Comcast Caps Will Stifle Internet Video

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So I think a good way to handle this problem is to post the names and phone numbers of whoever you manage to reach so we can all start calling them.
Email addresses work well also.
The key is to have someone's name to go with it. It makes it personal.
I don't watch tv, (don't own one, just a projector) but I do watch movies.
I think the real reason for comcast throttling bandwidth is because they provide cable tv and want you to use their product. It's all about the money.

lberto of MD 11:39PM April 14, 2009

So I think a good way to handle this problem is to post the names and phone numbers of whoever you manage to reach so we can all start calling them.
Email addresses work well also.
The key is to have someone's name to go with it. It makes it personal.
I don't watch tv, (don't own one, just a projector) but I do watch movies.
I think the real reason for comcast throttling bandwidth is because they provide cable tv and want you to use their product. It's all about the money.

lberto of MD 11:38PM April 14, 2009

I honestly think that Comcast should see the errors of their ways. They say that the average consumer won't be affected by the 250gb cap. That's a bunch of bull if I ever heard it. Now a days you have smartphones, iphones, xbox360s, and the like that use bandwith too. I don't agree that they should be allowed to monitor what end users use their connections for, that's what the government is for. Comcast should just leave us alone and do some r&d into a infrastructure that doesn't share nodes on the star network they have now. Yes I'm thinking about leaving comcast, and like most people, I don't like DSL because of it's speed issues as well as contracts must be kept for 1-2 years. Still doing more research on this.

75aces of CA 10:08PM September 26, 2008

According to the Networking stats from Windows Task Manager, I hit 1-2 GBytes (Bytes Received) every day just browsing various sites that are loaded with display ads, audio, and images. I'm not even watching videos (YouTube or the like) or streaming radio and indirectly using lots of bandwidth.
I'd need to upgrade and use one of the new browsers that offer the option to turn off these media rich ads to stay under Comcast's monthly limits. Other ISPs, that are testing/imposing much lower limits, would catch many more people who aren't tracking their usage.
Microsoft, Yahoo, Google and other display ad firms should be very worried when users begin disabling/blocking display ads. But maybe that is the ultimate goal of Comcast and other ISPs - to get into the display ad game - since their last attempt to get into the online ad game with NebuAd didn't work out.

eagle eye of CA 6:20PM September 04, 2008

The most frightening thing about this article was: "A family of four can regularly have three TVs going. Each TV could only watch three hours of video a day. In America these days, that's not a lot."
9 collective hours each day not talking to each other, not playing, not execising, not studying, not reading.....no wonder we are so fat and stupid and lonely in our own households compared to other modern countries.
Get off our butts instead of watching the boob tube and we won't be moaning about any Comcast or any company limiting our "dead brain time".

Michael of FL 3:54PM September 02, 2008

Comcast's policy will slow the activities of the early adopters of new internet technology, which will eventually affect everyone by slowing progress.
On the other hand, if there is a demand for massive downloads, the market will supply the bandwidth.

Conrad of CA 1:51PM September 02, 2008

I, unfortunately do not have much choice.. er, one other choice. My area is also service by a triple-play Embarq DSL/phone plus DirecTV. However the DSL was over the same copper that Sprint turned over to Embarq, maxxed out at 1.5 Mbs and the Satellite service did not offer the few channels I actually watch until you start hitting the premium tiers.
I hate them all, but Comcast most! I just can't live with the low bandwidth of DSL and the capped television service.
The only way to teach Comcast a lesson is to up and leave, because the oly thing they listen to are their shareholders. I will eventually find a way to send my message!

G of PA 1:46PM September 02, 2008

This cap seems OK for now. Should families have 3 TV's going? Should people be watching more than 3-4 hours of HD TV a day? Sure, it would be nice for my wife and I to get an adult movie from our SugarDVD.com lineup via Vudu or Roku. But a few hours a month is enough. Are families that addicted to TV instead of human interaction that they need more than 4 hours a day of VOD? Read. Play. Make love to your spouse!

NikiJane of CA 8:12PM September 01, 2008

Bandwidth is not so finite as to be like 'oil' supposedly is. You UPGRADE your networks. You take some of your profits, and you GIVE BACK.
Yes, web technology has grown, but so has the capacity of networks to CARRY larger and larger chunks of data.
This is ludicrous. It isn't about limiting a finite resource. It is about greed and protecting their own video/tv services.
This is really going to hurt a lot of homeschooling kids.

Kagail of GA 7:34PM August 31, 2008

I am probably one of those so called bandwith hogs that comcast has been crying about. I have found that while downloading, my service is continually interrupted by connection issues. this means that I have to start the download all over again, which is probably why people consume so many gigs while downloading. I have put up with this crap plus the high prices for close to ten years now. When they make this official in October, I will be switching to DSL. DSL is slower yeah, but I have found that my friends who use Bellsouth/Att don't have the connection issues. Also people who say that we are bandwith hogs because we download a lot of stuff. This is where digital media is going and that means that with comcast, after you download a few movies from netflicks, you would have reached your limit and have to face comcast's wrath.

Hannibal the bandwith Cannibal of GA 7:23PM August 31, 2008