So much for so-called "unlimited"
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In the continuing proxy war against illegal downloading, it seems as though ISPs are increasingly flexing their muscle as internet gatekeeper.
The MPAA, the RIAA, and even some file-sharing companies have all asked Congress to mandate that ISPs monitor their networks for illegal-sharing of copyrighted content and to disconnect users who fail to comply.
Well, Comcast, in addition to throttling BitTorrent traffic, perhaps illegally, has now started to disconnect "excessive" downloaders, arguing that they slow down the network for everybody else.
But, the kicker here is that they refuse to reveal their download limits, leaving it up to hapless users to throttle upwards until they receive a warning letter.
"You have no way of knowing how much is too much," said Sandra Spalletta of Rockville, whose Internet service was suspended in March after Comcast sent her a letter warning that she and her teenage son were using too much bandwidth. They cut back on downloads but were still disconnected. She said the company would not tell her how to monitor their bandwidth use in order to comply with the limits.
"You want to think you can rely on your home Internet service and not wake up one morning to find it turned off," said Spalletta, who filed a complaint with the Montgomery County Office of Cable and Communication Services. "I thought it was unlimited service."
Charlie Douglas, a Comcast spokesman said that the company is merely addressing "the problem of abusive activity that adversely impacts on everybody else's experience."
"I can't give you a number" for clients who have been disconnected, said Douglas, while assuring that customers whose plugs were pulled are "very rare."
As internet related application require more and more bandwidth, ISPs are facing a short supply of available bandwidth with which to sell to new customers. Thus this means that existing users who consume an inordinate amount of bandwidth that impacts an ISP's ability to take in new customers will find themselves being shown the door.
According to the Washington Post, a customer would have to download about 1,000 MP3s or 4 "full-length" movies (XVID format I presume) to trigger a disconnect warning.
Now 4 movie downloads a day may be easy to limit ones self to, but if you take into account streaming services like Joost, Last.FM, YouTube, TV Links and others, it may just be a matter of time before many of us become "excessive" users.
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It's illegal in the UK not to clearly state the download limits.
Ironically enough, UK ISPs are allowed to claim "unlimited bandwidth" in their sales pitch as long as they include a Fair Use Policy or FUP stating what "unlimited bandwidth" actually means.
As an example, BT {British TeleCom, the former state owned phone company} has an unlimited package that only gives you 3gb per month at whatever download speed you can get {usually 3 to 4mb}, but after that, you are restricted to 10kb up and down.
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good… some country has to has a rule against this.. us yanks are a baby compared...
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I forgot to mention that it's also illegal to disconnect you without a 30 day or your next billing cycle {which ever is later} written notice in the UK, except as part of a court or police order {ie you are breaking some law}.
A bunch of reforms went into law on 14 Feb 2007, giving consumers more rights as far as internet usage went.
Before 14 Feb 2007, we were at the complete mercy of the ISPs.
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i'm Assuming Comcast is doing this on there own…right?
cause as far as i know..based on all the stuff I've read..they are not liable for what a customer downloads or uploads...the only responsibility an ISP has is to inform us or eventually cancel our accounts...
cause legally they are not allowed to give our information unless...the MPAA etc...brings a court order for such thing...
otherwise...why would they be doing this...are they getting something out of the MPAA and the RIAA???
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Comcast follows NO regulations or rules execpt what THEY want to do.
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"Flat rate" in Serbia means that one can download as much as he/she wants in one month. There is no limit. So unlimited really is unlimited. The downside is that 1.5Mb/sec is as high as dowload speed goes.
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Like in Serbia we in Croatia also have ''Flat rate'' but in contract you have with small fonts writen Fair Use Policy.
Top speed is 16Mb/sec for download and 0.7Mb/sec for upload and nobady will say anything to you while your traffic is smaller then 100Gb. If you go uper you will get a warning message and the next time they just disconnect you for 1 to 3 month. -
Limiting downloads is ridiculously stupid. I just legally downloaded 4 gigs worth of data because I got accepted into a beta test for a game and needed to install it. So if I were in the UK, I wouldn't be able to test the beta because I'd have gone over the limit a gig ago, and would be attempting to play on a speed less than 56k. People are paying for DSL and high speed internet because it's supposed to be fast and unrestrictive. If limits start being imposed, wouldnt it be better to go with a dial-up line than DSL since they're not restricting their users? It's such BS!
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There are companies in the UK that are pretty good, just have to shop around.
Most of the "mainstream" ISPs are thieving bastards. However, with a bit of digging, you can find some decent ones.
My IPS lets me download 330gb a month, 45gb of that is during 8am to 8pm {edit Monday - Friday}, for £30. If I go over that amount, they charge me for the package that my usage fits into + £5 for that month. Then I go back to my normal package.
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Mmmm there a lots of news about what Comcast is doing, here a few list of thing
BitTorrent thorbbing
hxxp://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071019-evidence-mounts-that-comcast-is-targeting-bittorrent-traffic.html
hxxp://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/comcast-engaging-in-data-discrimination/
hxxp://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/19/141723å8&from=rss
hxxp://www.boingboing.net/2007/10/19/comcast-actively-blo.html
hxxp://digg.com/tech_news/Comcast_blocks_some_Internet_trafficGrandma's Hammer whack Comcast office
hxxp://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/18/2310222&from=rss
hxxp://consumerist.com/consumer/followups/legend-of-comcast-office+smashing-grandma-spreads-312685.php
hxxp://gizmodo.com/gadgets/comcast/75+year+old-sends-a-hammering-blow-to-comcasts-customer-service-313236.phpComcast flltering out political-related email
hxxp://digg.com/politics/Comcast_Caught_Filtering_Political_E_MailsPricing increased
hxxp://consumerist.com/consumer/cable/comcast-prices-rising-around-the-country-312309.phpThose news is fresh this month. You guy need to change the Hxxp to Http, FYI, have to follow GT rules
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here in south africa where the 4mb lines are just appearing we tend to get adsl lin es but get contracts isp bundles instead we only pay for the lines , connection speeds are terrible and we usually have a limit as per isp , so we are limited to the amount of bandwith purchased on a month to month basis our monopolising industry (telkom) are partly state owned which means that p2p are throttled at default. you are lucky thet you are getting those fast lines , the 4mb lines are very expensive and nainly business users can afford them R3000.00 or so per month adsl 512mb costs about 450 pm excluding the isp …..
