Comcast charging for heavy data use in 15 states

[onehandle]

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

Comcast Corp., one of the nation's largest home broadband providers, has expanded consumer trials to 15 states that charge Xfinity Internet subscribers extra fees if they stream many hours of online video or run through vast amounts of data.

The Comcast trials have rekindled a debate over whether the cable and telco industries should impose "data caps" on Internet users.

Data caps punish heavy Internet video streamers, or Netflix and Hulu users, while protecting cable-TV bundles, critics say.

But Comcast and other broadband providers say they are charging "bandwidth hogs" for the burdens they place on their networks. Comcast has set its monthly usage cap at 300 gigabits. The median Comcast Xfinity customer consumes about 40 gigabits, the company says.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20151105_Comcast_charging_for_heavy_data_use_in_15_states.html

[Sunlei]

1. Our country needs free internet access for all to cut out these profiteers.

[yeoman6987]

2. I knew this would happen. All the cable internet providers will do this

When everyone started cutting cord, I knew this wouldn't end well. I kept cable and still use about 220. I guess I am a hog as they say. I don't have a hardline but don't see a deduction in my cable bill for it. Same for those who don't have cable in a few years.

[Sunlei]

4. It is ridiculous. Once an internet access service line is in, it should be open 24/7.

[yeoman6987]

10. I agree but in reality that will not t happen

When cable companies went from 150 a month to 50-70 a month due to cord cutters. They weren't going to stand for that long.

[BlueJazz]

3. 300 gigabits? That's only about 1 1/4 Gigabytes per day. Not sure I understand what they're saying

[IDemo]

6. They're saying that they don't speak digital n/t

[BlueJazz]

11. Ah.... Thanks!

[padfun]

12. More like 10 G's per day

300/30

[sharp_stick]

5. We've been averaging about 200 GB a month

pretty heavy use with Netflix, HULU and lots of WiFi.

I can see people getting over 300 pretty easily.

[EL34x4]

9. 600-800 GB a month in our house.

We rarely watch cable TV. We have streaming devices on 3 TVs. Fortunately, Comcast isn't charging us extra. I expect soon they will. I'm hoping they will offer a premium package for unlimited GB. I'll pay the extra and not have to worry about metering usage.

[kimbutgar]

7. Most of the people I work with now no longer have cable and stream Netflix on their computers.

I would rather pay for my satellite Dish than go out to an expensive dinner personally once a month.

[Duval]

8. Comcast! The great Corp who bought

MSNBC and almost destroyed the liberal talk in the evenings, i.e.: Ed Schultz, Al Sharpton, etc.

[restorefreedom]

13. yup. the backlash has begun

we had to know they were not going to take cord cutting lying down. They figure people are going to ditch cable television in favor of Netflix or Hulu, they'll just make up the difference by charging more for the access.

[geomon666]

14. Already complained to the FCC early last month about this.

After the first week of October brought me my first warning pop up that I was about to go over my monthly limit. Thankfully, as a hostage to Comcast because they own a monopoly in my area, I'm entitled to pay an extra $30 tax a month to remove the data cap.

Hang on to that monopoly for dear life Comcast because as soon as you lose it, you're losing me as a customer. And that's exactly what I told them on the phone too when they called me about my complaint to the FCC.