Originally posted on May 16, 2008 @ 11:42 pm
Comcast recently announced that they might consider bandwidth metering. One of the reasons being cited for this move is to solve network congestion it has been suffering, which is being blamed on torrent users, video downloaders and file sharers. As a company, I understand that they would see this as an easy solution to their problem. But as a user I am incensed.
Internet availability has transcended initial impressions for it as a fad or an optional service. I think it has now entered the level of a utility. Every home should have a stable internet connection for a variety of reasons that are just too many to mention here. Metering bandwidth defeats the very intrinsic nature of the internet as an always on connection that allows you to access information and whatever else the internet offers whenever you need it and at whatever amounts of data you download. Comcast should realize that the concept of bandwidth metering is something that users loathe. AOL has done it before. Compuserve has, too. And the consensus has been unanimous—bandwidth metering sucks.
I’m sure that Comcast can find other more creative ways of solving whatever problems they have without limiting the amount of data their subscribers get from the internet. If they don’t reconsider this option, they are in for a world of pain as internet users are a very vocal bunch.