Verizon Begins 'Testing' DSL Usage Caps It Refuses To Call Usage Caps
from the tightening-the-noose dept
For years now broadband providers have used a lack of competition to impose all manner of obnoxious additional fees on the backs of broadband consumers. That includes arbitrary and obnoxious usage caps and overage charges, which not only raise rates on captive customers, but quite intentionally make using streaming video competitors more expensive and cumbersome. Once caps are in place, large ISPs often exempt their own content from usage caps while still penalizing streaming competitors (aka zero rating).
ISPs used to claim that such limits were necessary to manage network congestion, but as that argument was increasingly debunked (caps don't actually help manage congestion) they've shifted their justifications to more flimsy alternatives. These days, ISPs usually offer no justification at all, or issue vague declarations that they're simply trying to help users "better understand their consumption habits."
Case in point: Verizon DSL customers in Virginia recently began noticing language on Verizon's website indicating that the company's already expensive (and slow) DSL service will now face ambiguous "usage" limitations depending on the speed of your tier. While caps are now pretty common among cable ISPs, it's the first time Verizon has begun flirting with such limits:
For some context: Verizon has long been trying to get rid of DSL customers it doesn't want to upgrade so it can spend more of its time focused on slinging ads at Millennials via its new Oath (Yahoo and AOL) brand. It has been doing this by either refusing to repair and upgrade these users, or by constantly imposing rate hikes on lines that can't even get close to the FCC's 25 Mbps definition of actual "broadband." Because regulations require they keep servicing these lines (since most were taxpayer subsidized), they've had to engage in more creative methods to drive users off of them.
When I pressed Verizon as to why the company felt the need to impose any "usage" restrictions upon slow, over-priced DSL lines at all, it first informed me that these aren't caps because they aren't being enforced (yet). It then tried to claim that the company was simply trying to help consumers "see their usage":
"We're not applying data caps, overage fees or any sort of restrictions on DSL customers," Verizon claims. "There is a small trial in Virginia of displaying data usage in customer billing. It affects less than 2,000 homes over three remote terminals. But while the customers are shown data allowances of 150-250 GB, none of them are charged if they exceed those amounts."..."We've never had a way for these customers to see their usage," a company spokesman added, stating this is "just a very small trial with that." "Lots of cable companies display broadband data usage to customers even though they don't impose data caps. I'm afraid this isn't as exciting as you think," the spokesperson argued.
But there's simply no legitimate reason for Verizon to even be hinting at usage caps. The company's DSL lines are so slow, the cost of providing the service is largely negligible, and the volume of bandwidth these lines consume are largely irrelevant. And if the company really wanted users to understand their consumption, it could have simply provided an actual usage meter that mirrors the meters you often see on routers or the OS. So why is Verizon doing this?
As ISPs flirt with usage caps, usually they'll first employ "soft caps" (read; intially unenforced) and a usage meter (usually inaccurate) aimed at "educating" users on their monthly bandwidth consumption. This usually warms consumers up to later efforts at hard caps and overage fees (usually around $10 per each additional 50 GB). It's like the boiling frog anecdote: once users are ok with the idea of such restrictions, ISPs can then tighten the noose slowly to further monetize these users -- with less of a backlash if than if you'd simply imposed hard caps from the start.
But in this case Verizon didn't even bother to offer users an actual usage meter showing their usage. I pressed Verizon as to why, if it's simply concerned about consumers understanding their usage, it didn't just provide users with an actual bandwidth meter? Why even use language hinting at usage limits at all? It's at that point the company stopped responding to my inquiries.
Again, Verizon has made it abundantly, repeatedly clear that it doesn't want to keep these DSL users as the company shifts focus. For Verizon, the goal is either to drive them to Verizon Wireless, or to a cable competitor (that in many instances will upsell them to a Verizon Wireless service bundle anyway). The very worst case scenario for Verizon is these users stick around and wind up paying even more money for last-generation DSL. "Educating consumers" is traditionally the very last thing on an ISP exec's mind when a company begins flirting with this kind of language.
It's pretty clear Verizon was experimenting with the idea of caps and simply hoped the limited footprint meant nobody would notice. And with net neutrality now formally slated to expire June 11, there's going to be a lot more "experimentation" where this came from.
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Filed Under: broadband, broadband caps, competition, dsl, usage caps
Companies: verizon
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Verizon can do what it wants
No matter how much public land it uses or public money it takes to build out those networks, ownership in an inviolate right.
Grant money is like a gift - no backsies.
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Re: Verizon can do what it wants
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Re: Re: Verizon can do what it wants
Because all government is bad - except when they are enforcing copyright.
/s
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Re: Re: Re: Verizon can do what it wants
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Re: Re: Verizon can do what it wants
Treat them as sincere until proven otherwise.
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Re: Re: Verizon can do what it wants
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Re: Verizon can do what it wants
Sure, they are free to do as they please. But they will have to face the consequences.
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Re: Re: Verizon can do what it wants
We've seen almost zero consequences for any of the telecom/ISP antics since the Ma Bell split 30+ years ago.
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If there are no data caps, why would a customer care about their usage?
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Re:
It could help users figure out the value of the service. My ISP (Ebox in Canada) shows the usage on each bill, broken into daytime/nighttime and download/upload. It clearly shows it's unlimited—they offer capped and uncapped plans, and some people might see they could save a few bucks a month by switching to a capped one. Or when I see a Bell ad for a service with some small cap like 250 GB, I know that's not even worth considering.
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I have unlimited data, but I am still interested so I know there is at least one who is... besides that they could put the numbers online for general use in statistics and research (without any identifiable information ofc.).
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This is the sort of thing that makes me glad I live somewhere with somewhat effective regulation. I'd expect that demanding that you stay within prescribed metered limits but refusing to give you any way to see if you've exceeded those limited would be against consumer protection laws. Even if not, DSL loop unbundling and the like mean that I have effective competition even if DSL was my only broadband option.
Oh, and bandwidth caps or no, those prices and speeds are frigging horrendous in 2018.
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So Verizon is trying their hands at comedy now?
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Re:
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Their primary design and purpose is to continue to suck money out of consumers for a puffed up sense of purpose masquerading as service.
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For example, do they simply count packets. Do they only count packets that the user initiates? Do they include the packets used for ads from the source? Do they include packets from third party sites? Do they include packets they inject?
Inquiring minds want to know.
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The best trick you can do, is send a Specific sized File back and forth with another person..
But, Iv had to express the problems with LAG and interlinks with EACH SYSTEM, not to forget the Last mile..
Lag can be anything from your system, your GPU, Your router, modem, the Link to the hub, the MAIN internet, The HUB in the area you want to contact, Then the Server you need to talk to.. ALL that and saying that NO POINT is being over used, to many PEOPLE on it..
If you play games you know the problem of to many people..
Ever goto ANY of the Speed tests, its Hilarious..
I prefer a good Ping route, and watching all the lag.
A few games I played, went OVER THE BORDER...and you could see the Jump point over the borders, on both sides the Ping went up from 40-50, to over 100ms..
Keep doing Ping around the country and you will see the MAIN intersect of server locations..Where you jump from 1 service to anther, and Also the LAST MILE interconnect..
ALL of this is part and parcel of the OLD system Merging with the NEW..The MAIN stuff out in the Fields, is Fiber(mostly).. And there are Allot of reasons to KEEP THE HARD WIRE SYSTEM..Wireless has Many problems, and restrictions, Limitations..
All those speed tests SHOULD be a great avg. of our service in this country, but you are at the Mercy of the END POINT.. Its like having the fastest computer, and connecting to DIALUP at the end. You cant go any faster then the END POINT..and any bottle necks in the middle, DO NOT HELP..
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Back when I had Verizon DSL in VT, it was on my monthly statement, how much I used. Still have it when I look at my FIOS bill as well.
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The word for today is ....
Regardless sounds like someone needs to get laid.
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SLOW internet..
IF they would price it LOWER..
Older persons and those that JUST WANT BASIC EMAIL and to wonder the net..
A KIDS ACCOUNT
Security connection. Wireless might be better, but ISNT CHEAP EITHER..
Mobile cameras for local police. Wireless still requires power, and isnt long term.
NOW..
If they would QUIT locking up Tethering on our phones(no real reason, except to CHARGE YOU MORE) we could hook up Many things to the Net thru our phones.. It might even force them to get 4g, 5g, and BETTER SOONER...
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Just curious
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Why? 'Cause money.
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Today's Big Lie
Actually, there is a legitimate reason and I think it doesn't take much thought to figure it out. Verizon believes, rightly in my view, that consumers should have an idea of how much data they're sending and receiving.
This will help cord cutters figure out whether it's reasonable for them to drop DSL service and go all-in for a wireless alternative.
Bodey McBodeface is a big fan of DSL (he was founding editor of DSL Reports, a pirate's guide to ISPs), but to most of America it's an anachronism.
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Re: Today's Big Lie
What is a pirates guide to ISPs? This sounds like good reading material.
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Re: Today's Big Lie
The average consumer wouldn't know the difference between a kilobyte and a terabyte if their life depended on it. Nobody has any idea what the size of anythings is and they don't want to know. It's just meaningless techno-babble to them. You could make up a nonsense measurement and nobody would know the difference.
Seriously, stop ten people on the street and ask them to tell you what size order kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes go in. I'd be surprised if you can find even one person who knows.
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Re: Today's Big Lie
Right, Richard.
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Re: Today's Big Lie
Ok, let's break this down shall we?
No disagreement with this statement in and of itself. Every person should be able to see how much data they use if they want to. They do NOT need data caps to do it.
What is a data cap? A data cap is a limit on how much data you are allowed to download per month over your internet connection (hence the term "cap"). If you go over this, either your download speed will be throttled, you will be charged extra, or both. Charging you for the additional data you use is most common.
You don't need a data cap to tell you how much data you use in a month. Most ISPs will provide that info to you if you ask for it. Plus there are dozens, if not hundreds of free and paid for tools that you can install on your PC, router, firewall, etc... that will monitor all your network traffic for you and report not only how much you use but what you use.
Additionally, there is NO reason to implement a data cap on wired internet service, so the data caps are purely arbitrary in the first place. (mobile is a separate discussion but carriers did and some still do offer unlimited data plans so even that is sketchy)
How? By artificially creating a downside to wireline internet and PUNISHING them for going over an arbitrary and capricious limit? And if they're going over their WIRELINE data caps, which are typically much higher than data caps on wireless, why the hell would someone even consider switching to wireless where they are going to pay MORE because the amount they go over that lower cap is going to be greater than what they would go over a higher cap on wired? Plus, as I mentioned above, there are other tools that can more accurately tell you how much data you use that DON'T punish you for using "too much" data.
Only if you've been paid to say so by big ISPs. Seriously dude. Stop. This is embarrassing. This makes absolutely no sense otherwise.
[Citation needed]
What does this even mean? How to pirate an internet connection for free? Because that's pretty hard to near impossible unless you have someone on the inside. Or do you mean pirate content? Hmm, quick look at the site, yeah not much in the way of how to pirate ANYTHING.
Try again Richard.
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Re: Re: Today's Big Lie
Isn't it funny how Richard Bennett swore up and down that repealing net neutrality wasn't intended as a magic bullet for antipiracy enforcement, yet the topic of piracy keeps coming up in his defenses of Pai, even when Karl's original article has fuck all to do with piracy to begin with?
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CIA: Collect It All
Last chance! Campaign ends at midnight! Get your copy of the CIA's declassified training game by backing CIA: Collect It All on Kickstarter.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mmasnick/cia-collect-it-all
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Perhaps the discussion should be on the fact that Verizon still has areas where up to .5mbps is considered High Speed.
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