SubscribeI don’t bother wasting my time writing back and forth to the Time Warner employees trying to catch the wave of Twittermania and tweet it up with their angry customer base. But StoptheCap! reader Carrie strapped on the long boots and waded in to get a taste, and escaped unscathed with some news.
Chairman Hobbs’ statement last week alluded to a new super fast tier for customers upgraded to the new DOCSIS 3.0 standard:
As we launch DOCSIS 3.0 in the trial markets, we plan to offer a 50/5 MB speed tier for $99 per month.
I actually received inquiries from people who were seriously contemplating this kind of tier, for a single reason. There was not a word about whether it was also going to be capped, and people began to assume it was not. More evidence that customers are clamoring to give Time Warner their money for faster speeds today, just so long as their usage isn’t capped.
Carrie brings home the answer: Are you kidding me? Of course it’s capped!
I’m unsurprised of course. Why sell a $99 premium speed tier and not cap it, while asking everyone else who wants uncapped service to pay $150, just $110 more per month than they pay now?
In fact, the generous people at Time Warner, asking other Time Warner people what they think, are bandying about around 150GB of usage for that tier. Pinch me, I must be dreaming.
tommy_morgan: I’ve seen TWC talk of a 50/5 offering for $99. What size is the cap for that product?
AlexTWC: At least 150 gigs.
Screenshots below the fold
So, if they upgrade to DOCSIS 3.0 with 50 MB speed, we can expect to meet our monthly cap in just around 8 hours?
Do I understand this correctly?
Hmmm…. according to my calculations (without uploading anything) it would be slightly over an hour.
Unless I’m missing something:
mps * 60 * 60 is megs per hour = 50 * 60 * 60 = 180000 mph
cap * 1024 = cap in megabytes = 150 * 1024 = 153600 megabyte cap
So since in one hour you can download 180000 Megabytes or 175 gigs you’ve gone over by 25 already.
Now of course that is a perfect world with full download speed going a full hour.
Thanks Time Warner
Keep in mind that 50Mbps = megabits per second, but the 150GB cap is measured in Gigabytes.
Assuming that they’re using base-2 (they use both base-2 and base-10 figures, interchangeably, on their website), 150GB can be downloaded in 6 hours and 50 minutes, at 50Mbps.
http://www.google.com/search?q=150+gigabytes+%2F+50+megabit+per+second&btnG=Search
That also does not include the transmission overhead, which TWC has been evasive about whether or not it is counted in the data usage statistics.
Yeah, I was just thinking that it might be megabits after I had already posted. Just knew the math, didn’t claim to have the right facts 😉
This is probably already something that people could have guessed at, but more AlexTWC twittering: I asked him how long the trials will last, and if Beaumont, TX will get any new tiers. He said all trials are indefinite, and Beaumont will get the new tiers too. (oh, joy)
Love the “it’s just a test” nonsense, too.
Given the amount of video I consume from the web, and the fact that I can currently watch HD feeds with no issue on my standard connection right now, I’d still be well above the 150gig cap and paying overages on a fairly regular basis, all while paying way more. I wonder if they cap the overage fees at $75 for that tier as well, or if the overage fees go up?
I’ve already informed them that the day they roll it out here, my account, which i’ve had for around 10 years now gets cut off that day.
Hey windnwar why wait till then to cut them loose. I say we all sould cut them loose on a certian day if they do not cancle the whole thing all together. When every one of their customers cancle their accounts all at once then they will be hurt in their pockets.
This is where I’m torn. I want to cancel to make my point. I know a lot of people are waiting until the day they start the caps. I think this is a good idea, but also a hindrance on the cause. On the one hand many of us do not want to get rid of RR until we know that it is a definite problem. We are afraid of having to stay with Frontier (or other services in other areas) for 2 years, just to find out TWC has seen the error of their ways. On the other hand,… Read more »
i think your best bet, at least temporarily is to switch to Earthlink, you will save a little on your current bill, keep your connection speed, and be able to tell TW now, what you think of their plan. Then too if TW comes up with some miracle plan, to them you would be a ‘new customer’ so then you could switch back. This is what I am going to do as soon as I no longer need my @rochester.rr.com email address. Shame on me for not being with gmail sooner!
I thought Earthlink *was* TWC and vice versa. I think that Alex Dudley guy has said as much.
No, Earthlink is a separate company. They piggyback the TWC lines. Dudley cannot make policy for another company.
I’d love to go with Earthlink, but I’ve been surprised they have not come out and said anything. Grande is the only company in our area which has stated it won’t cap
Earthlink will be forced to go with TW price plans
I talked to them. If TW caps so will Earthlink
I understand your dilemma. I keep dreaming of the Zero Day, when billing starts, and people agree to line up around TW buildings in all of the cities, perhaps hundreds in numbers, returning their cable modems. I think people just need to keep reminding TW that Chairman Hobbs & The Funky Twitter Bunch notwithstanding, NO PLAN WITH CAPS is acceptable and you will cancel service. I think it also speaks volumes that you plainly state this company has betrayed your trust as a customer, and there really is no way to recover from that short of dropping the whole idea… Read more »
If they are charging for usage, I believe they are required by law to provide documentation of usage. As an example your phone carrier is required to display the number you called, the duration, and when you called if they are charging your for that call. It is illegal to bill you for usage, unless they can prove/show what you used. Tell them you want exact records of every single byte that you transferred every month. You want to know when the transfer was initiated, how may bytes and to what IP. Also, advise them you will only accept it… Read more »
Good point, if they push the caps through, we should demand that we receive a monthly statement documenting were every byte was sent to and received from, so we can verify the usage and make sure we’re not being overcharged.
I still like my Ideal better for everyone that has TWC all over the United States just cancel their accounts regardless if they are going to be places caps there or not because it is only a matter of time before they will.
@Eric That is good thinking – anything to make it as hard on TWC as possible – but most people who might do this are probably going to dump TWC as soon as the caps come out. Here is a big question I have – why are the sites that have a vested interest not standing up with us. i.e. Netflix, Skype, Hulu, cloud storage sites, etc., etc. The only thing I can think of is how this may be structured. If TWC offers to let their sites be “cap free” for a certain amount of payola and your company… Read more »
I wondered that too, Joe, maybe they’re getting a response together, or they’re just in a wait & see mode since these caps affect only 6 cities (I’m including Reno NV & Beaumont with the AT&T tests, too. That’s probably a drop in the bucket to them. If half the country or so ended up being under these trial, I’d bet we’d hear something from all online sites.
Joe — I e-mailed Hulu about the caps at the address they have on the website — [email protected]— but nobody ever responded to my e-mail.
I have a question – if the 50/5 tier is $99 how much is business class? If you go to the TWC business class website it has an ad for business class internet + telephone “for as low as $79.95” per month.
I still havent investigated what the requirements are to get business class.. Does anyone know?
You might have to prove to them you are business with your tax id number or not trying to set up at a home. I am sure when they go to caps it will be harder to get that service. …just saying
There are telecommuter plans for those who work from home, as well as those who have home based businesses. I can’t imagine TW would insist on copies of dba’s and such.
The speeds are considerably slower for business plans in the affordable range, however.
Also, it’s my guess that you’ll soon see those go the metered route as well. It’s a bit easier to gradually impact people in smaller groups, then to announce you’re metering everyone and have consumers and businesspeople joining forces to push back.
get fios
Cant get Fios in my area yet………. dam them come to austin and make a killing
If FIOS was around here I’d switch in a NY minute. But, alas, it isn’t within Austin. I’ve heard it’s in some of the surrounding cities, though.
fios isn’t an option in any of the affected cities. This is why TWC has decided to “test” the caps in these areas.
who needs there crap caps all say to hell with them
Apparently TWC is “proposing” to meter and then cap data usage (ignoring their euphemistic phrase “consumption based billing”), I thought of an off-the-cuff FAQ of my own… Is TWC saying that users at the lowest proposed _1 GB_ tier should basically pay more than anyone else at a higher tier, for critical Windows updates (included Linux users)? In other words, these users have to pay more simply because they want to keep their systems secure? Will they meter traffic to and from their own website? After all, it’s just another website right? (TWC is saying that VoIP traffic using their… Read more »
I looked into business class, there are (as of when I called anyway) NO requirements or ‘proof of business’ necessary. It’s 4mbps down/384kbps up. I was quoted $79.99 as the regular monthly price. The rep was stumped when I asked what was stopping people from switching to this to avoid a cap.
Well for one, 4mbps/384kbps is really slow compared to the rest of roadrunners services. I think their lowest is 5mbps. DSL is (up to) 6mbps, and even Earthlink guarantees 7mbps. So it would seem Business Class is worthless and over priced. What is the point of business class if it is so slow?
Unfortunately out where I live, it’s that or Verizon DSL at 3mbps for about $60…But yeah I agree, what’s the perk for going business class, especially at that price?
Businesses are forced to use business class – they can’t get regular RR. So you see TWC’s current business class offerings are a way to screw over businesses – charging them more for an inferior product. I plan on calling them today to see what the other levels of service are and how much.
Ironically, the business model for “business class” was since businesses used a disproportionate amount of bandwidth, they needed to pay a higher flat rate. Ironic that they are excluded from this round of “tests,” isn’t it?
Please report back your finding on pricing. I will add it to the alternatives list for those who are absolutely unable to get any other broadband service option.
How long will it be before they cap the Business Class? If more and more people make the jump to business class to avoid the caps you have to believe they will make the jump to cap it at some point.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. As one other commenter pointed out it is likely that TWC will start making certain sites not count against your usage. This is how you get around the net neutrality issue. You’re not “prioritizing data,” but rather you are creating a false scarcity of use of non-partner sites by charging unreasonable prices for accessing them exclusively over your own competing partner sites. This is all I can come up with for why companies like Netflix are not screaming right now. It is the notion that they will be given the option to… Read more »
4mb down isn’t awful alone, but for 79.99 it is, but that may include phone? I was on the 1.5MB RR service for a short time, so this 4MB option is kinda in the middle, plus no cap. Still would rather give my money to someone else, but if Earthlink is going to caps too, there is no other choice. I really don’t want to give Frontier my money either!
Frontiers lines are so bad in my neighborhood I can’t even get DSL! So much for upgrading equipment huh?
Oh yes that too, when I did have Frontier.. I was also told I couldn’t get DSL either.
You have to keep requesting if DSL is available. Frontier has quietly been rewiring a lot of cable and creating satellite central offices which allow them to get further into areas that used to be too far away from the central office switch to get service.
Thanks Phil. Ill check into it again.
I believe a feature of TW Business Class service is a fixed IP.
I think that is true, although my IP on the residential side here in Rochester only changed every year or so, making it pretty much a fixed proposition.
I think the ability to have a server(s) on the IP is a Business class “perk”.