UCAN Editor's Note: Today, Comcast firmly cemented its reputation as one of the world's most atrocious internet service providers by being the first major company to limit the bandwidth used by its customers. From now on, Comcast customers who download too much data will have their service terminated. Not surprising. This is the same company that caused their 75 year old customer Mona Shaw so much mental angst that she ended up seeking free therapy on the Dr. Phil show, where UCAN's Executive Director was drafted to serve as a co-therapist.

No wonder there is a growing movement of consumers who believe that "Comcast Must Die."

Comcast to restrict monthly broadband use

Friday, August 29, 2008 (SF Chronicle)
Comcast to restrict monthly broadband use
Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer

Comcast soon will begin cracking down on heavy users of its Internet
service in a move that critics fear could be a step toward restricting
unlimited broadband access to download and upload files while surfing the
Web.

The country's largest cable company and second-largest Internet provider
said Thursday that beginning Oct. 1, residential users who download and/or
upload more than 250 GB of data a month will be notified and asked to curb
their use. Customers who exceed the limit a second time in six months will
face termination of their account.

The limit clearly defines a policy that Comcast has had in place for many
years. In the past, excessive users faced similar restrictions, but the
limits were never spelled out and actually fluctuated month to month
depending on overall traffic. Comcast would not disclose the range of the
old limits.

Comcast officials said the move will help maintain a smooth experience for
the majority of customers, who use far less than 250 GB a month. The
current median monthly data use is 2 to 3 GB, Comcast said. The company,
however, has no immediate plans to release a meter for customers to track
their own usage.

"We have some extremely high bandwidth users that consume a
disproportionate amount of data, and that can degrade service for others,"
said Charlie Douglas, a spokesman for Comcast. "To maintain a high quality
of service for users we've gone with this."

Critics, meanwhile, said they're disappointed with Comcast's willingness
to set limits instead of adding capacity.

"This wouldn't be necessary if Comcast had chosen to expand its capacity,"
said Michael Shames, executive director of the Utility Consumers' Action
Network in San Diego. "They've chosen instead to degrade service."

S. Derek Turner, research director of Free Press, a media nonprofit group,
said that while the limit seems high now, it might not be sufficient in
the future as technology evolves and broadband use grows. He blamed a lack
of competition that allows Comcast to profit from "artificial scarcity."

"Unfortunately, Americans will continue to face the consequences of this
lack of competition until policymakers get serious about policies that
deliver the world-class networks consumers deserve," Turner said in a
statement.

Douglas responded to critics by saying the company has continued to invest
in its network and has expanded the number of nodes or local hubs by 10
percent each year. The company plans to introduce a cable technology
called Docsis 3.0 that can dramatically increase bandwidth. It is
scheduled to be available to 20 percent of homes by the end of this year.

Even with the added capacity, Douglas said, Internet providers like
Comcast still will need to manage their networks to ensure a few users
don't clog up the system for others.

"Every service provider has to do something to make sure data is flowing
as efficiently as possible," he said.

Comcast has been in the spotlight for its network management policies
recently. The Federal Communications Commission concluded this month that
Comcast wrongly delayed and blocked file transfers between people using
peer-to-peer applications. The issue came to light last year after an
investigation by the Associated Press found that Comcast was disrupting
BitTorrent file sharing.

Comcast, which maintains it delayed but never blocked traffic, has begun
exploring several management techniques to keep up with use, which has
grown dramatically recently with the popularity of Internet video. New
measures being tested in Pennsylvania do not block specific applications,
but temporarily slow down the traffic of excessive users at peak periods.
Comcast also has been considering charging users for exceeding a monthly
limit, but that option was not addressed in Thursday's announcement. How
big is 250 GB?

To approach the monthly limit Comcast is placing on its Internet users,
you would have to do one of the following:

-- Send 50 million e-mails
-- Download 62,500 songs
-- Download 125 standard-definition movies
-- Upload 25,000 high-resolution digital photos Source: Comcast

E-mail Ryan Kim at rkim @ sfchronicle.com.

Copyright 2008 SF Chronicle