Comcast Introduces 1TB Xfinity Data Plans

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problematiq

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Being that ISP's pay for the speed of the data and not the amount, I'm calling bull on this one. If the pipe gets clogged everyone is slowed down we see it during peak usage times, and sometimes QOS (Quality Of Service) kicks in.
 

Adam Johnson

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So I have a family of 6 (2 adults and 4 teenagers), and use comcast for internet only, and PS Vue / Netflix / Amazon Prime for our main media consumption. I also telecomute for work (via remoting into a computer on the same network as our DB). I got an email saying I've averaged 1.8 TB/month for the last 3 months. We regular use 4 TV's to stream - not always simultaneously, but sometimes.

Looks like I'm going to start coughing up $50 more a month, as Comcast is the only speedy internet I can get here. I suppose I can switch to a "double-play" account and axe PSVue, but by the time you add on 4 HDDVR boxes, the price isn't much different, and they all enjoy the unlimited DVR streams and custom profiles on PSVue.
 

Realist9

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"The ISP's network can only handle so much data traffic, so it has become necessary for them to apply data caps in certain areas. "
I think it would be more accurate to say that ISP's have done *&^% all to increase network capacity in the last 10-15 yrs, causing the US to fall behind other countries in network capability, while more services provide network hungry apps, all while the ISP's milk and bilk their customers with ever higher bills and speed/amount restrictions to cover their greed.
 
Introduces? I think you mean "Enforces." A new ISP just moved in near us, they laid fiber this summer. AFAIK they don't have a cap and their a similar base tier service is faster than Comcast but costs about $10/month more. Still considering switching just because I continue to see this sort of money grabbing.
 

targetdrone

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The "ISPs can only handle so much data" line is a bit miss leading and is just an excuse used by The ISP Cartel to bleed customers for more money.

Yes, the pipe is only so fat and only so many bits can be crammed throw it at ANY ONE TIME but me downloading my ENTIRE steam library at 2am on Tuesday does not crash the network like everyone "Netflix and chilling" at 7pm on a Friday.

The Cartel loves to cry about limited bandwidth capacity and because of that the need to set data caps and charge for overages , yet the next sentence out of their press releases is they are doubling everyone download speeds free of charge. If the crappy network can't handle everyone downloading at 25MBs don't upgrade everyone to 50MBs. STOP OVERSELLING!
 

targetdrone

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Don't forget all the money they need to pay off politicians and judges at all levels of government to prevent any competition from entering the market and to secure tax payer subsidies and still never upgrade the infrastructure or stop rate increases.
 

drapacioli

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Jeez, $50 to remove a data cap? I pay $45 a month for 50/50 in FL and my plan is not capped in any way. Where the hell are these people living where internet is so expensive?
 

Adam Johnson

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I live in a suburb of Sacramento, CA. I can get 3.0 DSL from ATT for ~$40 (after the trial period ends) or Comcast BLAST for $83. DSL is way too slow. ATT does have Fiber in a lot of areas around here, but they never made it to my neighborhood, and stopped expanding their fiber network years ago.
 

PaulAlcorn

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My ISP (Cox Communication) sold me a plan with 2TB cap per month, pretty good, 200 down and 25 up. Then they cut the cap in half the next month to 1TB without even telling me, other than the notice that I had exceeded my limit. ISPs are no bueno.
 

senshu

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You don't really believe this, do you? You're trolling, right?

 

Maldoror7

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As tax payers we already have and continue to.give billions in subsidies to ISPs to improve their networks. Tax payers already spent billions to create the internet. We are all in the wrong business.
 

Nintendork

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Realistically you can't download 24/7 with 100-1000Mbit connection since you would require thousands per month in HDD.

People want fast access to the content but the own internet will limit you usage.

A 40min 1080p youtube video is a 40min youtube 1080p video, no matter what speed you get, youll see the same amount of data in 40mins.

There are no data caps in south america, most of europe or asia, are they ET's? No right?
 

Nintendork

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90% of total speed

100Mbit 24/7 --> 25TB
1000Mbit 24/7 --> 250TB

We access the same contente, we simply don't wait hours, but minutes or seconds.
 

Nintendork

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@Addam, your neighborhood should organize and ask the city major to allow more providers or what big ISP's hate most, community managed ISP.
 

Valantar

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God, this is such BS. Data caps on landlines? All that does is give away that the ISP has been neglecting its network (for years!). Unless, of course, it's an arbitrary and unnecessary restricition added purely to screw customers out of money.

If the US actually had a functioning market for broadband (and not a series of local monopolies, as it is today), this would be nonexistent. The only logical way for an ISP to function is for it to strive for better speeds to users at all times, and backing this up with constant upgrades to its central networks - ensuring that they can handle the necessary load.

Data caps barely make sense on sensitive, unstable mobile networks. For landline broadband, they're utter BS. The author sounds like an utter shill here (or at best ignorant enough to regurgitate monopolist PR spin).
 

Jack7063

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I upgraded to Comcast unlimited back in January 2016 for $35 a month as I was using 500gigs and paying for the overage since the cap was only 350gigs per month. A few months ago I get a letter saying the cap it now 1T. I looked to see what my usage was by logging on to my account and the data usage meter showed none. I called Comcast 4 or 5 times and they finally admitted they could not tell me what my usage was since I was already paying for the unlimited. So right now I am paying $35 a month for unlimited and don't know if I am using over the new 1T cap or not. I think I am just giving my $35 to Comcast. They said I would have to drop the unlimited plan and then the data usage meter would start working. I am just dumbfounded about the non working data meter. Yes, I will be dropping the unlimited shortly.
 

Jared_E

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I call bullshit on this article and it should be revoked, it has all the hallmarks of being paid for and find Tomshardware posting this to be bad journalism. Consumers loose when ISPs inact data caps as it's just another method for them to arbitrarily charge customers more.
 


Tom's Hardware gets all of its funding from advertisements on the site, and we do not accept money from any companies in return for articles.

I'm sure the issue everyone has with this article is that I said the network can only handle so much traffic. This statement should not be protested, as it is a fact. The hardware used to maintain and run the network isn't capable of transmitting data at an unlimited speed. To help reduce overall network usage and avoid the pipeline from getting clogged, ISPs use a variety of methods to limit or discourage users from excessively using the network connection. Data caps are one such method deployed by ISPs like Comcast to achieve this goal. I personally feel it would be best for these companies to upgrade their networks so that they are able to handle the increased traffic, but this often isn't the direction ISPs go in.

I can understand everyone's hatred of data caps. My home Internet connection is capped at 300GB each month, and it is a pain to need to carefully watch network usage so as not to be slammed with an overage fee. As I have no power to change the way ISPs operate, however, I opted to keep things professional and focused on the actually Comcast announcement instead of arbitrarily raging about it.
 

memadmax

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Complete and utter BS.
I'm in the "Utah market" and speeds are just fine even during peak hours.

This is just more milking the cow.
The united states has the highest internet fees/rates in the world...

Gee, I wonder why....
 
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