Confessions (And Worries) Of A Bandwidth Hog

from the what-to-do? dept

I mentioned recently my concerns about tiered broadband pricing models. In general, I think they take away the incentive for a real killer app to come along and make broadband a "must have" instead of a "nice to have". However, plenty of people have been trying to convince me that I'm wrong - and I'd say I'm back on the fence about the issue. I certainly see the arguments saying that the small percentage who use up so much bandwidth should pay up for it. A Washington Post columnist, however, is an admitted bandwidth hog and is worried about how her bill might start rising. She called up a number of cable companies, though, and they all claim their plans are to offer "discount" plans off of the current offerings. So, instead of penalizing high-end users, the plan is to offer more "value conscious" users a reason to upgrade to a (slower) broadband offering. I'd say this is a smart move, but it doesn't mean things won't change in the future.
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  • identicon
    kger, 20 Jun 2002 @ 5:34am

    Underlying fear of the providers?

    I would bet that one of the underlying fears of the cable companies and DSL providers is the rapid deployment of wireless networks in homes. A subscriber (especially in an apartment or condominium building) could easily allow access to his neighbors. By charging several people a fraction of the monthly cost, the cost to the subscriber is reduced or even nullified. Meanwhile, the usage for that single access point goes way up over the norm.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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