Just got this email... :(

[MedicSN6]

Dear Comcast High-Speed Internet Customer,

 

We appreciate your business and strive to provide you with the best online experience possible. One of the ways we do this is through our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). The AUP outlines acceptable use of our service as well as steps we take to protect our customers from things that can negatively impact their experience online. This policy has been in place for many years and we update it periodically to keep it current with our customers' use of our service.

 

On October 1, 2008, we will post an updated AUP that will go into effect at that time.

 

In the updated AUP, we clarify that monthly data (or bandwidth) usage of more than 250 Gigabytes (GB) is the specific threshold that defines excessive use of our service. We have an excessive use policy because a fraction of one percent of our customers use such a disproportionate amount of bandwidth every month that they may degrade the online experience of other customers.

 

250 GB/month is an extremely large amount of bandwidth and it's very likely that your monthly data usage doesn't even come close to that amount. In fact, the threshold is approximately 100 times greater than the typical or median residential customer usage, which is 2 to 3 GB/month. To put it in perspective, to reach 250 GB of data usage in one month a customer would have to do any one of the following:

 

* Send more than 50 million plain text emails (at 5 KB/email);

* Download 62,500 songs (at 4 MB/song); or

* Download 125 standard definition movies (at 2 GB/movie).

 

And online gamers should know that even the heaviest multi- or single-player gaming activity would not typically come close to this threshold over the course of a month.

 

In addition to modifying the excessive use policy, the updated AUP contains other clarifications of terms concerning reporting violations, newsgroups, and network management. To read some helpful FAQs, please visit http://help.comcast.net/content/faq/Freque...t-Excessive-Use.

 

Thank you again for choosing Comcast as your high-speed Internet provider.

[Halli~SPARTA~]

Why the sad face It should not impact ya unless you send 50 million e-mails or 125 movies a month (Religious movies I hope they are).

[Athlon64~SPARTA~]

Ya right, It shouldent bouther ya.

[MedicSN6]

Yeah, yeah. I see this not so much affecting me directly, but as a step in the wrong direction. The main thing is that their advertising when I got "cumcast" stated that it was "unlimited monthly internet bandwidth." I am paying the same price now for limited bandwidth. All of their customers should be pissed.

[Athlon64~SPARTA~]

Ya and if thats the deal, I would be to. Next thing you know they will cutt it shorter and try and charge you more.

Edited September 19, 2008 by Athlon64~SPARTA~

[Samurai~SPARTA~]

It's a put up or shut up society nowadays.

 

If you feel that strongly, change your ISP, otherwise STFU and stop whining...

 

[NoScream~SPARTA~]

Your not the first or last, sorry it's hitting you too, I'm with a cable company in the UK

they advertise "Unlimited Downloads" but in there policy which noone reads it has a fair

use clause which states "up to a maximum deemed fair by the company". Now what does that mean?

 

Secondly they now do "Band width shaping" as they call it, so between the hours of 4.00pm & 11.00 pm

every evening if you exceed 3Gb of download, your speed will be "Shaped" to 1/2 speed to help ease

the load to other customers, shaping? "Throttling" THey say it's 4.00pm to 9.pm but this time is now running to

midnight because they penilize you for 4 hours if you go over 3Gb and run the capping till 0000 hrs.

 

Wait till you get that one too.....

 

http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/internet/traffic.html

 

What do the updates to the traffic management policy mean?

 

To make sure all customers get the most from their connection, we automatically reduce the speed of the heaviest users at peak evening times - between 4pm and 9pm. In extreme cases, we'll now also reduce the speed between 10am and 3pm - something that'll have an impact on just 1% of our customers.

 

[Athlon64~SPARTA~]

Ide tell them that they need to upgrade their bandwith and servers. due to if as soon as they cutt mine then a refund kicks in to me and then Ide report them to the FCC and sue them for fause advertiseing! Im tough on them anyhow. My ISP knows me well. If my download speed drops below 15meg im on the phone! I pay extra for that speed and they better dam well delever it! My modem died last xmass day, you should have heard the ass chewing they got.

Edited September 21, 2008 by Viiiper~SPARTA~

[Rocky]

I'd have to agree, over 200Gb is really excessive for home use. I class myself as a heavy user, and my monthly total doesn't exceed 50Gb. I'd hate to live in the same street as folks downloading 4 times that much.

 

My ISP (same as viiiper) doesn't have a monthly "cap", it's continuous. Anyone downloading more than 3Gb in one 24 hour period gets their internet speed immediately cut. That stings, I like your deal much better.

Edited September 19, 2008 by Rocky

[adder360~SPARTA~]

i 2 am with the same isp but on ADSL conection with them and i get the same shit ass survace so ive just changed my sleep patterns so im awake when the nets fast and sleep when its slow, viva la unemployment lol

[DrNo~SPARTA~]

In Canada, it all sucks................ I think we bought everyones else's old gear like our two submarine fleet or our wireless system is still using smoke signals.... puff on, puff off....lol. Myby thats the first digital wireless communications.... yeah smoke signals..... then our fiber optics are a few school kids relaying morse code via flashlight down the block..... as you can tell its kinda slow here.

[Athlon64~SPARTA~]

HA HA! Think my isp has old 1952 servers that use vacuum tubes. I call them and tell them to go out back and beat on the top of those old crappy servers to get them working faster! LOL! Or tell them to prod the guy pedeling the bicycle that runns them.

[Punisher~SPARTA~]

In Canada, it all sucks................ I think we bought everyones else's old gear like our two submarine fleet or our wireless system is still using smoke signals.... puff on, puff off....lol. Myby thats the first digital wireless communications.... yeah smoke signals..... then our fiber optics are a few school kids relaying morse code via flashlight down the block..... as you can tell its kinda slow here.

 

Might as well be true for the service we get

[usthomsen~SPARTA~]

In Deanmark its all ok. I have been upgraded for free two times this year so i now pay for a 2 gbit down and 768mbit up but in fact i have a 6gbit down and 2,3gbit up. No limitations no restrictions even at peek hours. And a lot of healthy competition from other providers hence the free upgrade

[MedicSN6]

glad to hear someone isnt getting it up the wahoo by the corporate world.

[Inimigo~SPARTA~]

max in Belgium (just doubled) = 60 GB /month (paying 50 euros that is).

Average download limit in Belgium is around 20-25 GB/month.

 

Doesn't seem that bad!

 

 

[DrNo~SPARTA~]

mayby we should all pool our resourses and open up a terabite ISP. LOSC internet services. "we have the gamer in mind"

[MedicSN6]

mayby we should all pool our resourses and open up a terabite ISP. LOSC internet services. "we have the gamer in mind"

 

was going to add some categories to that list but realised I posted this in a public forum. HAHA.

[NoScream~SPARTA~]

250Gb is a very high cap, this is my cable usage from my DU Meter

and like rocky says for heavy users it's a good size, I sometimes

am an extreme user but in general 250 is massive.

 

 

[Durka-Durka~SPARTA~]

It's like going to a buffet. Most people just eat their fill and go on home, but there's always that one huge guy who's eating so much that nobody else can get in line to get their roast beef and corn bread because he's blocking the way. Anyways, they're making an awful lot of fuss over "a fraction one percent."