Last week we talked a bit about Time Warner Cable's upcoming 'tiered pricing' trials for broadband access. We weren't the only ones alarmed by the plan. Congressman Eric Massa of New York (Rochester, NY, is one of the planned 'trial cities') is in the process of drafting "The Massa Broadband Internet Fairness Act" which is designed to "prohibit unfair tiered price structures from internet providers." Congressman Massa said, "I am taking a leadership position on this issue because of all the phone calls, emails and faxes I've received from my district and all over the country." and added "They [TWC] have yet to explain how increased internet usage increases their costs."
These are early days (the draft isn't even completed yet) but we can hope this sends a message to Time Warner Cable. The basis for Congressman Massa's involvement seems to be that for many customers, TWC is their only option for broadband internet access: "And while I favor a business's right to maximize their profit potential, I believe safeguards must be put in place when a business has a monopoly on a specific region," he said.
You can read the entire statement on Congressman Massa's website.
So what do you think? Should government be involved in this process? Or should we let the law of supply and demand dictate whether Time Warner Cable's new system succeeds or not? I'm normally a fan of less, not more, government, but in a case like this where so many people have no alternative to using TWC, and at a time when so much progress is being made online, I think government intervention is warranted.
Please leave a comment telling us what you think.
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The government should
The government should definitely step in because Time Warner is holding a monopoly. TWC is bringing the caps to Rochester, NY, Austin and San Antonio, TX, and Greensboro, NC in addition to Beaumont TX because the competition in those cities can't match roadrunner. There is limited or no FiOS availability in the cities.I live in Rochester and TWC is my ISP. Here is the competition:
Frontier - slower, less reliable
Dial-up - BlueFrog, PeoplePC, whatever else is out there
ClearWire - spotty
If the cap isn't stopped, I, along with many users will be switching ISPs.
The CEO, Glenn Britt, claimed it's because of the costs they had to continuously upgrade their infrastructure. I'm guessing they won't go back to the pricing plans available now once they buy whatever machines they need.
They "tested" (I say "tested" because regardless of the results, TWC was going to go ahead with this because they would stand to make a profit.) this cap in Beaumont, TX last year.
The pricing isn't even thought out. Here they are if you don't know it:
5GB for $30
10GB for $40
20GB for $50
40GB for $65
100GB to be determined.
$1 per additional GB
So, for an additional 5GB, it'll cost $5. I know it's overage, but for the lowest plan, 5GB will cost $30. The whole thing is ridiculous, they have it backwards - charging too much for so little.
Also, if you choose the 5GB plan and go over 5GB, it'll cost $35 for 10GB. Their 10GB a month plan costs $40. This works up until about 20-30GB total($45-$55). That is a range because they don't have a 30GB plan.
These prices are "estimates," but I don't think people will be happy with whatever TWC chooses. I hope they're not going to do an Apple-like move and announce these prices, only to cut them soon so that the customers are less angry; not happy, but less angry.
I used to have dial-up for $10 a month and had a way bigger limit than 5GB.
TWC recently announced that the unlimited plan that costs $40, would cost $150 under the new plan.
Within the last 5-9 months, RoadRunner just raised the prices, and now they're asking for more. I'm paying as much as a month as FiOS would cost me if they were here. That $40 is not what I'm paying, and I have the Standard package/plan.
What I'm doing:
Using as much bandwidth as I can, while I can
Opening up my wifi for other people, and extending the range with low-cost signal boosters($1-2 featured on Tekzilla).
Signing petitions
What I will be doing:
1. Calling/emailing (a lot) complaints to TWC and the general attorney
2. Calling (a lot) Verizon to bring FiOS here
3. Calling state legislators, congress people and lawmakers
4. Attending a rally/protest
5. Dropping TWC as my internet provider
I'm all for businesses making money, but it has to stop somewhere. AT&T just announced they're going to be "testing" in Beaumont, TX as well with $1 per GB overage fees. This is a horrible decision, especially since the economy's in such bad shape.
I just wanted to correct
I just wanted to correct that I have the either the Basic or Standard. I'm not sure which.Thanks very much for all the
Thanks very much for all the info, Chris Y. It's great to hear someone being directly impacted by all of this.You might find this site to be of some use for tracking all that's going on with the situation: http://stopthecap.com/
Good luck!