Time Warner increases bandwidth caps to above 40 GB

It's all so confusing. I don't know what I'll need in regards to speed and bandwidth in the near future. I know I'm terribly unhappy now at 1792 kbps DSL download with no cap. I'd like to stream HD while my daughter researches data and my son plays PS3 online.

So, anyone here from Beaumont, Texas to tell us how it is?

Just out of mingled curiosity, I looked up my own bandwidth last month (I live in Canada). Over 500 gigs at 39.99 per month, primarily bc I like to get stuff from the Blu-Ray newsgroup alt.binaries.hdtv

I can't imagine why Americans aren't rioting in the streets over this. I guess maybe there are a lot of dull sheeple out there who shell out money to Time Warner and only check their email. What dolts.

Originally posted by windsong:

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So, anyone here from Beaumont, Texas to tell us how it is?

Just out of mingled curiosity, I looked up my own bandwidth last month (I live in Canada). Over 500 gigs at 39.99 per month, primarily bc I like to get stuff from the Blu-Ray newsgroup alt.binaries.hdtv

I can't imagine why Americans aren't rioting in the streets over this. I guess maybe there are a lot of dull sheeple out there who shell out money to Time Warner and only check their email. What dolts.

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I lived in Beaumont before for about 4 years. It's not a very high-tech town.

You can't sell bandwidth not in the modern digital age, you can however sell plans based on speed.

I understand but dislike these caps, what if i had a cell phone that i had unlimited minutes but they can cut me off when they feel in an un determined minute usage?

It is most likely that the people who are using over the limits are the ones doing illegal stuff! its hard to complain when what you are doing is not right! What sucks is as usual a few bad people ruin it for everyone else! Illegal torrent users (i now all torrents are NOT illegal) are killing it for legit torrent & streaming video users! Just like DRM! All this BS protection to piss off the good along with the bad!

Originally posted by ripxrush:

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I understand but dislike these caps, what if i had a cell phone that i had unlimited minutes but they can cut me off when they feel in an un determined minute usage?

It is most likely that the people who are using over the limits are the ones doing illegal stuff! its hard to complain when what you are doing is not right! What sucks is as usual a few bad people ruin it for everyone else! Illegal torrent users (i now all torrents are NOT illegal) are killing it for legit torrent & streaming video users! Just like DRM! All this BS protection to piss off the good along with the bad!

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Add up how much daily gaming online and video and music streaming amount to, it can easily pass 40GB, not to mention program updates and random virus, the only way they could find a revenue stream in bandwidth that would not destroy their consumers is if they charged 10$ for every 100GB.

I agree with you ZippyDSM, especially if you live in a house of gamers and other tech-savvy people.

40GB is definitely not enough and 250GB (Comcast's limit) looks fair for now but in the future when HD streaming/downloading really starts going mainstream their 250GB cap is going to look like Time Warner's current one.

While I am not defending caps, I haven't hit Comcast's limit despite a decent amount of movie and FLAC downloading as well as a decent amount of online gaming. I wouldn't be surprised if I did end up hitting it at the very end of the month but we will see.

Originally posted by Pop_Smith:

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I agree with you ZippyDSM, especially if you live in a house of gamers and other tech-savvy people.

40GB is definitely not enough and 250GB (Comcast's limit) looks fair for now but in the future when HD streaming/downloading really starts going mainstream their 250GB cap is going to look like Time Warner's current one.

While I am not defending caps, I haven't hit Comcast's limit despite a decent amount of movie and FLAC downloading as well as a decent amount of online gaming. I wouldn't be surprised if I did end up hitting it at the very end of the month but we will see.

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Would I be wrong in thinking all of this is due to cable systems havering a free for all type distribution system and not a caped to account/box system?

Heres what they should do lower the cable net price to 25$ a month if it goes over 100GB a month add 35 bucks to the bill.

60$ a month for unlimited is not so bad. But truly I think they need proper plan rates based around speed.

Haha American's and Canadians have fast internet. Be happy you don't live in Australia where Telstra has a monoply and charges other ISPs for line use which in turn costs you more if you don't use Telstra.

I'm on a unlimited or "liberty" plan We have "super fast" Intermet. says Telstra. Don't make me laugh. It's not unlimited. They just don't charge you per megabyte when you go over 12 GBs which is what I'm on for $60 AUD a month. Instead they shape you to dial up speeds and say it will speed up next month, which it doesn't. So you can forget about torrenting, and any gaming or streaming for that matter

Rudd reckons he's going to upgrade the network but what use is that when the government's going to do a nationwide isp filter?

So just be thankful you don't live here heheh.

I just wish Time Warner would come out already and come up with the bandwidth cap number. 40GB is ridiculous and I would be forced to switch service. I think it's hilarious everytime I called in they always ask me "do you want to upgrade to roadrunner turbo for 10 dollars more per month?". Now I ask WHAT FOR? So I'll have even more speed to go over the cap faster and be charged more money quicker? Of course I upgraded to turbo months ago, and easily go over One Terabyte in downloads with no so much as an email from Time Warner. I have a feeling those days will soon be over though and I'd like to have a set number from the company to know what I need to stay under.

Originally posted by ZippyDSM:

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Would I be wrong in thinking all of this is due to cable systems havering a free for all type distribution system and not a caped to account/box system?

Heres what they should do lower the cable net price to 25$ a month if it goes over 100GB a month add 35 bucks to the bill.

60$ a month for unlimited is not so bad. But truly I think they need proper plan rates based around speed.

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I am not sure how to comment on that first part but I agree with the second part. $25 for 100GB and if you go over they automatically add $35 and give you unlimited bandwidth.

I think the only time they should say something to you is if you are using near 1TB (>899GB) worth of bandwidth for more than two months over a six month rolling period.

With current file sizes, more than likely something illegal is probably going on if you hit ~1TB in monthly traffic.

Peace

I am not sure how to comment on that first part but I agree with the second part. $25 for 100GB and if you go over they automatically add $35 and give you unlimited bandwidth.

I think the only time they should say something to you is if you are using near 1TB (>899GB) worth of bandwidth for more than two months over a six month rolling period.

With current file sizes, more than likely something illegal is probably going on if you hit ~1TB in monthly traffic.

Peace

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If they're going to give the user unlimited bandwidth for an additional $35, then 1TB in monthly traffic is irrelevant. If you're going to give someone unlimited bandwidth, then it should be just that. It should be how ever much I can download 24/7 for the entire month. I don't care if it adds up to 5TB, if you say it's unlimited then nothing should be said about how much I've downloaded with it. If they do offer an unlimited plan and really can't handle just how much data I can download with their premium speed, then perhaps they should only offer a capped speed on an unlimited bandwidth plan. Then they can regular the max amount of data downloaded properly.

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Originally posted by ZippyDSM:

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Would I be wrong in thinking all of this is due to cable systems havering a free for all type distribution system and not a caped to account/box system?

Heres what they should do lower the cable net price to 25$ a month if it goes over 100GB a month add 35 bucks to the bill.

60$ a month for unlimited is not so bad. But truly I think they need proper plan rates based around speed.

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I am not sure how to comment on that first part but I agree with the second part. $25 for 100GB and if you go over they automatically add $35 and give you unlimited bandwidth.

I think the only time they should say something to you is if you are using near 1TB (>899GB) worth of bandwidth for more than two months over a six month rolling period.

With current file sizes, more than likely something illegal is probably going on if you hit ~1TB in monthly traffic.

Peace

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The first part is based from what lil info I have regarding cable internet infrastructure it was made as hub'd service with little box top box control, of coarse over time they systems have been devolved to control speed and monitor account usage. But the systems make using plan rates (200/400/1200KBPS,ect) cumbersome.

So in a typical corporate fashion instead of changing for the better they find ways to create a revenue stream from the services in place.

Through it is my understanding they can create plans/plan rates now adays with minimal fuss they just want to try the maximum revenue setups before going with a more consumer friendly option.

This is crazy. I consider internet to be a utility. If the water company came over and said you can use the water but when you go over 4 gallons, you have to pay an increased fee. Furthermore, no other utility throttles service due to use. I am so damn glad I have clear wimax in portland.

Originally posted by Burnasty:

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This is crazy. I consider internet to be a utility. If the water company came over and said you can use the water but when you go over 4 gallons, you have to pay an increased fee. Furthermore, no other utility throttles service due to use. I am so damn glad I have clear wimax in portland.

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I would consider it much like a landline phone. Instead of paying for long distance or call waiting, we are paying for speed. After all, speed is the REASON they are able to charge the outrageous prices they have been fleecing consumers with for years.

Think about it for a second. When you were paying $25 a month for dialup, paying $30-40 to get a HIGH SPEED connection seemed reasonable. Also, broadband was less available, so you would think that the price is justified by limited supply, which is no longer the case, so why on earth am I paying MORE now for the same thing? It's not like the US is setup like other countries with MUCH faster connections.

Originally posted by windsong:

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So, anyone here from Beaumont, Texas to tell us how it is?

Just out of mingled curiosity, I looked up my own bandwidth last month (I live in Canada). Over 500 gigs at 39.99 per month, primarily bc I like to get stuff from the Blu-Ray newsgroup alt.binaries.hdtv

I can't imagine why Americans aren't rioting in the streets over this. I guess maybe there are a lot of dull sheeple out there who shell out money to Time Warner and only check their email. What dolts.

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500 GIGS??????????????

You're a pirating thief!!! Ever bought ANYTHING? LEACH!

You keep in mind that in America, most markets are monopolized by 1 provider. Sheeple my ass. Sheeple aren't geographically attached. Compared to me and my way of thinking, you're probably a sheeple. Either that or a massive thief. I will say one thing for Americans............give us a choice and we will sure as damn HELL choose the better of the two. So pipe down leacher of society. 500 gigs. Loser AND a leacher. Get a life and pay for something.

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Originally posted by windsong:

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So, anyone here from Beaumont, Texas to tell us how it is?

Just out of mingled curiosity, I looked up my own bandwidth last month (I live in Canada). Over 500 gigs at 39.99 per month, primarily bc I like to get stuff from the Blu-Ray newsgroup alt.binaries.hdtv

I can't imagine why Americans aren't rioting in the streets over this. I guess maybe there are a lot of dull sheeple out there who shell out money to Time Warner and only check their email. What dolts.

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There is a sheeple mentality in "getting by" and consume media just for something to do however if we had more options we would take the better advertised ones.

500 GIGS??????????????

You're a pirating thief!!! Ever bought ANYTHING? LEACH!

You keep in mind that in America, most markets are monopolized by 1 provider. Sheeple my ass. Sheeple aren't geographically attached. Compared to me and my way of thinking, you're probably a sheeple. Either that or a massive thief. I will say one thing for Americans............give us a choice and we will sure as damn HELL choose the better of the two. So pipe down leacher of society. 500 gigs. Loser AND a leacher. Get a life and pay for something.

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If you need 250 gigs, your obviously a massive pirate and really don't need 250 gigs.

Not sure why Americans are rioting in the streets. I pay $50 for 50 gigabytes and if you go over you get cut down to dial up speeds until the next month. Thats a pretty good deal in Australia.

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Originally posted by windsong:

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So, anyone here from Beaumont, Texas to tell us how it is?

Just out of mingled curiosity, I looked up my own bandwidth last month (I live in Canada). Over 500 gigs at 39.99 per month, primarily bc I like to get stuff from the Blu-Ray newsgroup alt.binaries.hdtv

I can't imagine why Americans aren't rioting in the streets over this. I guess maybe there are a lot of dull sheeple out there who shell out money to Time Warner and only check their email. What dolts.

---

500 GIGS??????????????

You're a pirating thief!!! Ever bought ANYTHING? LEACH!

You keep in mind that in America, most markets are monopolized by 1 provider. Sheeple my ass. Sheeple aren't geographically attached. Compared to me and my way of thinking, you're probably a sheeple. Either that or a massive thief. I will say one thing for Americans............give us a choice and we will sure as damn HELL choose the better of the two. So pipe down leacher of society. 500 gigs. Loser AND a leacher. Get a life and pay for something.

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Haha, you fail at life. Maybe I will download 700gigs next month just for spite. And upload 500gigs to the hdtv group.
Because I CAN.

And, incidentally, its spelled "leecher", not "leacher". Learn to spell before spewing your verbal diarrhea all over the board.

And for anyone else wondering, 80% of what is posted to alt.binaries.hdtv is NOT blu-ray, but rather .ts films (transport streams) capped from HDTV. I got LOTR, Star Wars, Breakdown, Dead Man, and countless others, that are not released on Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. And yet script monkeys like "looser" are gonna tell me to send money to Fat George Lucas so he can get more compensation? Pardon me a minute....RETCH!!!

Trying to figure out what is a fair price and what isn't isn't going to get you anywhere...

Bottom line, If they are going to put caps then they need to quit advertising UNLIMITED so that the ISP's who are NOT capping users will be on an even playing field.

If an ISP is going to sell me unlimited then it damn well better be unlimited.
If they feel the need to change their pricing plans then so-be-it. Let 'em compete with everyone else.

Netflix tried to do this and got slammed...

Originally posted by ZippyDSM:

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You can't sell bandwidth not in the modern digital age, you can however sell plans based on speed.

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I don't understand that. Thats like saying you can't sell cell phone plans based off of minutes, water utilities based off of water used, gas utilities based off of gas usage, etc.

If anything, I'd hope that in the digital age, "as fast as possible" is the norm. Whether you transfer 500gb or 5gb a month, nobody wants to wait forever. Use more, pay more. That makes sense imo.

Quote:

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Originally posted by ZippyDSM:

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You can't sell bandwidth not in the modern digital age, you can however sell plans based on speed.

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I don't understand that. Thats like saying you can't sell cell phone plans based off of minutes, water utilities based off of water used, gas utilities based off of gas usage, etc.

If anything, I'd hope that in the digital age, "as fast as possible" is the norm. Whether you transfer 500gb or 5gb a month, nobody wants to wait forever. Use more, pay more. That makes sense imo.

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I already DO pay more for unlimited. My ISP charges 29 for a 200 gig cap here in Ontario and 30 for an unlimited plan.

Then again, maybe the government and tree-hugger groups will start charging people for how many breaths of air they intake per minute (carbon footprint and all that).

Maybe I shouldn't tempt them..they'd probably try and ram that through legislation!

I pay $50 NZD (or $26) a month for unlimited bandwidth and download speed. But the download speed maxes out around 400kbs lol

don't get to happy yet about this is may not be a fair amount.

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So, anyone here from Beaumont, Texas to tell us how it is?

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I am running from the Beaumont TX TW line and I believe since I signed up years ago im still unlimited and it is only for new customers.

What is it with all of the Australia people constantly reminding everyone of how much their isps suck? This whole bandwidth capping mess is pertaining to the U.S. In the United States Of America, ISPs have gotten everyone use to an all you can eat buffet of bandwidth for a set price. This is why there is such an uproar. Comparing our situation with Australia's is Irrelevant. We live in the U.S., NOT AUSTRALIA. Constantly saying how the US users should realize how good they have it is ridiculous. ISPs here in the last few years have been making speeds faster and advertising such to get people to pay for that high speed. Now, realizing that their equipment can't quite handle the load, instead of ponying up some of that money to upgrade their infrastructure, they'd rather find a way to overcharge their customers. If the ISPs in the U.S. would have placed a bandwidth cap from day one, then that would be another story. However, they get everyone hooked on this fast speed and then simply want to find a way to suck more money of out their customers.

Originally posted by AlmostOz:

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If you need 250 gigs, your obviously a massive pirate and really don't need 250 gigs.

Not sure why Americans are rioting in the streets. I pay $50 for 50 gigabytes and if you go over you get cut down to dial up speeds until the next month. Thats a pretty good deal in Australia.

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Hmm, if you happy with youre 50 giggs, good for you! Keep youre oblivious opinion to yourself. Youre statement only crys attention.

i use to be stuck with a 50 gig limit when i was with a small rural american ISP for 50 bucks a month, that stung. and they didnt charge you extra for more usage, they straight up CUT YOU OFF after you went over twice. and no other high speed in the area aside from sat, so if you f#ck up your left high and dry with dialup.

but now i live in nyc and i get unlimited half megabit bandwidth for 40 bucks a month tacked on to my bundle. its actually kinda a good deal.

EDIT: half megabit speeds in reality when dling from warez sources, i think they said we had 6mb cable. most i have seen is one megabit from microsoft.com.

I moved to the Beaumont,TX area in November 2008 and opted for the highest tier called Roadrunner Turbo which is supposed to be capped at 40GB/month. I had to have the highest tier because I work from home and I'm connected to the my office via VPN. I looked at my usage and surpassed by cap every month except November. Here is a list of my usage each month:
November 08 = 14.82 GB
December 08 = 77.79 GB
January 09 = 62.20 GB
February 09 = 24.89 GB so far

I was never charged an overage charge but I think this is because we are still in the testing phase or they are not charging me extra because I am already on the highest tier. I feel like I am pretty conservative in my internet usage. Alot of my usage is from my work. I do occasionally stream videos via youtube and other sites, I play some online games via xbox 360, and download software and the like. I am not downloading warez or bit torrents. I don't believe 40GB/month is a fair cap for most power users especially when other cable companies like Comcast are setting their caps at 250GB/month.

I am wondering if any one has figured out the amount of data coming into a house where HDTV is on most of the day ?