...[i]n Beaumont, [TWC] had been testing caps of 40 gigabytes per month. That's less than it sounds, especially as companies like Apple (AAPL) and Netflix (NFLX) increasingly offer hi-def movie services. (A hi-def movie can take up about 4 gigabytes.)
We think Comcast's (CMCSA) caps are more reasonable - about 250 gigabytes per month. But Comcast is mostly trying to manage its network and weed out pirates. Time Warner Cable seems to be looking for new revenue growth areas as subscriber growth slows.
I think my friend is right on; TWC wouldn't be able to get away with this if there were real competition. AT&T's new service has not yet reached into my part of town, but as soon as it does, I'll consider switching. But I'm also not going to wait (nor encourage) competition from another big business.
As for the suggestion that we ought to push for ocean neutrality while we're at it... First, as a vegan, I probably don't have a lot to say about this. But as far as I understand an individual's fishing license, you can fish as much as you want with your license. If I could get away from work every day and go fishing, the state isn't going to charge me any more than my friend who can fish only on weekends. Pricing based on volume comes into play only for commerical fishing, which just isn't a relevant analog to home Internet service.
Like Woodward and Armstrong say about Justice William Douglas' unabashed liberalism, I am "for individuals over government, government over big business, and the environment over all else." In this case, by contacting members of Congress through freepress.net, I'm OK with using the government to protect the individual and stick it to the corporation.
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