ISP Bandwidth Caps….is this the death of telecommuting?
Filed under: Technology
It looks like some of the major ISPs are expanding their implementation of bandwidth caps. One of them has stated they are going to limit bandwidth consumption to 40G at their highest plan and another one has given a more generous cap of 250G. Anything beyond this limit will be subject to additional fees. As a telecommuter, network speed and unlimited bandwidth are keys to running successful home office. The customer files I download can range between a couple megabytes all the way up to 1-2 gigs at times. High resolution meeting, VOIP services and remote troubleshooting sessions also consume large amounts of bandwidth. I never want to be put in a position where I have to tell a client “I’m sorry, your issue is taking up too much bandwidth. I’ll have to continue working on this next month”. The proposition of bandwidth caps is ridicuous. The United States already lags behind many other developed and developing countries in Internet technology.
From an outsider’s point of view, it looks like some of these ISPs are using their Internet plans to keep their television services afloat. Television shows are now available online and in this slower economy, consumers are looking to disconnect any extra services to shave a couple dollars off of their expenses. If you in one of the areas which is subject to a up and coming bandwidth cap, I would encourage you to take it up with your ISP and tell them NO to limiting your right to surf!
Posted on April 2nd, 2009 by Andy Yiu
6 Comments
April 2nd, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Do your customers have a right to tell you what your time is worth? No? Then why do we have a right to tell our ISPs what amount of bandwidth we can consume?
You don’t have a right to surf. You have a right to *choose* to *pay* for it, using your ISP of choice. Don’t like the bandwidth cap? Switch ISPs, or upgrade your connection.
There are various plans out there with higher bandwidth caps, or no bandwidth caps. You may have to pay more (e.g. a dedicated T-1 for $300/month) but it’s out there.
April 2nd, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Customers definitely do not have a right to tell us what our time is worth, however there is always a cost/benefit to consider. Workplaces that allow their employees to work remotely may only subsidize up to a fixed maximum.
As users, we have a right to keep our ISPs in check and ensure that they are charging us fairly and businesses should be able to justify the costs of the pricing model changes. If some of these ISPs suddenly come around and say we are going to charge $10 per gig of transfer without justification. Many customers will jump ship. However there are some people which do not have that option. There may be only one ISP which has a monopoly over the neighborhood and can extort as much as they want from the consumers who must have internet access. If bandwidth caps are going to be put in place, there should at least be alternatives or comparative options available for consumers in those type of situations.
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:20 am
The US and Canada are sooooooo far behind in broadband access compared to Europe its not funny.
I pay ~$60CND for 800kb/s down, 70kb/s up with a 120G cap….I keep busting it monthly…at least they dont charge me!!
In Sweden, 100MBIT lines are common in households and cost around 30 euros.. and there’s no bandwidth caps. Even some households in Sweden and Netherlands can get a GBIT cheap….here it would thousands of dollars a month
April 26th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
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April 27th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
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August 16th, 2009 at 2:15 am
You don’t have a right to not be burned and used for turf. You have a decision between *death* and *death* for now, implementing your torture of choice. Heil. Don’t like the oppression cap? Switch to another country, or upgrade your connection with money you can’t get anymore, thanks to our caps.