Time Warner
Perhaps it is a maneuver to get people to jump onto the “lock in rates” 2-year contract ideas TWC was running with.
The outpouring of concerned folks and even a congressman has caused TWC to reconsider. Not give up, just reconsider, so we’ve still got work to do. But at this point it looks like WE WON!
+++ contacting Time Warner +++
If you’d like more information about Time Warner’s tiered billing system, or you’d just like to share your thoughts with the powers that be, email realideas@twcable.com. Or send a Twitter message to Jeff Simmermon, Time Warner’s Director of Digital Communications, at @JeffTWC, or Alex Dudley, the VP of Public Relations, at @AlexTWC. Rochester residents can also call Time Warner Rochester Customer Service at (585) 756-5000, or snail-mail the local Time Warner Cable office at 71 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620. (Thanks to Stop The Cap for collating this contact info!)
+++
Electronista said it best, The caps are being kept artificially low to protect Time Warner’s TV business as customers may cancel regular TV service in favor of iTunes purchases or web video services like Hulu, YouTube and Netflix.
And if you look at this little chart provided by Wired Magazine you might wonder if the overall motivation isn’t just simple profit taking.
Read the entire article at Wired Magazine.
And one final thought. David Ruif from the San Antonio Express News was interviewing me about MeterThis! and we had this exchange.
DR: Do you find it ironic that you are using Time Warner Cable services to publish this site against them?
JM: Yes, totally. It’s hilarious!
DR: Are you concerned about backlash from TWC?
JM: Not really. I guess it could happen, but I’m just posting on a blog. I’d just go down the street to a coffee shop and continue.
DR: So you’re not worried about TWC shutting you off?
JM: (I might have made this line up in my mind, trying to recall the conversation) Not a chance!
info@meterthis.net for more information.
Sincerely,
John McElhenney
@jmacofearth
http://uber.la
permalink: http://www.meterthis.net/about
3 Responses to “Time Warner”
I have declared WAR on Time Warner Cable.
First salvo: started up a Tor server on my home TWC account.
Second salvo: work with the other members of my HOA board to cancel our Time Warner Cable contract and switch to another provider. Thus, TWC will lose about 20 customers.
I will keep you updated.
I called TWC today and told them I will cancel if they do this. I’m a bit west of Bee Cave and dont have any great overland option, but am considering an unlimited data card on my laptop as the primary alternative. ATT doesnt have DSL at my house yet but if they did I would switch tonight.
I am also spreading the word about TWCs price gouge to everyone I know. Others are also now looking at the alternatives. Hell – I work from home often and I’m pretty sure there is a bit of traffic going thru the tunnel, and half the time you visit any regular site these days the things are so background data intensive it is insane. And what – I have to pay for popups now I guess? Crap I dont want? They come over the lines.
Plus I watch foreign TV online just to learn more about languages and about the world. TWC wants me to be stupid, I suppose.
We have to hit these people in their pocketbooks early and hard.
TWC and other ISPs do receive some public subsidization in the form of right-of-way access. This is done with the understanding that in exchange for use of public (taxpayer-funded) land, TWC will conduct business symbiotically with the local community. To quote the TWC’s charter for Austin:
“…the City desires to ensure that the quality and level of services offered to its citizens by Grantee are consistent with the then current industry standards for Cable Systems…”
(source: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/telecom/acvfran.htm)
By proposing tiers and pricing that are not even remotely competitive to other broadband ISPs and very inconsistent with the cost of delivering Internet service, it would appear TWC is acting directly against the very ordinance that the City of Austin granted them so that they could even conduct business here. One could argue that the ordinance does not mention broadband Internet services (keep in mind it was written in 1996), but because it shares the same physical infrastructure as their video network, RoadRunner has directly benefited from this same charter.
Some numbers for thought. A T1 line (1.544 Mbps) runs about $300/mo., and that is a dedicated full-duplex line that you can run 24×7 for a total of about 932GB/mo. (466GB download plus 466GB upload). 1/10th of that cost is $30, which matches TWC’s “basic” tier. 1/10th of the transfer volume would be 93GB/mo., which is almost 19 times more than TWC’s offering at the same cost. In fact, that’s nearing TWC’s “super” tier of 100GB/mo., for which TWC wants to charge $75/mo. Keep in mind that bandwidth gets substantially cheaper when purchased in bulk (versus a T1), meaning TWC’s markup is that much higher.
Bandwidth limits aren’t entirely unreasonable. It costs real money to deliver Internet service, and from a business point of view (aka. the need to make profit), it’s only logical to not sell something for less than its cost. The proposed limits and corresponding costs, however, are simply ridiculous.
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