A specific case in Beaumont, Tex. is that Time Warner Cable, the local provider, is putting limits on new customer's Internet use. They offer plans with limits between 5 and 40 gigabytes. Complaints are that the heavy Internet use of some people is slowing down the networks for news and entertainment for everyone else.
You can purchase tools to track your consumption such as BWMeter and DU Meter which cost between $25-30.
I think this goes a person's right to act and live their life how they want to live it. They should be able to spend as much time on the Internet as they want if they are paying for it. Even though Time Warner Cable is just experimenting with this in Beaumont, I don't think it will reach other regions or even go as far as they have already. I think most people will just switch service providers
Lauren D.
1 comment:
Thx for the post, Lauren. This story reminds me of the whole "two-tier" Internet issue. You know, where giant consolidated corporate media basically want to squeeze out or seriously limit use of the Internet by smaller, independent voices with diverse local content. That doesn't sound very democratic or free-market, does it?
Plus, I don't know about other folks, but for where I live in Long Beach, the choices for switching service providers are dismal: way too few (2), way too expensive and way horrible, eat-you-alive "customer service." And, natch, they keep hiking up their rates because, for lack of real competition and appropriate regulation, they can. Maybe I should move to where you are. ;)
Here's a link to a non-partisan org that seeks to reform the media, plus their citizen-activist project that keeps a legislative eye on big media:
http://www.freepress.net/
http://www.stopbigmedia.com/
- Misako M.
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