Written By ApplesauceNinja 83 days ago
News Category: Industry News
Relevant Consoles: : Franchises : Nintendo DS : PC : PlayStation 3 : Wii : Xbox 360

Do you remember the early days of the Internet? I do. I remember tier based pricing plans for access, by which if a user went over his or her allotted online time, heavy fines were paid, much like if you go over your cell phone minutes. Often, the prices were quite steep.

I had a friend who once went over her online time, and she ended up with a $900 bill. But, that was way back before unlimited Internet access became the norm. But friends, that may soon change. It looks like the online habits of
many may soon face a huge cutback.

It seems as if some of the major communications companies, including Time Warner and Comcast, think it's high time to start penalizing customers who use the net more than others by regressing access back to the days of tier based service via a system called "Internet Metering."

The idea is that users who watch a lot of online video or play online games use more bandwidth than casual users who simply pop online, check their email and the news, and then log off, which is true, but they now want to punish those who do so. Their justification of this system is that "Well, Internet access is like water or electricity. If you use more, you should pay more."

Seeing as how the Internet didn't really begin to boom in popularity until unlimited access became the norm, I fail to see how this will do anything but hurt the consumers and the service providers. With multimedia heavy services like Itunes, Blockbuter, and Netflix offering increasingly more options, this idea will hurt them.

And, it would hurt Xbox Live, World of Warcraft, and a myriad of other online gaming services as well if customers are forced to choose between regular Internet browsing and online gaming. Time Warner is currently testing their new model in Beaumont, Texas. They offer customers a 5, 20, or 40 gigabyte per month subscription plan. Those who go over it will be penalized.

There has been the notion for some time now that the Net and television were destined for convergence. If this new business model becomes the norm, I think that idea will go straight to hell in a hand basket. The full details can be read in the following article.

http://biz.yahoo.com/nytimes/080614/1194785259060.html?.v=3

Tags : activision : activision blizzard : Age of Conan : Blizzard Entertainment : Guild Wars : mmorpg : mmorpgs : online gaming : pc : PlayStation 3 : Wii : World of Wacraft : Xbox 360

Comments

By: Magus

On: 09:18 Jun 15th, 2008
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Thank god I'm European and don't have to have things imposed on me by Time Warner.

I honestly can't see how they manage to draw a parallel between the internet and water and electricity. I think it's ridiculous that something like this might be enforced. Why shouldn't people be allowed to spend as much time as they want on the net?

By: Laylia

On: 10:40 Jun 15th, 2008
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This is stupid. >_>

I've never seen a limited download package that would meet my needs. 40Gb is nothing. It really isn't.

Now I understand that that's far far far too much for the "average user" that just browses a bit and checks email. So why don't they just make the small packages for those people, and then keep the unlimited ones for the heavier users.

Oh wait... They don't care about what's good for their customers, they just want to make as much cash as possible. I know it's not exactly the same, but I think that this can be tied quite nicely to net neutrality... If they ever imposed this sort of thing, then it would radically change how people used the internet. Chance already mentioned how things like iTunes would be effected, and I definitely think that the viewership of YouTube would be seriously damaged. I'm not currently playing any MMORPGs, but what if I suddenly decided to take one up? The idea of having to upgrade my package for the chance of maybe liking the game seems like a waste of time (especially as the contract would probably lock me to that for six months or something like that).

The package idea is good for people that want to save money by paying less than the unlimited connections, but it really really will not work for heavy users.

By: Dragonfly

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On: 12:43 Jun 15th, 2008
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You guys have no idea how lucky you have it.

ApplesauceNinja;51197

I do. I remember tier based pricing plans for access, by which if a user went over his or her allotted online time, heavy fines were paid, much like if you go over your cell phone minutes.

This is the only system available in Ireland. There's no "un-tiered" choice unless you're willing to pray an insanely price for it.

Never in the time I've used it have I managed to go over my 30GB a month limit though, and I'm a pretty active online gamer.

If the price they provide for the tiered service is actually lower than the currently existing un-tiered, I think this could actually work out in the consumer's favour, as long as there's still a price option for un-tiere access.

Magus;51199

Thank god I'm European and don't have to have things imposed on me by Time Warner.

I'm from Ireland, and the only system we have is tiered. Trust me, this is far from something reserved to the US; guess you're just lucky.

By: Evren

Video Game Chat Member Avatar

On: 01:34 Jun 15th, 2008
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They want to do the same thing over here, but set a small fee more for online gamers.
Small huh.

I belive this is insane, I pay for 50mb a month for a reason, people who only check thier mail etc usually go for a lower package Im sure...
Seems we're being screwed from all angles for using the internetz.

By: Kelz

On: 06:14 Jun 15th, 2008
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Our plan is 40GB, and if we go over it, then we pay for more packages of 5GB.

*shrugs*

By: Glorin

On: 09:33 Jun 15th, 2008
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This is really just a load of crap. Come on. Why do they have to put fees on everything. It's just ridiculous. What about the families with more then one person that uses internet. Sometimes internet has to be used as well. It's just stupid. If it's only those companies doing that I am sure we will be changing our service.

By: Kelz

On: 12:37 Jun 16th, 2008
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I just thought I'd mention the other month where I killed our internet and had to pay for the extra. >____>

By: Laylia

On: 06:29 Jun 16th, 2008
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So how much are people here actually paying for their internet atm?

I pay �14.99 monthly for an unlimited connection which is supposed to reach up to 8Mbps (It's never hit 2Mbps, but it's started to slowly rise after news reporters have picked up on the mis-advertising that a lot of companies do). I think this is a pretty good deal, but the customer service is absolutely ridiculous.

If I had to switch to one of Times Warner's plans, then I'd have to go for the 40Gb (I still heavily doubt this would be enough) and the cost of this would be �25 (approx.) so they're obviously money grabbing... OR there's a different plan afoot. I suspect that they're trying to curb people's downloading... Most importantly, the downloading of pirated movies & music, of which Time Warner is a "victim"...

By: Evren

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On: 09:14 Jun 16th, 2008
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Im paying �31 a month for my 24mb connection, which will soon be 50mb.
I've not paid anything for 3 months due to virgin being idiots.
Lol.

I dont have to pay any extra, and virgin KNOW why I use the internet, They asked.

By: Magus

On: 11:18 Jun 16th, 2008
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Dragonfly;51204

I'm from Ireland, and the only system we have is tiered. Trust me, this is far from something reserved to the US; guess you're just lucky.

Then I'm lucky I'm Norwegian! Thank you Telenor!

By: Laylia

On: 01:36 Jun 16th, 2008
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Evren;51263

Im paying �31 a month for my 24mb connection, which will soon be 50mb.

Mmm, fibre optic... *Drools*

If it weren't so expensive I would definitely go for your package.

By: Matt

On: 09:15 Jun 17th, 2008
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I used to be on a 200MB/day limit with my former ISP. I went over it just about every day....

I think I could do the 50gig package, some days i'll download 10gig others only 5-10MB.

But, really your being ripped off. It goes back to them not wanting to upgrade the service to hold more customers.

Im paying �31 a month for my 24mb connection, which will soon be 50mb.
I've not paid anything for 3 months due to virgin being idiots.

Fiber optic? As in you ALWAYS get those speeds? :drools too:

By: Dragonsoul

On: 10:16 Jun 17th, 2008
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An untiered service would never suit my needs. I have no desire to watch every minute I'm online--I just don't have the time. I think an option to limt your access to reduce the price would be fine with me, if Time Warner feels it would help curb costs, but I personally would rather stay with it unlimited, even if that means I pay a higher price. Having the option to either go with a limited, lower-priced service or a higher-priced but unlimited IMO suits all the needs involved.

Not that I expect a huge conglomerate like Time Warner to figure that out. *sighs*

By: Evren

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On: 10:49 Jun 17th, 2008
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*grin* Hehe, the price is good for what im getting, And the best thing is..
I can run WoW on 2 PC's and a laptop, Run XBL, and have torrents on two of the PC's and not get overly screwed.

And Virgin have actually been very helpful, if anyone in the UK gets it now, Please email me, and say I reccomended you. We both get a free month that way! =D