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Residents of Austin need to make plans to attend a meeting this Wednesday the 13th at 6:30pm at City Hall to be sure your voices are heard regarding the possibility of Time Warner Cable returning with its metered billing and rationing plan this fall. It would also be a great time to call attention to the company suspending customer accounts for “excessive consumption” as we’ve documented.
Michael Chaney, one of our readers, gave us the heads-up and also pointed us to the Austinist news and culture site, which published news about the meeting:
Chairman Chip Rosenthal said public input last month justified further inquiry into the metered bandwidth issue, and that the commission is now looking for policy input from experts in regulatory matters. That process, which may take months, begins with Wednesday’s meeting of the Austin Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission.
Rosenthal said the commission faces two challenges:
“As far as we can tell, the city has little regulatory authority over the [Time Warner Cable] broadband Internet product. Yes, TWC does hold a city-granted franchise, but that agreement only covers cable video services,” Rosenthal said. “(Also) the grounds for action are more uncertain now that TWC has rescinded metering (for the time being, so they say). How do you ask for relief when you aren’t being damaged? So, the current effort may end up being groundwork, so that we’re better if they do come back.”
Stop the Cap! will be glad to work on some written input for the meeting which we’ll publish here before Wednesday, should one of our Austin readers like to provide it to them. Rosenthal is correct — Time Warner Cable’s broadband services are unregulated. However, forcing language that prohibits capping or tiered pricing into a franchise renewal agreement is a possibility, as would other options ranging from exploring municipal broadband or outright non-renewal of the company’s franchise.
Rosenthal is right to consider their exploration of this issue laying “groundwork,” because we are convinced Time Warner Cable has not permanently shelved these pricing schemes by any means.
What: Austin Community Technology & Telecommunications Commission meeting on TWC metered billing and other issues.
Where: City Hall – Room 1101, 301 W. 2nd Street, Austin, Texas
When: Wednesday May 13, 6:30pm
Details: Agenda & Meeting Information, List of Monthly Time Warner Cable Complaints, Emerging Tech Presentation
Website: Austin Community Technology & Telecommunications Commission
Hey Phillip, I’ll definitely be at Wed’s meeting and I’d be glad to present any material you can supply. Keep in mind that my time may be limited, but I’m pretty sure the commission will listen to whatever we have to say. I was planning on focusing on 1) Current instances of TWC’s “excessive use” clause enforcement 2) franchise authority and regulation 3) TWC’s indications that this is not over and 4) Recommending to the City Council that they must apply pressure to the state legislature to allow for municipal broadband. I want to stress to the Commission and the… Read more »
I wonder what it would be like for one of Time Warner’s deaf customers to have to call the “excessive use hotline” for the crime of trying to communicate with relatives. When you’re a millionaire executive like Glenn Britt you don’t have to fret about such matters
Someone needs to bring up the fact that 1) TWC says that internet usage is rising. 2) TWC’s Internet profit is rising. 3) TWC’s internet COSTS are lowering, and 4) TWC’s expenditures to IMPROVE the Internet are lowering as well.
Hey this maybe of some use, a customer phone call to TWC San Antonio, the rep unable to answer several questions, a big we dont do that for (NOW) and I cant tell you how to measure your consumption , but hes willing to sell the customer who’s afraid of going over his limit three internet accounts at a single residence.
The_5_GIG_Rally.mp3
skip forward to around the 8 min mark
nypostoplobotomy.com
I definitely want to bring up TWC and they’re current situation and practices, but I want to keep it pretty general too. AT&T Uverse is in parts of our market as well, and I want to let the commission know that AT&T has been trying this same thing in Reno, NV. I want to stress to the commission that today it was almost TWC and tomorrow it may be TWC again or it may be AT&T, but if the City of Austin had the threat of muni-broadband to carry as a big stick, these companies would be less likely to… Read more »
I have to say this:
Phil, you should not have changed the layout of this site. Wrong wrong wrong.
IWEB says:
May 12, 2009 at 11:36 am
I have to say this:
Phil, you should not have changed the layout of this site. Wrong wrong wrong.
I agree, the new layout sux Phil.. you will loose a lot of viewers
who come upon it. Its to busy and convulated (j’s idea???).
Find something better or go back to the way it was.
G>J.
If I can secure transportation to and from tomorrow’s meeting I will definitely go.
I wish the meeting didn’t start so early as getting downtown during the 5PM rush hour is a major hassle.
Best of luck to all who plan to speak at the Austin Community Technology & Telecommunications Commission meeting.
If I only knew about this meeting, I’d be there right now, instead of at work on this site. The argument needs to be made that this throttling, truly, has little to do with the Internet, and has everything to do with a dwindling demand in Cable services (channels, VOD, PPV, DVR, etc). Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, and other Internet-based video hosting sites are giving Cable-provided services tremendous competition, and may even eventually make these services obsolete.