How much should we pay for the internet? Should we pay by our usage or a flat rate? Three companies want to start charging for usage and they are Time Warner Cable, Comcast and AT&T. Time Warner is now doing a trial in Texas and new customers selected a monthly plan and pay charges when they exceeded their bandwidth.
Comcast wants to slow down the connection for people who have the heaviest use at peak times. AT&T stated limits were invitable.
Time Warner's trial had the following plans 5 gigabyte cap, 20 gigabyte cap or 40 gigabyte cap. The price ranged from $30 to $50. One Netflix download could bring a user to the limit and if your like me and watch television on channels like CBS when I miss an episode you will reach the limit watching 5 television shows.
Many of you maybe thinking this doesn't affect me, as you don't have service with these companies. Services like Vonage and Skype can go over the monthly usage.
Do you play games, streaming video and do file sharing? If so, then expect to pay more when providers start charging us by usage. I know based on my activity online I'll be paying more. Presently, my family pays $34 and three people do many activies online including almost all of the activies I have mentioned in this article. We don't use Netflix, but use a different service to watch movies. My family would end up with the $50 charge. This may not sound like much, but it would mean almost $200 more a year for our internet connection.
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Comments: 30
Thanks for sharing
We pay over $60 for satilight ...better not .......I then only use it for paying bills.
and keeping touch with family. A Lot of online business 's will hurt.
I use to live in your city as a child Faith. You have lots of green plants and rain. I miss the lower prices and zero sales tax. I grew up in a city about 30 miles from you and even attended college up there.
I will try and find more information, as I'm on Roadrunner through Time Warner.
All four of us, including my wife and two kids, may be on line at the same time through a DSL.
Thanks for the article.
I have another article sitting here that I know you will enjoy. I didn't post it today (Monday), as the drive bye bad ratings have always bothered me and my day started at 7:00am, so I'm tired. Just so you know its about cars, as I do post a lot of fluff discussions in between my great discussions that should be a 10.
Have a good week everyone.