Re: Fair Use Policy

[Cameron Byrne <cb.list6 () gmail com>]

On Wed, Aug 22, 2012 at 2:17 PM, Sean Harlow <sean () seanharlow info> wrote:
> On Aug 22, 2012, at 17:06, Bacon Zombie wrote:
>
> > An ISP with a 5GB cap that is charging the end user more then 5$ total
> > {including line rental} a month should not be allow to operate.
>
> I agree entirely.  The US is not exactly known for great broadband access, particularly where I live in the midwest 
> (unless one is in a lucky pocket with FiOS, Google Fiber, or the like), yet I could easily host 200 512kbit/sec 
> subscribers off my residential cable connection without even thinking about caps much less throttling on top of caps. 
>  It'd be oversubscribed, sure, but most users don't max out the line regularly so I don't think I'd have a problem.  
> My mobile phone is through Sprint, known for being the slowest of the national 3G carriers, yet I can exceed 
> 1mbit/sec in the middle of a corn field miles from anything resembling civilization and again do not have any monthly 
> cap.

On a slow connection, "all you can eat" is effectively all "you can sip"

Nonetheless, it appears there are now 2 camps forming where (AT&T +
VZW) want to clamp down access (Facetime?) and increase price

And, in the other camp, unlimited offerings from T-Mobile, Sprint, and Metro

http://www.pcworld.com/article/261247/tmobile_metropcs_roll_out_unlimited_data_plans.html

These 2 camps also cleanly break into Ma'Bell vs Other

CB

> A 5GB cap on 512kbit/sec service could be blown through in under a single day.  That's absurd.  If a 256k user maxed 
> out their line all month, they'd have transferred just short of 80GB.  Why in the world would it make sense to limit 
> someone to 1/16th of that just for the "privilege" of double speed which is still so slow it's beaten by any 3G 
> service?
>
> Wired internet providers should not even be thinking about caps below the 250GB/mo point.  Neither of these example 
> speeds can even reach that level, so if you feel the need to cap you are doing it wrong and should rethink your 
> business model.  Wireless carriers get a bit more leeway due to spectrum limitations, but even there a 5GB cap is 
> barely reasonable for an entry level offering.
> ---
> Sean Harlow
> sean () seanharlow info