I imagine most of you remember Time Warner trying to introduce metered bandwidth and usage caps to our cable bills several months ago. Like I predicted, they're at it again.
TWC has updated their Subscriber Agreement to lay down the foundation for their future billing practices. You can find these additions in the teeny tiny print on your next bill, or probably the latest bill you've paid. The additions are as follows.
I imagine most of you remember Time Warner trying to introduce metered bandwidth and usage caps to our cable bills several months ago. Like I predicted, they're at it again.
TWC has updated their Subscriber Agreement to lay down the foundation for their future billing practices. You can find these additions in the teeny tiny print on your next bill, or probably the latest bill you've paid. The additions are as follows.
6. Special Provisions Regarding HSD Service
(ii) I agree that TWC or ISP may change the Maximum Throughput Rate of any tier by amending the price list or Terms of Use. My continued use of the HSD Service following such a change will constitute my acceptance of any new Maximum Throughput Rate. If the level or tier of HSD Service to which I subscribe has a specified limit on the amount of bytes that I can use in a given billing cycle, I also agree that TWC may use technical means, including but not limited to suspending or reducing the speed of my HSD Service, to ensure compliance with these limits, and that TWC or ISP may move me to a higher tier of HSD Service (which may result in higher monthly charges) or impose other charges and fees if my use exceeds these limits.
(iii) I agree that TWC may use Network Management Tools as it determines appropriate and/or that it may use technical means, including but not limited to suspending or reducing the Throughput Rate of my HSD Service, to ensure compliance with its Terms of Use and to ensure that its service operates efficiently. I further agree that TWC and ISP have the right to monitor my bandwidth usage patterns to facilitate the provision of the HSD Service and to ensure my compliance with the Terms of Use and to efficiently manage their networks and their provision of services. TWC or ISP may take such steps as each may determine appropriate in the event my usage of the HSD Service does not comply with the Terms of Use. I acknowledge that HSD Service does not include other services managed by TWC and delivered over TWC’s shared infrastructure, including Video Service and Digital Phone Service.
Fortunately, it's legally and technically impossible for Time Warner to implement their metered bandwidth anytime soon. However, expect metered bandwidth in about a year from now.
I sincerely hope that
I sincerely hope that something happens to prevent this from occurring like the last time they tried this. However, it doesn't look as though that is going to be the case. I almost feel bad for Time Warner they are going to lose a lot of good business because of this.
Sounds like entrapment to me.
Sounds like entrapment to me. Adding new stipulations to an agreement without having all their costomers sign, and agree to the new terms, is not right. I think they will get caught at their game soon, very soon....
I don't like this any more
I don't like this any more than anyone else, but I laughed like hell at one of the tags the author chose:
Posted by Chris Olin on May 31, 2009 - 2:34pm
Tagged in
* <b>evil</b>
* metered bandwidth
* time warner
* usage caps
Chris, if paying more for your bandwidth is your standard for evil, be grateful. Very, very, very, very, very, very grateful.
Hyperbole, thy name is self-absorption.
Every time I read it, Chris, it gets funnier. You rock.
You need to read the contract
You need to read the contract before you sign it. Basically they (TW)have the right to charge you anything and/or change any service at their whim. You had a months notice when they said they wanted to do this right here, Yes it sucks....
With teenagers in the house,
With teenagers in the house, 40GBs is not that much. TW has no sense for "reasonable". Think about it, movies from Netflix, HD movies, streaming video, YouTube, Myspace, iTunes, even my TW phone service runs through my modem. Time Warner is greedy and angry over the public and political outrage from their previous stunt of attempting to cap at 40GBs for a month and a dollar per GB after the 40. You can have "unlimited" for $150.00. There is no unlimited if you read the new terms and conditions. They will just suspend your service. I encourage everyone to search for alternatives to TW. They are a public relations nightmare. The service has always been substandard and overpriced.They are not even upgrading like they promised. I do not need to be a pirate to use more than 40GBs in a month. I will be dropping TW in July, regardless of the metered billing or not. They want to use the next few months to “Educate” the public and now try the same metered billing plan again. Hopefully soon legislation can be passed to prevent this extortion. At least open the floodgates to competition in the Austin area and see how they react. If they want to charge as a utility would, they should be regulated as a utility. I do not favor caps, but at least Comcast has one that is reasonable. Most people would be hard pressed to use 250GBs in a month. Above all, I hope no one really believes that this new plan will save anyone money. Everyone will pay more than they were paying regardless of the tier they are on. This is about the mighty dollar, and how much Time Warner can get.
Wow. Texas loves Batavia.
Wow. Texas loves Batavia.
<b> Name: Earl Van Horn
Home: Austin, Texas 78754
Member for: 2 hours 19 min </b>
Again, I don't like this. But the last thing needed here is corporate trolls. Why else would someone in Texas give a rat's ass about us? Unless they think that a bunch of ignorant rubes wouldn't catch a clue?
The Batavian Rules: 1. Use
The Batavian Rules:
1. Use your real name.
2. Use your real location.
3. Don't mess with Gladys Kravitz (Karen Miconi)! LOL
Heeeee, Haaaa, I Love It!
Heeeee, Haaaa, I Love It! Dan, thats how I got my name after all.. Gladis Cravitz, from Bewitched. Her Hubby was ABBBNEEEEEERRRR!! You might be to young to remember that show. You made my night. I dont even have cable. I feel sorry for the ones who are a slave to TWC. They have taken advantage of all of you, far to long.
myspace.com/gladiscravitz
Sorry, Russ, I have no idea
Sorry, Russ, I have no idea what you are talking about. The article is on my Google News and being my new favorite hobby is hating TW, I responded. With Google, there is no local anymore. I live in the area they originally wanted to launch this plan. I meant no disrespect and am not a troll. Never heard of Batavia, but I hope the majority of people there are more hospitable than you.
Earl, I'll type more
Earl,
I'll type more s-l-o-w-l-y, if it helps. Screw your hobbies. Batavia is nothing if not local. Google "born at night, but not last night".
<b> "I have no idea what you are talking about"</b> That sounds like a general statement you might keep to yourself.
<b>"I hope the majority of people there are more hospitable than you." </b> Goodness, Earl, it almost sounds like you're trying to paint anyone in Batavia who wonders why someone in Texas keeps tabs on this subject as rude rather than curious.
Enlighten us Russ, how is
Enlighten us Russ, how is Earl a corporate troll? He voices the same concerns expressed by others and from what I can tell wasn't hyping some other service with a link built into his post. Specifically, what is it he posted that you disapprove of?
Andy, Why does someone in
Andy,
Why does someone in Texas keep tabs on The Batavian? He signed on hours after the issue appeared here.
Andy,
Why don't you question why he never appeared here until a few hours ago?
Specifically, why doesn't that seem odd to you?
Again, Russ, I didn't mean to
Again, Russ, I didn't mean to intrude on your domain. I have responded to many articles in many local online newspapers without being attacked. I'll type even slower, maybe you will get it. I couldn't care less where you are from, and my being from Texas is not an issue, or maybe it is for you. I reponded to the news article about Time Warner. Now I'm sorry I did. I meant no disrespect and did not understand the very rude response I received from you. Do not worry I will never again write to The Batavian. I did not realize what I was getting into by responding to a seeminly innocent article. I also do not need anymore insults from you. Peace...
Perhaps because as Earl
Perhaps because as Earl posted, he has a strong dislike of Time Warner and feels inclined to join others on the web who share that feeling. If you copy and paste "Time Warner is at it Again" as a google search, this post comes up first and third on their engine, and as the only recent google news item. It's hardly a phrase that would be specific to The Batavian. In fact both the Conservative and Progressive Rochester-based Message Boards have had similar threads off an on the past month, RT just put up a new one yesterday. Isn't bringing Batavia, and more specifically the advertisers paying Howard's bills, to the world the whole point of The Batavian or are only people living within a certain distance of Main & Center 14020 allowed to comment here?
Don't feel bad Earl and
Don't feel bad Earl and you're hardly alone. Russ responds similarly to most of the local posters here too, including the gentleman who runs this community news site.
Thanks, Andrew. I really
Thanks, Andrew. I really meant no harm. I love New York!
Russ, I tagged this as evil
Russ, I tagged this as evil because of the cloak and dagger changes to the subscriber agreement. If you search around the internet, you'll find that I'm not the only person that has written an article on this topic and tagged it as "evil".
I'm more than familiar with the pros and cons behind paying for bandwidth based on usage. Personally, Time Warner's dollar per gigabyte ratio is ridiculously expensive for all of their current tiers.
On a slightly different topic, Verizon FiOS (Verizon's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiber-optic_communication">fiber optic</a> service) has been running lines throughout the town. Currently, their high-speed DSL service is available in most of the city and town, but I imagine their FiOS service will available months before Time Warner switches their billing practices.
However, unlike Time Warner, you sign a 1 year contract instead of being able to disconnect anytime you want.
I agree with Andrew. If the
I agree with Andrew. If the post was directly attacking Batavia or plugging a different company I might join the head hunt. I think we all can agree that time warner is trying to screw us nation wide ! I do not use TW but I understand bandwith and usage. I had dial up for 5 years (dont laff) and I only dropped the service becoz i exceeded the hour limit for the month. (took days to download stuff). I think TW bit off more then they can supply so to speak with technology and they need to charge more for massive user. They will win in the end becoz low end bandwith users will be charged less and most people that will be charged more will be using several computers constantly just like a business (whick get charged more now).
...and don't forget they
...and don't forget they finally, finally dumped AOL...a poor partnership if ever there was one.
Time Warner is estimating
Time Warner is estimating that 10% of their userbase is using so much bandwidth that they'll end up switching.
I think it's a rather crappy estimate. They also aren't considering that about 80% of their customers are computer illiterate. When the 20% that does understand what is happening end up switching internet providers, what do you think the clueless 80% are going to do?
They're going to jump on the bandwagon and switch ISPs too.
By the way Gabor, there is no
By the way Gabor, there is no contract to sign when you sign up for Time Warner/RoadRunner (least, I never did). I believe you're agreeing to their subscriber agreement by paying your monthly bill. That constitutes as signing a contract, without really signing anything.
I guess I'm in the minority,
I guess I'm in the minority, but I like TW as a provider. However, if the bills get too stiff, I wouldn't hesitate to switch.
Everything works fine, and the support is great (right, Gabor?).
The only time it really sucks is during an event like last night when I lost TV, Internet, and phone all at once.
Chris, read your bill or user
Chris, read your bill or user agreement. If nothing is stated then when the raise your rates you can choose to pay or cancel.
Except the additions to the
Except the additions to the subscriber agreement were included in the latest bill that I paid, before I discovered all this.
I'm not too worried. They still have to put in equipment in both Batavia and Rochester (which they'll probably be doing all throughout June) to be able to individually meter how much bandwidth each customer is using. All their customers need to be able to view their account meter before they can force this. Their legalese is pretty basic and will need to be updated. They also need to update and introduce the different tier packages. This isn't including that they'll be facing some serious opposition towards these billing practices.
By the time they introduce metered bandwidth billing, I'll have switched to FiOS.
I have Verizon dsl up to 1mb.
I have Verizon dsl up to 1mb. They will be charging 29.99 a month for this once my promo runs out. they offer 3mb for 39.99 which is great for movies. I have had my service since mid december with absoulutely no problems. My phone service however has been an ongoing problem last few months. trouble with the line they say. I guarentee if or actually when TW changes their rules, verizon will follow suit.
The big problem is the technology and usage is growing so rapidly that these providers need to charge more to upgrade the equipment. If I was tech savy I could use so much bandwith running servers in my apartment for a small price and crash thier systems or actually make money off of subletting the bandwith i get on the cheap to others.
Gabor, Verizon's 1MB and 3MB
Gabor, Verizon's 1MB and 3MB plans just means that your maximum possible download speed will be capped at either 1MB or 3MB. That doesn't mean you're downloading data consistently at either 1MB or 3MB.
You aren't going to crash anything over a DSL line, running a server or not. Anyone trying to connect to your server would be sucking up your upload speed (which is probably capped at 40KB/s) and it would simply load balance between all the connections.
Trying to re-sell bandwidth like the scenario you gave is illegal. I believe some guy tried doing that with Comcast as his ISP a few years ago and got sued up the behind for it when he was caught.
Chris, i dont get download or
Chris, i dont get download or upload near 1mb on a good day. thats something to consider for the price.
I know that its possible to crash a dsl or cable line, as far as overload do to "traffic" and dont forget it takes electricity (quite a bit) for service providers to "pipe" internet trafic.
The bandwith senario i was talking about is a stretch, beyond me but possible to "re-route" trafic. set top boxes are a good example of how easy it is to suck up so much bandwith and re route it.
I think maybe you understand these things more than i do but think about how easy it is to steal WiFi.
Our government is going to spend billions to stop cyber hacking from thousands of miles away through all these secure systems that have been breached thru phone and cable lines like banks and government data bases. If bandwith is so easy to control and detect i dont understand how all the past problems werent prevented and why it took so long to detect.
Russ, There are two other
Russ,
There are two other people who write here from Texas. Are you going to chase them off also?
Earl has a problem with TW and posted here. It had nothing to do with you as such. He did not attack you or anyone in Batavia, except for TW. He explained why he posted here and it is clear to most of us he was just giving his opinion, nothing more.
However, maybe you have inside info. How do you know he was a coporate troll? You need to back that up.
Gabor, it isn't possible to
Gabor, it isn't possible to crash your provder's equipment by just using a bunch of bandwidth, especially over a DSL or cable line. Wherever you're getting your information from is wrong.
Detecting packets over state lines is harder to monitor than bandwidth going in/out from a specific location. If you're charging a bunch of people to use your internet when you aren't the original provider, it's illegal unless you talk with the ISP first.
You can't upload 1MB max on your connection. Upload speeds are always slower on DSL, usually 40KBs - 60KB/s for the average home connection. As far as maxing out your download cap, it's a matter of finding something that's being upload at a speed equal to or higher than your download cap. Personally, I've maxed out my download cap several times downloading a bunch of Linux images off BitTorrent.
Oh, and stealing Wifi is only
Oh, and stealing Wifi is only easy if the access point is unencrypted. There isn't a law (yet) preventing you from using open access points without the owners permission, but if anything you do ends up going to court, it depends on what you were doing in the first place. Stealing it and redistributing it for money would probably land you a fine and some jail time.
Brute forcing the passphrase on an encrypted access point is a little bit more complex, but entirely possible. I speak from firsthand experience. However, brute forcing the phasphrase to an access point is illegal no matter how you look at it, unless it's your own equipment, and will land you in trouble if your caught.
Double post. My bad.
Double post. My bad.
Thanks Chris. I am still
Thanks Chris. I am still learning about this side of technology and not everything I read sticks ! My wires got crossed and i had a brain overload ! It did seem feasible and possible at the time i wrote it, but now ah.. not so much.
Start
Start here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET
Hey, I'm in Austin and I care
Hey, I'm in Austin and I care because they chose your area and my area and one other to mess with. We had a go to hell fit and they backed off. Now you need to tell them to kiss off. Back them down like we did here. Time Warner treats us like sister cities and we are the mean sister. You guys don't use enough bandwidth to care most of the time. We suck it up like water, no lie and we're not going to let them abuse us. Time Warner is wrong and your local government can tell them no.
Batavia is hard core Red
Batavia is hard core Red Neckyville. I came from there and ALL relatives, except one niece, are still there, (200 or more). Some are bitter and very misinformed. Austin is the best city in the world and I wouldn't live anywhere else now. Ignore the nonsense and realize Batavia really is cool, even though some people have a bad attitude. It's not your problem dude, it is confined to your nemesis poster and I really can't understand what his problem is. Peace fellow Austinite, the hell with Time Warner.
Batavia, redneckville? I
Batavia, redneckville? I disagree. I've been to Texas. First, Austin ain't Texas. It's more like San Francisco witha twang.
There are portions of San Diego, where I'm from, that are more hick than even the most rural parts of Genesee County.
I find Batavia a real mixed bag -- elements of erudition and sophistication mixed with less educated working class poor. That's part of what makes it so interesting.
That last comment was meant
That last comment was meant for Russ Stresing for his attack on Earl Van Horn. I don't know Earl and I sure as hell don't want to know Russ. I have an butthole of my own Russ, you can go home now. Sorry Howard, and feel free to remove this if you want. I love Batavia but some people there make me want to go take a Dick Cheney, they always have, but back then it was called a Dick Nixon. I didn't make that up, I wish I had. Two hitchhiker's I picked up in Batavia once were the first ones who informed me that "Barvaria" was Redneckyville and I have never forgotten nor denied it, in 35 years. I dropped them off at the city limits, just past Sylvania, and wished them good luck. Hater's should just keep it to themselves, in my humble opinion, of course.
Good luck Howard. I wish you
Good luck Howard. I wish you well.
Posted by George Richardson
Posted by George Richardson on June 1, 2009 - 9:44pm
Batavia is hard core Red Neckyville.
Interesting statement, George.
If being a rural community makes us Redneck, then I'll applaud the label.
I didn't say it. I heard it
I didn't say it. I heard it said about us and I couldn't deny it. Batavia is not rural to Oakfield, Corfu or East Pembroke, it is where they/we came for enlightenment and we/they knew who to listen to and who to disregard. I dig Batavia and will until the day I die. Howard has a tough nut to crack though. I feel for him although he has a lot of fans right now. You people are fickle, like everyone else, times ten. Of course you are excluded Bea, haha. I'm going to stop this commenting stuff, as soon as I can. I'm going to try, really.
Don't. It's a breath of fresh
Don't. It's a breath of fresh air.
Time Warner.Wasn't there
Time Warner.Wasn't there another cable Adelphia at one time in buffalo?Then Time Warner bought them out.They are a monopoly here anyway.I have paid them bills i never owed.If i didn't i'd be shut off right?The people i spoke to at customer service were rude to me.It would be nice to have Fios.But that's years from now.It will be a big inconvenience but i will change isp's.I like to make you tube videos.That uses alot right?Does it cost then to upload a photo?To reformat and updates for your puter?I was not happy with Time warner before this.Now i am very very unhappy.Mabe other areas have a cable choice.We don't.So i think they don't care.I hope they lose much business.I will be interested to see what the new dtv looks like.We only have very very basic now.So mabe we will shut that off too.The best antenna is cheaper than cable right?We could buy and own videos cheaper than having cinimax and all that HBO.Who can watch 1000 channels anyway?Mabe in Texas there's a choice.
FiOS is also a cable
FiOS is also a cable solution. The channels come in over the fiber optic line. Even aside from their FiOS service, I hear that they have a cable package.
The TV providers are PISSED at Verizon because of this.
Cable is a controlled
Cable is a controlled monopoly everywhere. But there is an alternative in dish network which you can also get dsl service from.