Dave's Download

Time Warner Likes Video Downloads, With Fees

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June 3, 2008 RSS Feed Print
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Time Warner Cable is getting widely scolded for testing metered Internet usage. The fear is that the added charges for large downloads (or uploads) will discourage innovation on the Web, particularly nascent video delivery services.

On top of the charges to rent a high-definition movie over the Web, it might cost an extra $10 or $20 to download it. That's assuming a user has exceeded what many are calling Time Warner's paltry bandwidth caps. "Our first reaction: Are these a typo?" write Dan Frommer and Vasanth Sridharan at Silicon Valley Insider.

Time Warner says the added charges are the fairest way to finance new Web infrastructure. Don Reisenger calls it a shameful guise to pump up profits.

At about the same time comes word that Time Warner wants to deliver Web video to living room TVs. The cableco would offer a new wireless router that would connect the TV to the Web. "Within a relatively short time...it's going to be very easy to get Internet TV on your big-screen TV," Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt told a New York conference.

So Time Warner will encourage video downloads, while hitting users with steep charges. Hmm. Expect more scolding.

Tags:
Time Warner,
internet

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I don't like the idea of the extra charge, but they are in it to make money. As far as a "free society", it is. If you don't like it, nobody will force you to pay for it. There will always be someone else to offer it cheaper to disaffected customers. That is why the new net phone are so popular. Don't like paying for long distance? Here is a phone that eliminates that. Hence fees come down and innovation continues. As soon as you involve our inept government to "fix" the solution, you are screwed. Notice all the extra "fees" and "taxes" on your Time Warner bill already. Sure they'll fix it. Nothing is more efficient than voting with your pocket book

Less is more of NY 7:52AM April 02, 2009

It seems like everywhere you look big business is trying to figure out how to take money out of your pocket and increase their profits. We live in a supposed "free society", but we can't free ourselves from the capitalist's greedy hand in our pocket. It really surprises me that our government allows these companies to get away with this. This is an obstruction of information and education education for gosh sakes! Who can protect us from the greedy entrepreneurs.

The say it is the only fair and equitable way to proportional distribution of costs for infrastructure. If we are going to do that then why don't we make only the people who ride buses pay for that infrastructure, think what you would have to pay for a bus ticket then.

Internet users everywhere should not only scold, but also reject and tell your congressmen and senators that Americans do not want time metered internet services. This will close down communication and internet commerce with this rest of the world in the very time when we need to be merging our economic interest with the rest of the world.

RS

Robert Stern of CA 9:49PM June 03, 2008

The big lure of early cable TV was no commercials. That didn't last long. The big lure of the Internet has been freedom of use to explore whatever interested you. Now I may be charged for it? Excuse me, but I'm not addicted to cable TV and don't have it, and I'm not addicted to the Internet and won't have it if it's metered. I'll probably start going for walks instead of sitting on my butt three hours a day; and holy cow, I might even bump into a real person and have a REAL conversation. You know, this could be the return of something significant... so hey, I've changed my mind. Go ahead Time-Warner, ruin the Internet, and set those of us with a backbone free!

Cranky of ID 8:37PM June 03, 2008

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