The Internet will never satisfy its lust for Net Neutrality and Bandwidth

Cox slows Internet speeds in entire neighborhoods [just] to punish [a few] heavy users

During these unprecedented times, many people are working and schooling from home, and maintaining connectivity is important. We are working to provide a positive Internet experience for everyone, so we've adjusted our Gigablast upload speeds in your neighborhood from 35Mbps to 10Mbps, now through July 15, 2020. Your download speeds have not changed
Could have spent the last few years upgrading capacity but noooooooo, gotta line those executive nests!
Just make it a utility already!

--Patrick
 
Charter tries to convince FCC that broadband customers want data caps
Charter isn't currently allowed to impose data caps because of conditions the FCC placed on its 2016 purchase of Time Warner Cable. The data-cap condition is scheduled to expire on May 18, 2023, but Charter in June petitioned the FCC to let the condition expire two years early, in May 2021. "Contrary to Stop The Cap's assertion [in an FCC filing] that consumers 'hate' data caps, the marketplace currently shows that broadband service plans incorporating data caps or other usage-based pricing mechanisms are often popular when the limits are sufficiently high to satisfy the vast majority of users," Charter told the FCC.
Yes, but the reason we consumers prefer those plans isn't because they have data caps, it's because those are the cheapest plans. DUH. They are reaching really hard.

--Patrick
 

figmentPez

Staff member
Charter tries to convince FCC that broadband customers want data caps

Yes, but the reason we consumers prefer those plans isn't because they have data caps, it's because those are the cheapest plans. DUH. They are reaching really hard.

--Patrick
Also, most people don't know enough to realize that cable companies are lying when they say the caps are necessary to provide good service. Customers would also report being in favor of a "blinking light surcharge" if they were told the alternative was having their Netflix be eaten by a grue. Consumer protections don't really mean much if they don't protect against companies preying on ignorance.
 
Actually, if that's wireless DSL, that's not a terrible deal. As long as you're not torrenting. But it's AT&T, so I know the service will be shitty. I got a buddy in the DFW Metroplex who has AT&T and it's abysmal.
18Mbps is hot trash.
 
Actually, if that's wireless DSL, that's not a terrible deal.
It's not. It's wired, landline DSL topping out at 18Mb/s. For $50/mo. The signal quality in my area is too poor even for DSL's normal 25Mb/s max. This is why I am currently paying Charter $70/mo for 100Mb/s. I would normally be getting 200Mb/s from Charter for that amount, but like I said, here at the end of the Earth where I live, they haven't upgraded their infrastructure enough yet to give me more than 100Mb/s.

--Patrick
 

GasBandit

Staff member
It's not. It's wired, landline DSL topping out at 18Mb/s. For $50/mo. The signal quality in my area is too poor even for DSL's normal 25Mb/s max. This is why I am currently paying Charter $70/mo for 100Mb/s. I would normally be getting 200Mb/s from Charter for that amount, but like I said, here at the end of the Earth where I live, they haven't upgraded their infrastructure enough yet to give me more than 100Mb/s.

--Patrick
As I said... that's about what Emrys pays for 10.

But yeah, if that's WIRED DSL, that's a shit deal.
 
T-Mobile is starting to offer "Wireless DSL" (i.e., data-only cellular) in our area, and I've considered it, if only as an alternate.

--Patrick
 
I have an ATT wireless hotspot. Adding it on to our plan only cost an extra $15 a month. We get about 60 down and 7 up. We also average around 450 gb a month and haven’t been charged or throttled yet.
 
I think I'd go apeshit if I had to go down to 18 Mb.
I have 220MB, and after opening the VPN and VDI for my work, my effective speed is around 5MB. It's a crying shame. I actually open most of the stuff I can open from outside of the network on my private PC simply because it is so much faster than my corporate PC, it's laughable and excruciating.
 
I just upgraded to 450mbps at home, and it feels a million times better. We’re both working from home and our daughter has school online, so the strain on our previous 45mbps internet was killing me. The best part is that the 450 from Comcast cost exactly the same as 45 from AT&T (fuck you!).

Being forced down to something like 18mbps just wouldn’t be an option.
 
SpaceX revealed their pricing for the Beta of their internet service... $500 one time fee and $100 a month.

No thanks. I wouldn’t pay that for a non-beta service, let alone one that may not even work reliably. I was really hoping this would be something that would kick the telcos in the ass and make them try to compete. Guess not.

The joys of rural internet.:(
 

GasBandit

Staff member
SpaceX revealed their pricing for the Beta of their internet service... $500 one time fee and $100 a month.

No thanks. I wouldn’t pay that for a non-beta service, let alone one that may not even work reliably. I was really hoping this would be something that would kick the telcos in the ass and make them try to compete. Guess not.

The joys of rural internet.:(
Depending on how "rural" you are, that's actually way better than most people can find, for 100 mbit and 30ms latency. I think people I know who are currently getting about 3mbit out there pay something like $90+ already.

Of course, it remains to be seen exactly how well it will actually work.
 
Depending on how "rural" you are, that's actually way better than most people can find, for 100 mbit and 30ms latency. I think people I know who are currently getting about 3mbit out there pay something like $90+ already.

Of course, it remains to be seen exactly how well it will actually work.
Yeah, I gotta agree... if this eliminates the last mile problem and actually brings high speed to rural locations, I know several places that would grab this in a heartbeat, even at that price.
 
Yeah, I know there are places that basically aren’t served at all, and this will be great for them. Those places were essentially not served at all before though, and I don’t think telcos will care if they leave. I’d just like some actual competition in my area, right now I’ll be paying $80 for 100 mb.
The bigger problem is still going to be the price, we’re talking places where people are mostly low income. There is no way they’ll be able to afford $500 up front. Hopefully that changes.
 

figmentPez

Staff member
Depending on how "rural" you are, that's actually way better than most people can find, for 100 mbit and 30ms latency. I think people I know who are currently getting about 3mbit out there pay something like $90+ already.

Of course, it remains to be seen exactly how well it will actually work.
Forget the speed and latency, what's the data cap? That's a huge deal for people currently on satellite internet. I have a friend who can't watch any streaming video when she's home at her parent's house, because her mom uses their entire cap for business video conferencing, and that's with a business internet account.
 
Forget the speed and latency, what's the data cap? That's a huge deal for people currently on satellite internet. I have a friend who can't watch any streaming video when she's home at her parent's house, because her mom uses their entire cap for business video conferencing, and that's with a business internet account.
If I remember correctly there weren’t any data caps.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Forget the speed and latency, what's the data cap? That's a huge deal for people currently on satellite internet. I have a friend who can't watch any streaming video when she's home at her parent's house, because her mom uses their entire cap for business video conferencing, and that's with a business internet account.
Cap info is still as of yet TBA.
 

It is inevitable. Embrace it. Stop pretending it isn't and get it over with already.

--Patrick
I'm sorry, but have you met capitalism? It will seek to squeeze every ounce of profit from it for as long as it can regardless of the harm done
 
I'm sorry, but have you met capitalism? It will seek to squeeze every ounce of profit from it for as long as it can regardless of the harm done
Speaking of which, it's been a busy week for Comcast:

Comcast Got $1 Billion in Public Subsidies. Now Its Charging the Public New Data Fees.

Comcast raising TV and Internet prices, including a big hike to hidden fees.

Comcast completing rollout of 1.2TB data cap over the rest of its service area that didn't already have one.

I may have some ideas as to which issues I want the new administration to tackle over the coming 4 years.

--Patrick
 
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