Subscribe[Update 3:20pm EDT: Corey writes back with some minor corrections: "Standard Service is now 15Mbps down/2Mbps up; Turbo is 25Mbps(ish) down/2.5Mbps up" for him. Don't forget Powerboost may play with your numbers on the download.]
You’ve just alienated the majority of your customer base with a harebrained scheme to Cap ‘n Tier people into the Internet circa 1990, and that didn’t work and a whole lot of people canceled. So what do you do to placate the masses?
Increase their speed!
Before: Some of our heavy users (a/k/a Turbo tier customers I’ll bet) are using too much of our service and they are costing us too much. We need to charge more and cap you to invest in better equipment.
Today: “As a valued (San Antonio) Time Warner Cable customer, we have automatically upgraded your download speed from Road Runner Turbo 10 Mbps to our new Road Runner Turbo 15 Mbps speed at no additional cost to you. More importantly, we’ve upgraded your upload speed from 1 Mbps to 2 Mbps for FREE.”
StoptheCap! reader Corey is confused:
“The ONLY thing that makes sense is that by increasing speeds and usage (especially upload speeds), they are trying to create congestion so that they get problems and complaints to base their “facts” on, so that they have ammunition to come back with at a later time.”
It could be that. Or it could also be the fact the exaflood theory they based their earlier arguments on doesn’t hold a cup of water. It does seem odd that they would increase speeds for the customers they claim were causing a lot of their “problems.” Perhaps they also lost a whole bunch of those customers over this Cap ‘n Tier business and they want to get them back.
Other stories of interest:
- WOAI San Antonio – Damage Control Redux – When Time Warner “Delayed” Tiers For The Summer
- Time Warner Tosses Customers Powerboost Bone? Now Hit Your Usage Cap Faster Than Ever!
- WOAI San Antonio – Time Warner Customers Learn of the New 1GB Granny Tier
- Another Statement from Time Warner – Sit Down For This One
- Turbocharging Profits: Road Runner Ration Plan Breakdown
Huh. I wonder why San Antonio gets this and Austin doesn’t? We’re only an hour away from SA..
So, they get faster speeds, and we get cut off in a TWC ‘hissyfit?’ Gee, that’s just great.
I can not understand these moves, it does not make any sense its a 180 degree turn from there original “people use to much bandwidth” theory for tiered pricing.
Its pants on head retarded, now if they ever bring up the tiered pricing plan again wont they assume people are going to point that stuff like this and go “What the HELL!?”
The only reason I can see them doing this is that they are actually hemorrhaging subscribers and need a way to keep there big $ customers. It just does not make any kind of sense . . .
Double You Tea Eff Time Warner
Oh Nohs!!!! The Internets are going to run out now for sure!
TWC to San Antonio: “Hey sweetie… sorry I gave you a black eye… here’s some flowers to make it all better”
We will not stay in this abusive broadband marriage, Time Warner. The day we get divorced is coming up very soon.
Thank you for bringing attention to this sillyness <(sp?meh) anyhoo.. The speeds mentioned were for regular subscribers 10-15 and 1-2 for upload.. turbo has gone to 25mbps(ish)down and 2 1/2(ish) up..which brings us back to (what the heck??) The contradictions in logic simply astound me.. i pay around $55 for those (turbo speeds now) but actual download speeds (files) have never gone over 1.5 mbps ever.. Speedtest.net gets those speeds but not any actual files..
Also i know a few time warner people from san antonio and have sum rackspace and dell freinds too (sup austin) and the general consensus is this is a time warner corporate deal… (I would like to re-iterate to be especially nice to employees as this is not their fault..)
Bottom line.. I keep trying to come up with theories as to why they would do this.. but it comes down to TOTAL BS!
The “inside” people i have talked to say they could actually almost double the speeds we get now up and down WITHOUT any new equipment and at NO cost to them.. and that they are “holding back” and only bumping up the speeds as a sort of “wow look what we did for you…for FREE!” To ME they are just WAKE UP calls! LOOK we caught you in ANOTHER LIE.. I mean it really does NOT make sense… “we need to control our networks and cap and charge you more…BUT here is MORE bandwith that we say we can’t give you…” Sorry bout the rant..
but YOU guys “get” it. thnx
I live in Austin and I haven’t seen much of a speed increase, but I did hit 9Mbps for the first time last week, so the bandwidth is still creeping up.
The only thing that makes sense to me for the bandwidth increases is the TW is wanting customers to grow accustomed to the higher speeds so that they will not want to go to lower speed services when they finally put in those caps. Bait and switch.
Personally, I has all the (download) bandwidth I needed 8Mbps — and I am a heavy user compared to most. When you can already download an hour’s worth of video in 10 minutes, there really isn’t much need for more, and I suspect about 98% of all users feel the same way.
That’s TW’s problem — the higher bandwidth tiers don’t make a lot of sense to the vast majority of people, so there is little incentive to upgrade. Hence they want caps to expand their revenue stream.
“I has?” Speak English!!!
I agree.. at this time we don’t really need more speed.. we just don’t need a “limit” on how much we can use it.. when it does not really make sense..
I am still working on getting a better comment system in place here for people to edit their remarks.
Getting 15M/384k here in Rochester on the standard plan… first noticed it Tuesday afternoon
You are seeing Powerboost on the standard service. This is why you are getting 15M down.
I would like to see:
1. TWC implement a cap closer to the Comcast model of 250 GB/month, if they truly need to upgrade equipment and catch the heavy users among us.
2. If a user goes under the 250 GB/month, have a “rollover” policy, say up to 10% (25 GB) that can be banked for a limited time.
OR
3. Let this cap policy die a quiet death, let me monitor my web usage and submit to me what they measured I used and give me ample warning, and truly clamp down on the heavy users.
One day, hopefully, we’re more saturated like S. Korea, Japan, Finland. . .until then, think and implement reasonable policies.
jr
San Antonio TWC user
Is this speed increase confirmed? Where was it posted, an email to all customers? satx.rr.com website as buggy as it may be makes no mention.
I have reset my ip and modem and still at the same speeds.