SubscribeAllen Wan from Chicago dropped Stop the Cap! a postcard by good old snail mail about today’s broadband cap ‘n tier regime in place at some of America’s largest Internet Service Providers to make an important point: with Internet Overcharging schemes like usage caps and usage-based billing, America’s best broadband value may actually come from the United States Postal Service.
Allen breaks it down for us:
| AT&T | Comcast | U.S. Post Office | |
| Regular Unit/Monthly Price | $25 for 768kbps DSL $45 for 6Mbps DSL |
$60 Internet-only service | $0.44 First Class Mail $0.11 Blank CD-R $0.12 Blank DVD+R $0.48 Blank DL-DVD+R $0.10 Label/Envelope |
| Cap/Capacity | 150GB per month | 250GB per month | 700MB for CD 4.7GB for DVD 8.5GB for DL-DVD |
| Price per Gigabyte | $0.17 for 768kbps DSL $0.30 for 6Mbps DSL |
$0.24 | $0.93 for CD $0.14 for DVD $0.12 for DL-DVD |
Allen’s chart points out that for large file transfers like movies, TV shows, and major software updates, consumers actually get more value on a per-GB basis burning those shows and software to a traditional or dual-layer (DL) DVD, and dropping them in the mailbox.
While prices for service may vary, so do Internet Overcharging schemes. If a customer reaches their monthly limit one time too many, they will be relying on the post office to move files back and forth because companies like Comcast and Cox will terminate their service. Other providers, like AT&T and Suddenlink, are content to simply send the customer a bill with overlimit charges on it.
With a marketplace duopoly, ineffective government oversight, and ever-increasing prices, the U.S. Post Office may still be in the running after all, thanks to Back to the Future-pricing from your ISP.
