plus you have to deal with all the cultural stuff like paying your landlord another 6 months "thank you for letting me in" fee. Plus, you know, the $2000 or so you have to drop each month for the 1 bedroom apartment's rent.

          Japan has an amazing infrastructure because it is a small country (compared to the USA), and so while they have better connections, they have far less invested and the costs are much smaller because the average end point is something like 1/100 as far from the source (given the same source distribution per capita) than you'll find in the USA.
          • WiredLain, on 05/08/2008, -0/+6If you want to know what life is really like in Japan from the viewpoint of foreign born citizens living there go to www.japantoday.com and read the reader comments on thir news stories, they frequently debate the pluses and minuses. By the way living in Tokyo is expensive but else-were in Japan its cheaper.
          • Peepo, on 05/08/2008, -0/+7You've been ripped off. AFAIK, generally you'll have to pay 2 months, for the owner and for the company who manages the property. In some cases, you can get your money back from the owner when you leave the apartment. oh wait, you're just trolling
            " $2000 or so you have to drop each month for the 1 bedroom apartment's rent. "
            this is *****. Unless you stay in the hotel with maid service $2000/month is plain *****. I just visit my friend who lives in setagaya-ku ,homes for the rich ( CEOs, artists etc ) famous for the crazy living standard, he pays $800 for 2 bedroom + kitchen + bathtub. It's not the newest built apartment in the area, but not the bad one too.
          • dazparkour, on 05/08/2008, -1/+42 Bathrooms, a Kitchen, A Bathtub, but no loo?
      • gaapgod, on 05/08/2008, -2/+1and golf inside 20 story buildings
      • deadbaby, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3If you can figure out a way to pay for it, we'll do it.
      • yuanzhoulu, on 05/08/2008, -3/+10right. korea and sweden are also pretty up there in terms of internet speeds; hong kong and singapore are building other infrastructures to tackle different problems of connectivity.

        the USA will meet its downfall like the roman empire because it is not implementing public transportation to save energy and build the infrastructure for a future crisis when it will be needed, not changing its culture to save, not recycling, letting people sue for money as the first purpose and not to correct wrong, has too much beaurocracy, and is not implementing technological advances in society.

        the ONE advantage i see in the US right now is the *price* of cell phone usage. that's cheap in the US and horridly expensive elsewhere.
        • hexydes, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1lol, ok, I think someone needs to step back and take some deep breaths...
      • FaceCage, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1uhh.. just in case you didn't notice, Japan is about the size of California. Not sure why technical people fail to see why it may be more difficult and more importantly, more expensive to set up infrastructure over thousands of miles, rather than hundreds. I live in Wyoming and I get 15Mbps X 1 Mbps at my home. Considering I live in the middle of nowhere, that's pretty impressive. Of course it's easier to provide a robust Internet connection and public transit across a small area.
        • hexydes, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Ok...that still doesn't answer the question as to why Comcast is capping connections.
    • NgrHader, on 05/08/2008, -24/+6I have had Cable Internet for the past 10 years now and I just don't get how someone can download 250 GB a month reasonably, I looked at my bandwidth usage last month and didn't even top 5 GB of data...I mean seriously how many have you 'legally' acquired 250 GB straight of data not off a torrent/p2p/file sharing site? Let alone even if you play on Xbox Live or WoW....no one needs 250 GB bandwidth...yet its making all the kids here who aren't even paying the cable bill *****
      • legoalert33, on 05/08/2008, -5/+1400 hours of WoW, CSS, and CoD4.
        • Tenoq, on 05/08/2008, -2/+4No, they're very low bandwidth uses. You're talking 10-20Kb/s, max.
        • smokestack, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5dude, you need help
      • theaceoffire, on 05/08/2008, -3/+7Youtube adds up man. Megavideo, Veoh, etc. Also, I have torrents that auto-download my favorite shows so that I don't have to stay up and watch them or miss work. No commercials, High def.

        Also there are the odds and ends (New OS's 2x a year, etc).
      • Tenoq, on 05/08/2008, -0/+8Could be worse you know - our incumbent telco in Australia still has a $29.95/month plan, that includes 256k/64k up/down speeds, 200MB of download per month and $150 per GB you go over that limit. It could be a lot, lot worse. There have been some $10000 monthly bills for unsuspecting users. :p
      • makkaveli19, on 05/08/2008, -4/+1i have 6 computers in my house. all of them are used everyday, so suck it.
      • sparql, on 05/08/2008, -1/+4What sucks about this is it makes it possible for Comcast to hurt legitimate digital distribution. Video on demand services are the way of the future. If Comcast caps how much you can download, they are essentially telling you how many movies or tv shows you can watch... Hmmm I wonder why they would want to do that... It's not like they make money selling the same content, oh wait, they do.
      • Mononuclear, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Actually most bandwidth usage is not due to p2p but is from streaming video. Youtube, Hulu, and the 10 billion other sites with streaming video can add up very quickly if you have more than one computer and 3 or 4 people constantly using those computers to stream video. Plus there are itunes downloads of tv shows and music, etc. You can easily use that amount of bandwidth legally in a month. It however is a lot of data and most families wont have to worry about the cap. It sucks that there is a cap because I signed onto comcast with the promise of no cap, but at least the cap of 250GB is reasonable and it's not like 50GB.
    • AngelBunny, on 05/08/2008, -4/+2I thought japan was 1gbit/s duplex. Am I wrong?
      • carlosos, on 05/09/2008, -0/+2I believe that was Hong Kong where that was available for inside the city but not Japan.
        • AngelBunny, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1ahh thanks. i was always curious about that.
    • buddyw, on 05/08/2008, -4/+8Two words for you my friend: population density
      • iamabear, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5Righto.
      • positron, on 05/08/2008, -3/+10That would be a good argument but for the fact that we aren't seeing Japan's kind of speeds or services in even our densest population centers.
      • pinguwin, on 05/08/2008, -2/+5New York, Chicago, Miami...etc, etc. Plenty dense. Is there anywhere in Japan with the densities of NYC where you get the piddling speed and high prices of a Comcast? I'll agree with you about density in say, western Kansas.
        • buddyw, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5A large portion of traffic in Japan stays within Japan. It all stays inside the dense population area. The same cannot be said for any of the major US cities. We all share the large network in the US and over the large network, population is not very dense. 1GB to the CO doesn't mean anything if you can on get 100k to WA or CA or IL or wherever the server is.

          I guarantee that japan citizens can't hit US servers at 1GB.
          • blankoboy, on 05/09/2008, -1/+2Ummmmm...."Duh". You're connection between two points is only as fast as the SLOWEST connection point between them. I figured a lolcat could figure that out without the chalk.
    • Ellipsys, on 05/08/2008, -2/+8Everyone who freaks out with "OMGSOCIALISM", Japanese infrastructure is constructed with government money. Hell, there's even a national phone company - NTT. This is how we should be doing it over here - tax-funded technology rollouts for infrastructure, which can than be rented out to private interests to manage ISPs. Still like big companies raping you on price and deciding what you should watch? Do you like having no alternatives because the barrier to entry is too high politically and financially? Please. We need to get with the times and wrest control back from our corporate masters.
      • buddyw, on 05/08/2008, -5/+2That is a VERY skewed picture and pretty much completely wrong. If you actually believe that, I recommend you read this article: http://www.economist.com/people/displaystory.cfm?s ...

        Mr Semmoto launched eAccess to compete with NTT because the monoply sucked....just like they suck here.
      • septicmadman, on 05/08/2008, -1/+4Well I think the picture is so skewed because the government has put billions of dollars in subsidies into the telecommunications grid and has yet to see a worthwhile return. Short of the government owning the telecommunications industry ( and arguably it seems to be the other way around but one could assume the transitive property...) it is as close to socialism as we are going to get.
        • buddyw, on 05/08/2008, -2/+5In the US the problem is an oligarchy of large corporations this is caused by corrupt Politicians and FCC making bad laws and stifling competition. The problem is the same as you see in socialism - no fair competition. The answer is not more socialism - the answer is a free market.
          • WiredLain, on 05/08/2008, -4/+6B.S. what's really needed is the RIGHT government regulation not less. If you want to know what its like with little or no gov regulation crack open an American history book and read about the good old days of the Robber-Barons or such gems as a river catching fire because it was so polluted, or food and drug safety before it was regulated, etc. etc.
          • buddyw, on 05/08/2008, -2/+4I didn't say no regulation....I said a free market with competition...as apposed to a govermnet or corporate monopoly. I didn't say anything about Anarchy! Quit adding your own subtext.
          • hexydes, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2You completely mis-interpreted the point that buddyw was making. As he said, the problem with our telecomm industry is that the big players are receiving huge support from local, state, and federal branches, and then turning around and using that power to put the squeeze on the consumers.

            Regulation is fine. What the government, at all levels, needs to do is stop helping companies like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T, bend the consumer over a barrel. This is how the system currently works:

            1. The government either directly gives these telecomms subsidies, or allows them (in local cases) to have exclusivity contracts in the local region.

            2. The telecomms then charge whatever they want since the government eliminated the competition for them.

            3. They receive further support from organizations like the MPAA and RIAA in the form of money. They then do things like cap Internet connections and turn over customer data so that those organizations can then sue the users.

            So basically, what that amounts to is us (the consumer) giving the government billions of dollars, to give to the telecomm industry, so that they can in turn charge us even more money, and then organizations like the MPAA and RIAA sue us in what amounts to exploratory lawsuits.

            So basically, we're paying good money so that we can get shoddy service at best, and sued for our house and home at worst.
      • RuthlessPirate, on 05/08/2008, -1/+6Well there's plenty of money for tax-funded infrastructure when you aren't constantly conquering middle eastern countries.
      • EmerilLIVE, on 05/08/2008, -0/+6More government isn't going to fix your problem. The real problem is too much government, just like heath insurance. If the market were not so over-regulated it would be profitable enough to attract new capitol and thus more competitors.
    • inchrnt, on 05/08/2008, -3/+6thank god for capitalism ... oh wait damn
      • modingo, on 05/08/2008, -1/+3Actually, capitalism is good if done right with checks and balances. The problem here in the US today is that Big Business, more than ever, lines the pockets of Big Gov't. Then fascist Big Gov't sets up control agencies and bureaucratic hula hoops that hinder real competition and new ideas (e.g. super high speed bandwidth, alternative fuels, etc... Then monopolies form and the rest is history.
    • DeathJux, on 05/08/2008, -0/+6America still has it wayyyy better than most other countries. Here in New Zealand, it's $50/month for 2 Mbit up/down and a 10 GB (!!!!!) cap!!! That's TOTAL transfer, up AND down! After coming from unlimited broadband in the States, this completely cripples my usual Internet usage patterns.

      I have a friend living in Kazakhstan and he's even wayyyy worse off than I am.
      • yuanzhoulu, on 05/08/2008, -6/+0yup, unlimited 1.5 mbps for $3355/month
        http://asstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070727-the- ...
      • polywaffle, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1no *****, in australia its 20gb for 60 bucks a month. I would kill to have a 250gb cap!
        Our speeds are alright tho with 8-24mbit adsl2+ depending on how close you are to the telephone exchange
      • SPThom, on 05/08/2008, -0/+5Difference is, you're on the far side of the world from where a big chunk of the Internet comes from, so there's probably a lot of infrastructure to pay for. And Kazakhstan hardly has any infrastructure. But most of the Internet is right here in our back yard. We should have every bit the speeds and open plans that Japan has. Instead we have a bunch of greedy corporate assholes running the show.
      • FecalHurler, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1Does your friend's neighbor have an IPOD Mini? Does he know that it's for girls?
      • hexydes, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2And as we say in America, "We don't mind being 10th or 20th place in the world. It's not like we're the predominant super-power or anything."

        I can't understand why people aren't more outraged about how far we've been outpaced in the telecomm industry.
    • asforme, on 05/08/2008, -0/+11I got kicked off of Comcast. I asked about a business service and they simply responded that if I didn't lower my bandwidth usage I would be suspended. I asked how much to lower it, their response, "we don't have set bandwidth limits". I'm now on verison dsl, it's slower but I'll be damned if I'm giving Comcast another dime.
      • hexydes, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3This is what people need to do. Stick to your guns. If Comcast screws you over, don't just say, "Oh well, they're the only option I have." Find something else. I don't care what it is, use 56k dial-up if you have to. If you are giving them $70 a month, then you've given in, and you have no one to blame for this mess but yourself.
    • daizaru, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Yeah it's pretty bad in Canada too, well at least where I'm at. I have a choice of 2 high speed internet companies bell or videotron. Both have caps that are nearly impossible to manage at the reasonable price so I am forced to pay the exorbitant price package that still caps at 100Gb per month combined up/down.

      It's pretty much a monopoly, except it's two companies gouging pretty similarly, my internet is $70 a month. The only upside is unlike comcast my torrents aren't getting throttled... they download pretty fast. Sad thing is they are the only cable company in town too so they have me by the balls twofold.
    • GoneFishing, on 05/08/2008, -0/+5Japan is a very dense country, which makes it easier to implement country wide infrastructures, and finally cutting the cost.

      The difficulty telecom companies are facing today is the sharp increase of internet media. Remember the days on Napster when you looked for 96 kps MP3 because they would download faster over a 56k modem? Times have changed and we are starting to watch full TV series online, soon we will request HD quality. The current optic rings in the US do not have the capability to expand faster than the growth, (at least not from what I know). So I understand where Comcast is coming from.

      However, I strongly disagree that people will be charged should they exceed the limit. Comcast knows that technology changes fast, if I was PR, I would come out with a campaign constantly updating the bandwidth cap restriction. Like what Gmail does with its storage capacity.
      • hexydes, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Yes, but then again, you aren't a gigantic douchebag, like Comcast. Lack of competition makes corporations do strange things that would never work in a truly free-market.
    • lolinyerface, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1*sigh* Incoming AT&T.
    • Snooper1989, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2And this is the part where I start to get angry and frustrated. If you dare start to whine about them capping you at 250 gb look at your Australian friends. My cap monthly is 12gb per month, the biggest plan I know that is commercially available to a standard citizen who doesn't hold a ABN (Australian Business Number) is around 40gb cap per month. I pay upwards of $60 dollars for this service and the speeds are *****. So please, have some consideration that you have it a HELL of a lot better than some others do.
      • mastazed, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1yes i agree but w/ TPG if your in Sydney that is you can get 60gig for about $60/month and they do offer larger plans but they are still capped. i hate Australian internet... this new PM better sort this ***** out first who cares about saying sorry, i just want better net.
      • bobbarkerbilly, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2So because one country has it worse we're not allowed to complain about it? By that standard, I don't think many living in first word countries would be able to whine about anything.

        Focus your anger on the one ***** ISP and a lightly less ***** ISP.
    • bernandoo, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3This will just push more people to FiOS... it seems like an incredibly stupid thing for Comcast to ***** of their subscribers when a far superior service is being rolled out.
      • hexydes, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Yes, but Comcast has no idea about how to run a real business. They've built their company on buying out smaller local ISPs/telcos. Everywhere they went, they just bought the competition. That's fine when your competition covers 2,000 homes. Comcast has NEVER had to compete on things that matter. They've always had the fastest connection simply due to the nature of the technology (cable vs. DSL). Now that things like Verizon's FiOS and AT&T's U-Verse are coming along, not only do they have no idea how to compete with them, they also can't just buy them.

        Basically Comcast's longevity is exactly as long as it takes for Verizon and AT&T to massively roll out their respective services. I fully expect Comcast to either merge, get bought out, or chapter 11, within a decade.
    • josereyes0, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2See Verizon FiOS
    • diggFunction, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Oh yes.. SOCIALISM.
      The great government monopoly they give you what they want to give you and you better like it as there are no other players in town.

      At least with capitalism people have a choice.
    • YoshinoAiki, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2People just need to stop giving a company as bad as Comcast their money. They have terrible customer service (main reason I left) and they want to control your usage so they can squeeze more money out of you. Charging for overage? Draconian! I love my verizon connection. Leave Comcast! May they rot.
  • presidentjapan, on 05/08/2008, -28/+4Someone has to do it:
    ***** THE RIAA >:(
    • burnstyle, on 05/08/2008, -0/+18actually no one had to do it.
      • legoalert33, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2But he did.
        • TheGuruStud, on 05/08/2008, -2/+2Oh no he didn't *angry, fat, black woman*
          • strictnein, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Where's my meth?!
            *angry, fat, white woman* ?
          • TheGuruStud, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1you forgot that she's pregnant too lol
  • twiztidsinz, on 05/08/2008, -2/+131Comcast... It's Sucktastic!
    • rrbest, on 05/08/2008, -0/+6people used to love comcast
      • twiztidsinz, on 05/08/2008, -0/+8Comcast USE TO not filter traffic and be general douchebags.... use to...
        • rrbest, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1I should have just said "people once loved comcast." There are some things in the english language that i'll never understand. Like when to say 'lie' or 'lay' and when to say 'use to' or 'used to'
    • Noodleson, on 05/08/2008, -0/+5I used to love comcast too, then somewhere along the way I realized I was paying $120 a month for TV with banner ads and illegally limited internet.
      • hexydes, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Amazing how that crept up, eh? I remember my local cable company had Internet and television for something like $59.99 a month. Then they were bought out (by AT&T maybe? I think it was AT&T @Home). Then Comcast bought @Home. Rates went up steadily every 6-12 months after that.

        Luckily, I moved from the area about three years ago, and I'm with a tiny little ISP. I use a LOT of bandwidth, but I also buy whatever their highest plan is. If they had a higher plan right now, I would buy it, lol. I don't mind paying for a service, as long as I know how much I'm paying, and that I'm truly getting what I pay for. With Comcast...you never know how much you're really paying, or how much you're really getting.
    • topbob, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2More like *****
      I was already forced to leave Comcast in the dust after they called me saying I used 190gb of bandwidth in one month, and they would kick me off for a year if I didn't significantly decrease my usage. O NOES...
      Now I sit here on slow DSL, but at least its unlimited.
  • DiggnessFalls, on 05/08/2008, -4/+8This sucks, we have to make them stop!!!!
    • estvir, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Welcome to the Internet in Australia. Now all you need are higher prices and slower speeds.
    • wbeavis, on 05/08/2008, -7/+2Are you ignorant or arrogant? Bandwidth costs money. Infrastructure costs money. No one is entitled to Internet access. Comcast has limited resources. Like any business they look for the pricing sweet spot. Either they charge a little extra for the heavy users OR they charge a little extra to everyone regardless of usage. I don't know about you, but my willingness to subsidize someone else's Internet is nonexistent. I only want to pay my fair share for what I use. If they could charge $10/month and give you 1 PB transfer over fiber running gigabit speeds, don't you think they would? But they can't. Hate them for the right reasons, this seems like a reasonable response to their "unlimited" criticism. Take a course or two in running a business
    • Mike89, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Exactly, try being in Australia. 250 GB range!? I pay more than you guys do for 8 mbit with 20 gb of quota.
    • listrophy, on 05/08/2008, -0/+4Here's how: Go to your city's website and find info on the municipal cable board. They likely meet monthly or bimonthly, and their meetings will be open to the public. Get there early and make sure someone on the board knows that you have something to say. Hopefully, there will be a local Comcast (or, in my case, Charter) representative there. During the meeting, the board will open up for public comment. At this point, make generalized claims about how Comcast is purposefully hindering innovation which is bad for the city (anecdotal evidence will likely not work here unless it supports a generalized claim... the cable board is not there to hear your personal story). Assert that maintaining a franchising agreement with Comcast is beneficial only to Comcast and that residents of your city are being unfairly price-gouged.

      Now, here's the tricky part: Keep going to the meetings, asserting the same thing. Heck, try to get a group to go. Make sure the board knows that Comcast is ***** off a bunch of really smart people.
    • RealJimShady, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Indeed. Australias largest ISP bigpond will charge $59.95 for ADSL2+ at full ADSL2+ speed with 650MB (yes that's an M), and $150 per GB over. yes, you read right. so I have very little pity for the comcast customers.
    • diggFunction, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2You want them to stop then use another service, If there is no other service then get some investor's together and make some competition as well as some money....
      • michaelb323, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2We cant, there is a law that allows a ISP to have a monopoly in an area to keep them from going out of business through competition.
  • bhattsan, on 05/08/2008, -2/+46I've been enduring comcast's ridiculousness for some time now, considering their speeds, but I just might move to DSL, if it goes any further :(
    • dOOBiEx213, on 05/08/2008, -10/+5Dude, DSL is even worse.
    • AngelBunny, on 05/08/2008, -0/+5i bought a second modem and uncapped it. does that count as an alternative?
      • vdgmr1213, on 05/08/2008, -0/+13In my area, it wasn't even a choice. Comcast averaged around 1.1 mbs instead of their advertised 8 mbs. It was ridiculous. To pay for the service and get an eighth of what was being paid for AND having BT blocks AND everything else they did, Embarq was the only way to go. About the same cost for 5 mbs DSL that really is 5 mbs. While its not everything I wish it was, its better than Comcast. They only learn if you show them you don't like it and hurt them where it counts.
        • KiraDnote, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3They don't seem to have learned much.
    • parallax7d, on 05/08/2008, -1/+26DSL is slower, but I switched from comcast because I was sick of paying them a premium every month, just so they could ruin the internet with my money. I still game online, but pings are about 20 ms higher and downloads about half the speed, but it never bothers me, and I am an excessive internet user. I'm saving money, and the money I do pay doesn't go to one of the worst corporations in the US.
      • winmywii, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3If only we could all get FIOS
      • dracflamloc, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1the irony in your statement is that phone companies are just as bad as comcast as far as "one of the worst corporations in the US."
  • eLuminx, on 05/08/2008, -5/+24hopefully enough people start to boycott this piece of ***** company and they start loosing it just like the RIAA. Let's hope their broadband side of the company goes down, and lets hope it goes down crashing and burning...
    • Ninjapope, on 05/08/2008, -1/+9Except most people who subscribe to them probably don't even know what the hell a Gigabyte is.
      • parallax7d, on 05/08/2008, -1/+8Well explain it to them. My parents are off comcast now, and I just switch off as well. That's $1,500 less a year going toward their internet ruining efforts.
        • Dantetheinferno, on 05/08/2008, -1/+4750$ a year, 12 months, 62.5$...

          For your parents, and yourself. A tiny bit of hyperbole no?
        • ThugThrasher, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Actually no. If they were only paying $31.25 per household for comcast internet, they were getting it cheap. I pay over $40....
        • hexydes, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1I moved my parents off over three years ago. I hate Comcast. I actively move the people that I support away from them. I figure I've probably stopped 14-15 potential customers for Comcast, just on my own.

          I know Comcast says that it's only 1% of their customers that are taking up all that bandwidth...but guess what. That 1% of customers is also providing the tech support (or lack thereof) and advertising (or lack thereof) for the majority of your business. They are the ones that help family members whose Internet connection goes down. They're the ones that when someone new moves to the area and asks who they should get Internet through, they make a recommendation.

          So you ***** them off and think you lose one customer, but really, you lose a lot more.
    • AngelBunny, on 05/08/2008, -0/+10most of comcrap's customers are in areas were there is no competition.
      • mablung, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3/raises his hand
      • ThugThrasher, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3*ding ding ding*
      • eLuminx, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Yeah that's the only problem with trying to bring some of these companies down, and is also a big reason as to why they are able to do what they do. They have no one else to challenge them, and if they do have another company to challenge, it ends up being worst. Hopefully we, the public, are able to do something about it tho, so that they can actually change their ways and those that are less fortunate to have comcrap as their company can finally receive a good product or service.
  • CatsAreGods, on 05/08/2008, -3/+78I signed up for an unlimited service with brochures telling me I could download whatever I wanted 24 hours a day, and by golly that's just what I expect.
    • Thundercat1971, on 05/08/2008, -2/+30I believe if you read it carefully, you signed up for unlimited* service

      unlimited* = whatever comcast secretly limits us at this month.
    • deadbaby, on 05/08/2008, -0/+7Perhaps it said that when you signed up but they are free to change the TOS anytime. I dunno if Comcast does contracts or not but if you're paying month-to-month you are free to cancel anytime and find an ISP that meets your needs. If you do have a contract you could probably argue you deserve to get the advertised service for the duration of the contract. (although their original TOS wording is likely to have some clause over excessive usage)
      • CatsAreGods, on 05/08/2008, -0/+5Yes, except that there is no other broadband service where I live, and they bribe the county to keep it that way. Oh, sorry, I meant they have an exclusive agreement to provide service here.
        • dazparkour, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2I didn't know you could still do that - capitalism, loving it - you can buy anything with enough money, including the end to capitalism it seems.
  • nickcozy, on 05/08/2008, -3/+11Wow this is not good.
    • chesss, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1In india we have 400mb limit with Rs.1.5 for every extra mb...

      Rs.40 = 1$
  • uberamd, on 05/08/2008, -18/+6Damn it. I own a dedicated server in California that I download torrents to, and I have 2TB of monthly bandwidth, meaning with a 1:1 ratio, I can transfer to my local system from the server after downloading/seeding 100% the torrent; ~670GB of data. If comcast limits me to 250GB, how the heck am I going to make use of my extra torrent-server's bandwidth???

    F you comcast, you are messing with my illegal activities!
    • dOOBiEx213, on 05/08/2008, -3/+19torrent =! illegal
      • CSharpSauce, on 05/08/2008, -1/+9Compile Complete
        1 error 0 Warnings
        Line 1: =! is not a valid operator

        i'd reccomend you try something more like !=
        • pak314, on 05/08/2008, -2/+3torrent = !illegal is valid syntax if whitespace is ignored.
          • Light11, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1whitespace needs love too
          • B1663r, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1Thats an assignment operation, not a logical operator. You are looking for torrent == !legal
      • uberamd, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Fine, torrents are not illegal, but lets be honest, a majority of torrenters (thats what I call em) are not seeding Linux ditros if you catch my drift.
        • B1663r, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1I thought data wanted to be free? Im just freeing the data dude!!! Down with data apartheid!
    • deadbaby, on 05/08/2008, -3/+9Just out of curiosity do you actually exceed 250GB on a monthly basis? What do you download? I can't imagine there being that much content out there worth downloading every single month.
      • uberamd, on 05/08/2008, -0/+4Its not so much per month, but I go through phases. A month where it gets no use, and a month where I decide I want to download a ton of games, 16 seasons of the simpsons, etc.
        • B1663r, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Well checking the trackers really quick, the Simpson's seasons are only 4 to 5 gig each so you can download the whole series for under a 100 gig, you should be ok.
        • B1663r, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Oh ahh, I found a torrent of the ENTIRE history of simpsons and it comes in at 43 gig. So you still have more than 200 gig to download all the games you want.
      • Y0tsuya, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1If you have to ask, then you don't wanna know.
    • NgrHader, on 05/08/2008, -9/+3You are not supposed to run a server on a consumer line...says in your agreement you signed to...tsk tsk tsk
    • AngelBunny, on 05/08/2008, -0/+7share your seedbox with others and cut the monthly cost up. ;)
      people like you make sites like ftn wonderful. thank you (if you help out communities).
    • atbnet, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Haha I did the same thing with my dedicated servers extra bandwidth. Not to that extent, but enough that I wouldn't have to upload much for at least a few years.
    • legoalert33, on 05/08/2008, -0/+8Thats alot of porn.
  • davidsmero, on 05/08/2008, -2/+54everyone get a hacked modem and uncap it.

    they won't be able to determine because its not provisioned to any account.
    • dOOBiEx213, on 05/08/2008, -0/+23Please sir, elaborate. I've read in Time Warner's site about uncapped modems, but I've been paranoid they might know who's doing it.
    • davidsmero, on 05/08/2008, -1/+43www.tcniso.net

      get a sb5100 , and read up on the forms. very simple to do and you can be up and running in minutes and enjoy a constant 30mbit/1.5mbit connection.

      dont worry about them finding out, its very complicated. if you use mac address as someone else in the same general area it makes it all more difficult.

      message me if u need help.
      • dOOBiEx213, on 05/08/2008, -0/+12hahah will do. Thanks for the heads up.
      • encrypter, on 05/08/2008, -0/+11can these be done to use on the Rogers network in Canada?
        • davidsmero, on 05/08/2008, -0/+15yes. any docsis network.
        • FecalHurler, on 05/08/2008, -0/+8David, does this also block ISPs from keeping an accurate tab on DLing? For example, if I'm downloading/uploading something that is tagged, is it possible that it can still be traced back to me? I have a warning from Comcast to chill out...
          • davidsmero, on 05/08/2008, -0/+8Its very difficult. Since the modem is not provisioned to any account they can't see who is really belongs too, hence who will they call?

            The only thing i am aware of is them tracking it back to the node you are on. Each node houses 100-300+ modems in a 2 mile radius or so.

            How I miss my comcast days.....
      • makkaveli19, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2friend list sent, beware upcoming messages.
      • FecalHurler, on 05/08/2008, -0/+9Hahaha this is why I love Digg. You're a good man.
    • AngelBunny, on 05/08/2008, -1/+28this is what I do. with comcast especially it is super easy.
      all you do is get a modem (sb5100 for example) that isn't tied to someones account. it can be a used modem from ebay, for example. then plug it into your wall, plug it into a router your normal cable modem does not use or spoof the mac address on your router. comcast can identify who you are if you have the same mac address behind 1 legit modem and another uncapped modem. after plugging the router in plug a computer in to the router and try to get online. if you get a welcome to comcast page then go into your router or your computers settings and set to a non comcast dns server like 4.2.2.2, for example, and then try to get online again. :)
      there are more steps to modding a modem to get it uncapped. also, if you use to much bandwidth on a non registered modem then they will ban its mac address then your modem has to be modded so that you can change its mac address.
      • davidsmero, on 05/08/2008, -2/+22what she said lol.

        a good way to get mac addresses...go to best buy and write down the hfc mac's off the motoral sb5100 boxes. their near the serial number and barcode on the outside of the box.
        • KiraDnote, on 05/08/2008, -1/+10surely somebody has software that will generate valid mac addresses
        • rkuchiki, on 05/08/2008, -0/+5You need mac addresses?
          http://zefie.com/docsis2.xml

          Note: this isnt for comcast, but it is still a list of mac addresses ;)
        • rkuchiki, on 05/08/2008, -0/+4Better yet, here:
          http://zefie.com/modem.xml

          Over 10,000 legit mac addresses (not on comcast/TW). Don't ask how I got them, it's best I don't say.
          Warning: the file is 1mb, might lag some browsers.
        • AngelBunny, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1actually I just type in random numbers and letters as long as it is the right amount of digits which is 12 for the mac address and 15 for the serial. comcast has no way of telling if the mac address is legit or not on docsis 1.1 but for 2.0 there has to be a valid cert for the mac address. comcast in 99% of the areas work with docsis 1.1 so there is no issue but if someone is in a 2.0 only area then they need to download a cert that matches a mac address. this I have never done but I've heard it is quite easy if one looks on irc for help.
      • daizaru, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2so you use both modems and two routers?

        I'm trying to understand the site and read all the tutorials but I'm like not finding the basic "I have no idea what I'm doing how do I start?" sort of one. Plus there's no info pertaining to anyone on my ISP using it.

        Is this purely speed related when you say uncapped? This is a post about maximum download limitations so I'm also confused about that too.

        My interest is certainly peaked, but I'm kinda paranoid getting caught, there is literally next to no alternative if I get caught and they boot me off.
        • AngelBunny, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1the only people who get caught are the ones who mod their current modems because it can be tied back to the account they are paying for. make sure you buy a separate modem, use a separate router, never use a @comcast.net email address on the hacked modem or log into the comcast web site on a hacked modem. I'm not sure if there is any other way they could catch you. I've even imagined that if the power died at my house and my legit and uncapped modem turned off then back on at the same time that could give me away possibly (I'm paranoid) so I even got a power supply for the uncapped modem so if the power goes out only the legit modem dies.
          how to begin doing it depends on your isp. comcast is as easy as plugging it into the wall, putting in your dns settings, and getting online. some other ISPs have more steps than that.
      • rkuchiki, on 05/08/2008, -0/+4it is possible to change the mac address on a SB5100 without the tcniso kit using Factory Mode, however it is better to use the kit since you can disable SNMP.. SNMP is what you will use to manipulate Factory Mode to do what you want, however, your ISP can also do the same against you, and even go as far as bricking your modem.
        • AngelBunny, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2comcast once tried doing this to me before. they set it so my modem wouldn't respond to my routers mac address, not even 192.168.100.1 or anything. I went into my router settings, spoofed to a different mac address, and rebooted the router. Then from there I still couldn't get online but I could get ti 192.168.100.1:1337 so I changed my cable modem's mac address and serial then got online after it rebooted without a hitch.
      • jjb123, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Wow thanks. At this point I pretty much don't care about getting caught. If anything, i'll just get another isp.
        • StormTroopr, on 05/08/2008, -5/+1It's not just get another ISP. It's losing your possessions, fines, possibly prison time, and who knows what else they would try to tack on these days.

          Here's an article from 02 about some people that got royally screwed.

          http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/23727
        • familynight, on 05/08/2008, -0/+4i'm pretty paranoid about this stuff, but that article is about a single isp in ohio run by a crazy family and involved serious local disputes. of the two people arrested who were discussed, one had helped get the police chief fired and started a public crusade against the isp, and the other was running a business with an uncapped modem and hadn't signed a contract with the isp, probably making any connection illegal.
          i'm not saying that this won't get you in trouble but from what i've read, you'll probably just get banned from your isp at worst. they usually seem to give a warning first, anyway. if you have recent stories about big isp's, comcast, cox, etc., i would like to hear.
          • AngelBunny, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3yes. Stormtroopr: try to find an article were the person caught didn't do something stupid to give their self away.
    • Alphateam, on 05/08/2008, -0/+4Not that it wasn't happening a little before, but it will be WAY more prevalent if they introduce this cap. While I'm not a huge Comcast fan, I'm happy to pay for the service I get. If I get this BS new plan....well....who knows. Others will too. When will corporations learn that squeezing the little guy for all they have is not the right thing to do?
  • portnoy, on 05/08/2008, -14/+4Face it dudes, the united states is rapidly becoming a third world nation. And when that happens who do you think would come to our aid?
    • icndvl, on 05/08/2008, -2/+5I can see the Chinese coming to save us 50 years from now.
  • BesideYouInTime, on 05/08/2008, -11/+24Caps suck, but 250gb a month would be hard to hit without your line going full tilt 24/7.
    • Okari, on 05/08/2008, -4/+26I don't know, those Linux distros add up pretty fast.
    • RudeTurnip, on 05/08/2008, -3/+22It's not that hard to do when you've got iTunes or Miro sucking in hi-def MP4 videos (all legal, btw) on a daily basis. I don't subscribe to TV service, just FIOS internet service.
      Comcast is simply stifling innovation by restricting IPTV services from flourishing. There has to be an antitrust violation in there somewhere.
      • harlowsmonkeys, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2Unless you are not bothering to watch those videos, then it would be very hard to do. It would be several hours of video a day.
        • mrgreen4242, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2Not to confirm that I'm a typical American slob, but I watch a couple hours of TV a day (not all days, but many). Between my wife and I we probably watch 3 hours of TV shows a day, maybe more some days.
    • legoalert33, on 05/08/2008, -12/+2Its under a gb a day. Think of how many hours you browse digg, youtube, and all that porn you need. Once you seen the twisted stuff on the internet you can't just go back to Playboy.
      • Dantetheinferno, on 05/08/2008, -0/+7250 GB, 30 days a month, 8 1/3 GB each day.

        That's alot tbh.
      • positron, on 05/08/2008, -0/+6Learn2Math
      • KiraDnote, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1it's around 8gb per day. you aren't likely to exceed that without downloading DVD's or HDTV.
    • Schmapdi, on 05/08/2008, -9/+5Really I wouldn't mind a cap (not a Comcast subscriber) as long as it knocked a few bucks a month off my bill. Say 8 bucks cheaper if you don't hit your cap, and then 2 bucks every few gigs over. I mean most people will never get near 250g, why shouldn't they pay less than the guy who's using 700g a month?
      • CatsAreGods, on 05/08/2008, -0/+9You think they'd *lower* your bill if you used less data?

        AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
        • RealJimShady, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      • davidjsmitty, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Comcast is greedy. 2 bucks for every few gigs over? You're insane.
        • RealJimShady, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Bigpond (Aussie ISP) charge 15 cents per MB. Thats much much more.
    • AngelBunny, on 05/08/2008, -1/+34you would have to run at around 101.6kB/s 24/7 to hit 250gb. To stream high quality standard def tv is about 150kB/s +/- 20kB/s basicly the main reason they are forcing 250GB a month limit is to make sure no one in the future can buy super cheap tv over ip service. imagine getting thousands of channels for $20 a month. it is easily possible with tv over ip if done right and comcast wants to hold their tv monopoly.
      • PubStomp, on 05/08/2008, -3/+1maybe you are onto something. maybe not
        • sparql, on 05/08/2008, -0/+8he is. legitmate digital distribution scares the hell out of comcast, who has profited for years on monopolizing various parts of the country. We are at the point where you could realistically suck down a HD signal all day long, they need to do something to stop that.
      • rebotfc, on 05/08/2008, -0/+9This IS the real reason, its anti-net neutrality by the back door. If they make google pay to serve files, they will charge the customer.
    • dagamer34, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3It counts both downloads AND uploads.
    • Rotzooi, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Not really. I watch two HDTV programs daily, and each stream is about 6GB. That alone is 360GB monthly, for 2 x 42 minutes of tv.
      [On a regular line (here in Europe) it takes me about an hour per show to download.]
    • davidjsmitty, on 05/08/2008, -0/+5Enjoy your cap then, slave.
    • Detritus, on 05/08/2008, -0/+4Well right now the theoretical cap is 150GB. I've already gotten one of their letters, and went through the whole song and dance of "We can't tell you what the cap is, but you went over it and if you do it again we'll cut you off."

      So as I download BluRays I have to keep track of my monthly downloading and cut it off at about 80-100GB; assuming that my other traffic is... prodigious. I actually view this 250GB hard cap as an improvement on the current situation, but I'd prefer it to be closer to 500GB considering how much I'm paying for their "Boost" service already.

      Now they're offering Blast with 80-100mbit in some areas, but what is the point?
      • hexydes, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Yeah, but think how fast you'll be able to send your e-mails out!
  • choopie911, on 05/08/2008, -2/+9This will make you feel better: On my connection, we get terribly slow DSL, 10,000MB a month, and you pay for anything over that. ***** you Northwestel.
  • Djharlock, on 05/08/2008, -5/+19Here's a fact, Comcast is a joke.
  • Feces, on 05/08/2008, -17/+4250GB is not that bad actually. Unless you're a Usenet addict.
    • dOOBiEx213, on 05/08/2008, -8/+5da ***** is wrong with you? 250gb? You know how many HD movies, and games that is? NOT ENOUGH
      • boostjunki3, on 05/08/2008, -1/+3Not that I don't agree with you, but god damn, why would you put the effort into punctuation and capitalizing HD, yet you typed 'da' instead of 'The'? Follow through a bit more...bra.
      • KiraDnote, on 05/08/2008, -1/+3Jesus, how many games get released each month that you would even give a damn about? Maybe a few a year? HD movies are the real issue aren't they? Can't you be satisfied with rips given that you are getting them almost for free?
    • AngelBunny, on 05/08/2008, -0/+10250GB is 101.6kB/s 24/7 which isn't very much when you live in a house with 3 other room mates and all are computer addicts. Heck, if 4 people ran youtube 5 hours a day and didn't use the net for anything else they would hit the 250GB limit.
      • BOFH2, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Buy another line like I did. Split 4 ways it is cheap.
      • B1663r, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Actually four people hitting Youtube 5 hours a day, every day only comes out to a little more than 100gig a month.
        • AngelBunny, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1i did my math wrong but when i tried to edit the post it was already to late. it came to 150GB not 100. Sorry about that. Also, I am basing youtube off of 60kB/s. It is probably closer now to 50 or so kB/s but I wanted to round up to include over head and such.
          • B1663r, on 05/09/2008, -1/+1So still either way... after spending every moment of your free time with youtube accross 4 people for an entire month you still have a 100gig left to download. Still not seeing how this is a problem for anyone but the person who is downloading torrents 24/7 every day of the month... Or running an internet server that has an extrememly heavy load...
          • AngelBunny, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1or the person who uses tv over ip.. or the person who uses the internet for more than just surfing the web ...
    • Terrin, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1shhhhhh.....whats the first rule of Usenet?
      • dazparkour, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Bury people who say it. Sleep tight.
  • MalDON, on 05/08/2008, -15/+2I use that much bandwidth day almost. Hate to see what my bill would be.
    • captainchris, on 05/08/2008, -2/+3yeah, 250gb ±245gb.
    • twiztidsinz, on 05/08/2008, -0/+8you consistently download at 4mb/s for 18hrs straight a day?
    • cyrix, on 05/08/2008, -0/+7What the hell are you doing on the net using 250 gigs a day?!?!?! o_O
    • burnedtubes, on 05/08/2008, -0/+5Man you got some real porn addictions there.....
    • BOFH2, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Seeing as you would have to store that for even a little while to watch it or even burn it to dvd you would do nothing else but swap drives and dvds. FAKE
  • Enkairi, on 05/08/2008, -4/+19Damnit, I have Comcast.
    I can't wait until Verizon offers its FIOS in my area, they already laid the fios lines.

    On another point, the cap is 250gb, Id oubt many people are going to reach that.
    • Enkairi, on 05/08/2008, -2/+4Oh ***** I just realized, I was only thinking in terms of actually downloading files. but in terms of 250gb of bandwidth, I could reach that limit.
    • x2dx, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5FIOS is great in about 24 hours I can push 100gb with there 15/15 service.
    • winmywii, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2I'm going to be pretty close this month.
  • th3heretic, on 05/08/2008, -3/+9Hey, you could be stuck like me, with a 10gb limit (after 5gb they halve your connection speed) and if you exceed 10gb they charge you the $150 early cancellation fee. Thanks to our wonderful free enterprise here in America, all 1 ISP's where I live get to bend their customers over the table knowing the only alternative costs >$300 a month (T1 1.5mbps)
    • th3heretic, on 05/08/2008, -2/+5And don't say dial up because I prefer being able to play online games (Team Fortress 2) and streaming some youtube now and then
      • parallax7d, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2dsl, many phone companies offer it. I play counter-strike source and get good pings. not as good as cable though, but I don't want comcast to get my business.
      • Dantetheinferno, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2He could be far away from the CO. I'd kill for DSL or cable. I pay 50$ a month for 512kbps internet (no caps) but it's terrible at staying up for more than 2 hours. Makes playing video games hrad.
    • dOOBiEx213, on 05/08/2008, -1/+20Holy *****, MOVE NOW. No job, no house, no family, no friends are worth a 10gb limit.
      • alittleroy101, on 05/08/2008, -1/+6That made me laugh my ass off.
    • iamabear, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3That is happening here in Ohio as well. One company purchases all of the resources in the cities surrounding me and friends of mine are getting their pooches screwed mighty heavily.
    • positron, on 05/08/2008, -1/+3There's something else our wonderful free enterprise here in America allows you to do: Start your own ISP business and steal away all the business from that other scumbag ISP by providing better service and/or lower prices. That, or cry more.
      • BOFH2, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1T1- 4.5 MB wholesale in MN about $900, after overhead you have 4MB left, split that with the neighbors(wireless probably) still very expensive.
    • ChildeRoland420, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3I thought it was bad here with a 10 GB limit ($50) and $2/GB if you go over (or $10/10GB if you have the foresight to order the extra bandwidth ahead of time).
  • sansri88, on 05/08/2008, -2/+21Skip the blog, go to the source:
    http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Conside ...
  • killerstache, on 05/08/2008, -8/+2Cox Cable FTW
    • loker269, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3I hate to break it to you bud but Cox has had caps for a long time....they seem to enforce them at their discretion....they are WAY lower than Comcast's planned caps...

      http://www.cox.com/policy/limitations.asp
      • killerstache, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1well sonuvabitch, i feel like a douche. digg down my previous comment.
        *EDIT* i was reading the limits and i know i download way more than 60 gigs a month. i guess Cox Cable Tucson FTW?
    • Andyschism, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Verizon FiOs, its not that bad.
    • Baylow, on 05/08/2008, -0/+4So you're saying you love the Cox?
    • jull1234, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2One day, Chubby Cox will be a household name!
      • RonBurgundy76, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1In some houses, it probably already is :P
  • Azriel7, on 05/08/2008, -7/+6Lets see what will be affected by this: multilayer gaming, youtube, large internet Microsoft updates, LEGAL videos you can watch on network sites, VOIP/video chat, game/video demos,..etc..etc
    • deadbaby, on 05/08/2008, -0/+6You'd have to do 8.3GB of traffic a day to break the cap in a month. To put that into perspective, you could stream youtube videos for something like 7-8 hours straight, everyday, and not break the cap in a month's time.
      • Norochj, on 05/08/2008, -1/+6You are assuming that only one person in the house is connected to the home network.
      • alittleroy101, on 05/08/2008, -1/+3I do that 5 days a week at work. Thank god I'm not paying for that.
        • KiraDnote, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5you mean thank God your getting paid for that
    • harlowsmonkeys, on 05/08/2008, -0/+6Multiplayer gaming is not affected. Nor is youtube. Nor are Microsoft updates. Nor are legal videos. Nor is VOIP. None of those (or even all of those put together) come anywhere near 250 gig in a month, unless you do almost nothing else with your life but those things.
      • B1663r, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1Say he is playing some crazy game 24/7 @ 256kbs roughly 82gig
        Then meanwhile he is using some crazy voip 24/7 @ 64kbs just about 20gig
        While at the same time he is using Youtube 24/7 @ its 384kbs for a whopping 124gig
        Plus Microsoft last I checked has like... say 10 gig of updates (jk) every month...

        That only leaves him the ability to download Linux like 20 times a month before he hits his cap.

        These ownerous limits by Comcast CAN NOT STAND!!!
  • Berzerker7, on 05/08/2008, -3/+8I'm going down to DSL if this happens. I don't give a *****, I just don't want to use ***** comcast anymore. Verizon! where's my fiber!!
  • kingatrock, on 05/08/2008, -4/+8considering it? I was emailed and called personally that I would be blacklisted if I went over their limit again.. although they wouldnt tell me the limit they said I did 400% more downloading than the average household in my area.. wtf! I guessed the limit was somewhere around 200gig a month (maybe 150gig) I went dsl at 6mbit since its truly unlimited or until they threaten me.
    • hexydes, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3My response would have been:

      "400%?! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! I WAS SURE I WAS NOT A PERCENT LESS THAN 800% ABOVE THE AVERAGE! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MORE DOWNLOADING I'M GOING TO HAVE TO DO TO MAKE UP FOR THIS SHORT?!"

      Then I would have hung up the phone and looked for every Blu-Ray torrent I could find, queued them all up, grabbed an Ubuntu ISO and put it in seed mode (using 90% of my upload), and let it go.

      Hell, if you're gonna go out, go out in a blaze of glory.
  • tibs, on 05/08/2008, -3/+4I feel like I've just crossed over into crazy world... again.
  • dupswapdrop, on 05/08/2008, -6/+1Damn I am going back to 300 baud dial-up less bull!
  • pcpimpster, on 05/08/2008, -5/+3I have this feeling - this will be directed at 250GB+ data transfers through the bittorrent ports.
  • bbliss17, on 05/08/2008, -4/+3wow comcast is lame
  • CharlesDance, on 05/08/2008, -8/+1You think Comcast is bad enough but listen to this http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ii1Ef10aY98
    • Andyschism, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5Yeah uh huh . . . *HONK HONK* HERE COMES THE FAILDOZER!
      • CharlesDance, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Wasn't very good was it. I know.
    • Eunonia, on 05/08/2008, -0/+0Retard. That's all I can say about you. Stick to the topic.
    • VortexSpin, on 05/08/2008, -1/+6You just wasted some of my 250gbs with streaming video! Damn you!
    • IxSamsonxI, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1|^^^^^^^^^^^||____
      | The STFU Truck |||""'|""__,_
      | _____________ l||__|__|__|)
      |(@)@)"""""""**|(@)(@)**|(@)
  • loker269, on 05/08/2008, -3/+10Well Comcast had a floating inviso-cap that was around 400GB's a month but everyone bitched that it was unfair and Comcast should just come out and set a hard cap....They come out and get ready to set a hard cap and you all get mad at them for listening....

    To be honest I was surprised it was 250GB's....I was expecting more like Cox and some other ISP's at 40-60GB's a month...
    • opmike, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1"Well Comcast had a floating inviso-cap "

      What does this mean? I'm not trying to be silly, I'm thoroughly confused.
      • polywaffle, on 05/08/2008, -0/+5im guessing they say unlimited but really they have a yell at you when you go over 400gb a month
        • loker269, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1They don't advertise unlimited but there is no stated cap....so really since its not stated it was called an invisible cap...

          it is floating because it is based on average usage of your particular node which is why I actually liked the floating cap because it would be much quicker to raise caps as average bandwidth use increased!

          Now if this stated 250GB cap goes into effect we have to wait for Comcast to decide average usage has gone up enough to warrant an increase in the stated cap...and well at the very best they are going to be sllllooooowwww to make that decision....
          • opmike, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Thank you for the explanation. I am a Comcast customer (only other offering in this area are DSL) and I wasn't aware of this, so I figured I'd ask. I really cannot understand this company's reasoning. I would guess that the majority of their customers use their connection for web browsing, facebook, myspace, and youtube, etc.

            For the smaller percentage of us that are actually putting our added bandwidth to some use, is it really putting that much of a strain on their systems that they need to introduce penalties? Seems to me, their efforts could be spent improving connection speed and reducing slowdowns during times many people are using the network. But I guess when you basically are a monopoly in areas , the question in all the meetings are, "Who the hell else are they gonna run to?"
  • StripeyMagee, on 05/08/2008, -3/+1Damn the luck! I've been consistently hitting near 20M down and 3M up with comcast, lot a good that will do............
  • TROY7, on 05/08/2008, -3/+4Whenever I feel down about Mediacom being my ISP, I just look at how much worse Comcast is...
  • selfdisplaced, on 05/08/2008, -4/+5I have Comcast, and it isn't bad. But if they do this, goodbye Comcast.
  • StevesJobs, on 05/08/2008, -3/+4There is no room for a caustic or ironic comment here. If this happens I will **** Comcast in the ***.

    No homo.
  • VortexSpin, on 05/08/2008, -9/+0While I HATE the idea of ISPs going to this system, 250GB is a lot if it's per day. I do usenet binaries and direct downloads from private servers all the time, but since I'm on a ***** 1MB connection I can only transfer...what...maybe 20-30 gigs a day? Even if you had a lot faster service, it would still take a long, long time to transfer that much data...unless you have multiple users, in which case you're going to get a lot closer to that cap. I can't imaging busting 250GBs in one day, but that's just me. Do you all download that much in 24 hrs?
    • VortexSpin, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5Gah, misread the article. 250 per month is totally different. Bury, etc.
  • CSharpSauce, on 05/08/2008, -5/+1i already pay comcast $150 a month for my 50/5
    • noseeme, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Wow, you're an idiot.
      • CSharpSauce, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3If i signed up thinking i'd make full use of the 50 down.. you'd be right. However I bought it for the 5 up... which is still not enough for my servers, but it does the job. So.. i think that makes you wrong?
        • noseeme, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1With the plan that you bought, are you technically allowed to run a dedicated web server, or do they disallow it?
    • PubStomp, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1cool you have cash.
  • FidelBlack, on 05/08/2008, -1/+4This is why I'm staying with DSL. I rather stick with a slow Verizon connection than a sub-par cable one. Besides DSL isn't that bad once you get used to it. I just hope one day the Bandwidth gods bless me with FIOS.
    • Armagetto, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2I dropped Broadstripe (formerly Millennium) cable for AT&T DSL Pro. At the time it was about the same speed, but at least with DSL I have consistent pings and no random drops when gaming. I kept complaining and they kept sending their techs out who would surf out to their speed test site and say, "hey, it looks like you're actually connecting faster than you should be..." The final straw was when I lost my connection during a CAL league finals match. I know cable is way faster now than it was back then, 4 years ago, but I haven't had a single gripe with DSL and it's only $18/mo for me.
  • sonicularulus, on 05/08/2008, -1/+4and then other companies will follow...
  • lukifer, on 05/08/2008, -2/+7Oh, good. I've been looking for an excuse to switch to DSL.
  • nmnnotmyname, on 05/08/2008, -2/+3Comcast SUCKS. These stories just reinforce it. If you have an option between Comcast and something more expensive, pick the one that isn't Comcast. Save yourself the frustration. Trust me.
  • deadnoob, on 05/08/2008, -5/+3250gb is a lot for me. I wouldnt mind a "cap" that slowed it, but charging extra is complete *****.
  • digitallysick, on 05/08/2008, -2/+18I translated that for everyone "comcast is ready to do anything except upgrade its network"
    • loker269, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Except that it is one of the only cable providers actively upgrading their network. Did you miss the HUGE DOCSIS 3.0 push?
      • digitallysick, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2If thats the case why care about caps ?
  • Sparky9292, on 05/08/2008, -6/+3Well there's other choices besides Comcast Cable:

    1. Hughes Satellite. (you can get this ANYWHERE)
    2. DSL (in most major cities)
    3. Sprint Broadband (Basically available anywhere you can get Sprint calls).

    That should cheer you up.
    • RMoore08, on 05/08/2008, -0/+13"1. Hughes Satellite. (you can get this ANYWHERE)"

      Don't EVER say this as an alternative. This service SUCKS. It has lots of latency (bad for gaming and due to the whole going into space and coming back thing) and they too have a "cap" they call it FAP, fair access policy where you cant go over a certain amount of DL or UL in a certain amount of time. Their customer service sucks and if there is a rainy day, good luck getting internet. It cuts out for several hours with even a little cloud in the way. I had it for a year ONLY because it was the only thing other than Dial up to get in my rural area of texas.

      /me steps off soapbox
      • ExSlashdotter, on 05/08/2008, -0/+6Agreed. As an IT admin, i can tell you that if you get satellite, kiss your office VPN connection goodbye. Too much latency to keep a connection.
      • Armagetto, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2lol @ FAP
    • chrispr, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2These are not alternatives.
      They are much, much slower than comcast.
      • jull1234, on 05/08/2008, -2/+2So, we henceforth quit bitching about the best service.
        • DavidGX, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1He said it was faster, not better. There are more things to consider than just raw speed. Things like bandwidth caps, idiotic customer service, anti-net-neutrality practices, etc.
    • Armagetto, on 05/08/2008, -1/+2Hughes kinda rhymes with "Ewwwww"—and it does for good reason.
    • winmywii, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2The only alternative is FIOS and that is only available in a few areas.
    • willskillz, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1Your mom cheers me up!
  • buddyw, on 05/08/2008, -10/+2Ok guys, I hate to steer this bandwagon into a wall of reality, but this is a private business and most people don't use 250 GB/mo checking email and watching youtube. They are trying to weed out the small percentage of users that hog the majority of their bandwidth so that they can provide a more reasonably priced service for the rest of their customers.
    If you, like me, need more bandwidth than that, you should look at other plans or other providers. It's capitalism baby, and it's a wonderful thing.
    • lordigor, on 05/08/2008, -0/+8"so that they can provide a more reasonably priced service for the rest of their customers."

      right, comcast will lower prices of everyone once this goes into effect. then they'll open up the doors to their corporate headquarters and out will fly raindbows and unicorns.
      • buddyw, on 05/08/2008, -7/+1Maybe they will raise prices less, that is not the point. Let me simplfy:

        - Private Company
        - Capitalist Country
        - Ability to get Internet elsewhere
        • slick519, on 05/08/2008, -1/+7(very limited) ability to get internet elsewhere, due to the infrastructure broadband internet needs.
    • slick519, on 05/08/2008, -0/+8you are stupid. the reasonable and fair thing to do would be offer a very inexpensive package for the emailers/occasional web goers.

      what comcast is proposing is just mean. i am probably just bitter because a 250GB cap would DESTROY my ratios on all mah sweet trackers.
  • atbnet, on 05/08/2008, -5/+3I wouldn't mind a large limit if they increased the speeds overall. I usually do around 200-230 GB a month and faster speeds could free up my lines.
    • jerrycurley, on 05/08/2008, -6/+2you COULD instead get a life. Get some human friends.
      • atbnet, on 05/08/2008, -0/+7Do you think I sit here and inspect each GB as it goes by? Maybe you should get a brain.
  • spyders, on 05/08/2008, -4/+20Here in Australia, we have almost always had to live with monthly bandwidth caps, both on ADSL, Cable and wireless. Speed throttling or exhorbitant excess charges follow if you exceed your cap. There are almost no "all-you-can-eat" plans from any ISP here.

    I'm currentl on a 100Gb per month cap, speed throttled after exceeding cap, ADSL 1 (8M up, 384k down - no ADSL 2 from my ISP in my area yet), costing me AUD$179 a month. At least my ISP doesn't count uploads in that cap.

    250Gb monthly plan and $1.50 per gig after that would be pretty sweet to us.

    I feel your pain guys, but in perspective, it's not as bad as it could be. Sorry.
    • jjjjjjb, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2To be pedantic: I believe you mean 8M down, 384k up.
    • ryanlerch, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1Yeah, our interwebs are too expensive down here... Same for games too...
  • smacksaw, on 05/08/2008, -6/+9"hitting the pipe really hard"

    What do they care about people's pot usage?
  • dcox2004, on 05/08/2008, -3/+4California tried this tactic with their highways: If you don't build it, they won't come. Turns out they were wrong. Things just keep getting slower and less usable for everyone. The fact of the mater is, the Internet is the future of communication, and people are going to consume ever larger bandwidths. Rather than trying to fight the inevitable, and ending up craptastic (Hi California!!!!), we need to embrace it and move forward. If we don't someone else will, and we'll get to watch their success from the sidelines.
    • jerrycurley, on 05/08/2008, -3/+2And in the future, things will adapt. But the fact of hte matter is, in 2008, if you are using 250 Gig per month, then you are running a server from your home and should not be paying the same amount that the 99% of hte users who actually HAVE a life are paying. Again...I don't want to have to pay for the fact that you will never have a girlfriend in your life.
      • RonBurgundy76, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Dear Douche,
        I use ~200gb per month. I run a server. I also work full time and have a family and have a pretty nice life. I get laid a lot more than you do, too, apparently.

        You, on the other hand only do one thing well: and that is fail.
  • Shootfast, on 05/08/2008, -3/+13Come down to Australia, where some providers get off on offering 250mb a month...
    • hongkongjapie, on 05/08/2008, -0/+3Agree, there are three things that suck down under:
      Broadband, Red Tape and Stingers. I consider myself lucky that i moved to new house where i could get naked adsl2+, it's at least cheaper than plain adsl but still expensive to what i was used in the netherlands and of course with cap (going for 20GB, sigh)
    • dazparkour, on 05/08/2008, -1/+5Yeah, but that is ~180 floppies. It's cruel to ask kangaroos to carry more than that.
  • lordigor, on 05/08/2008, -3/+5i'm so glad i switched over to FiOS from comcast two months ago. I'm actually getting the speed I pay for instead of 2mbps on the 6mbps service, and I don't have to deal with my connection dropping every week, or this "we hate our customers" crap.
  • aimhelix, on 05/08/2008, -0/+10If FiOS (Ver) is smart - this might be the time to capitalize vs. cable, since Comcast is considering practicing 'assholery.
    • radink360, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2considering it? they've been practicing assholes for some time now.
    • employeeno5, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Too bad FiOS still isn't widely available compared to Comcast's coverage. I'm looking into my Comcast alternatives as we speak. We don't buy cable TV at our apartment, just internet.
      I'm afraid that Comcast might genuinely be my only highspeed internet option though. I might consider a DSL service if they really do this though, or just leech off of the free City Wifi.

      I'm happy to pay good money for a fast a reliable connection. I will not pay for any capped service though. I'll switch to slower internet and public access before I do that.
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 100 of 126 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.