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Time Warner's Unlimited Plan: $150, Still Terrible
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Due to the massive amount of backlash from the press as well as customers, Time Warner Cable at the end of last week introduced essentially what is the company's unlimited download plan, for $150 per month.
In actuality, what the plan is of course is TWC's 100 GB $75 per month plan, which the company increased from a lower cap not too long after it realized people were becoming irate with its cap proposals. If you pick the $75 package, the overage charge is limited at $1 per gigabyte up to $75. This essentially gives you unlimited downloading for $150.
However, even with the limit on the overage charges, TWC's price structure is still very much out of line with the rest of the industry, including those of its direct competitors in the cable space. Outside of the cable space, TWC's price is even more ludicrous.
Consider Verizon's FIOS service, which is a direct fiber line to your home. At it's cheapest package, Verizon offers a 10 mbit/2 mbit down/up connection for $49.99 without any download cap. This package is already just as fast as TWC's "turbo" package. Customers can choose to go all the way up to Verizon's $144.99 package which gives the customer a whopping 50 mbit/20 mbit connection--far superior to anything TWC has to offer.
TWC does have a cable service based on Docsis 3.0, delivering speeds of 50 mbit/sec. download and 5 mbit/sec. uploads. The service is $99 per month but TWC did not specify whether the service comes with a download cap. If the Docsis 3.0 plan comes with a cap equivalent to its Turbo service, the price would be $174/month--still pricier than Verizon's faster FIOS service and more costly than an equivalent $139/month service from Comcast.
TWC says that its restructured, and more expensive pricing schemes are due to increasing network support costs as users download more. Despite this claim made by TWC's COO Landel Hobbs, TWC's financial reports for 2008 revealed that its costs declined even though its customer based increased by 10-percent.
If TWC executives can't agree with their company's own reports, what makes them think that customers will agree? This is why TWC has decided to roll out its new plans first in areas where it is the majority or only provider of broadband service.
Image: courtesy of Wired.com/Dennis Crothers --source, TWC.
Source : Tom's Hardware US
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150BUCKS are they fucking insane. Im on comcast and if they told me that hello Fairpoint.
Wow. I wish Verizon would hurry up and get FIOS ready in my area. Pricing for RoadRunner is already pretty high.
If this nonsense is not stopped now we will all end up with caps.
What I think would work is if a large number of Time Warner's switch providers.
At this point FIOS is a better and less exprensive option.
I think Verizon gets it... they want to sell you a pipe. TW wants to sell you services. Just give me the damned pipe and let me do what I want with it. I hope TW fails miserably in what they're attempting to do.
FU TWC
One bad sheep ruins the whole flock of sheep.
I hope this virus will not spread... Time to let go TWC.
Instead of increasing capacity, it is cutting the usage, and we are moving to digital on everything. Stupid
I hope TW looses as much business as possible so other companies don't follow in their greedy, a hole footsteps!!!
Increase cost and lie saying your expenses went up while your financial records say the opposite nice job idiots.
freaking crazy. they just after people's money. there is no increase in cost. it is a known fact that in technology costs decrease over time.
f u time warner
FTC, FCC, FDA, all these gonvernment agencies are useless.
We split up the Tel-Co monopolies years ago, but that just created a bunch of regional monopolies. Sure, there are 10 different cable companies, but only one in any given area. Cable companies put caps on internet downloads (but I can watch as much high-def on-demand TV as I can pay for). Even cell-phone providers fix prices (20-cents for an SMS message?). Add in the failed banks and insurance companies and endless poisoned food recalls, all of this overlooked by the government agencies created to supposedly look-out for the consumer.
If their revenue is UP and their costs are DOWN how the fuck can they justify that the current pricing model isn't working?
I see a bunch of devils advocates roaming these comments about infrastructure this and operating cost that.
There is ZERO reason why the consumer deserves to be gouged to hell like this.
I can't wait until my "1 year, all three services for 29.95 each, no contract" plan is done with.
FiOS just arrived a few months ago.
Time Warner, I'll let you eat handfuls of my feces for 29.95 a month, but if you go over the usage of 20 handfuls per month, It's going to be an extra 2 dollars per handful.
FTC, FCC, FDA, all these government agencies are useless. We split up the Tel-Co monopolies years ago, but that just created a bunch of regional monopolies. Sure, there are 10 different cable companies, but only one in any given area. Cable companies put caps on Internet downloads (but I can watch as much high-def on-demand TV as I can pay for). Even cell-phone providers fix prices (20-cents for an SMS message?). Add in the failed banks and insurance companies and endless poisoned food recalls, all of this overlooked by the government agencies created to supposedly look-out for the consumer.
That's why stupid sheeple need to quit looking for the government to fix everything for them. The last time I checked we don't have to have internet service like we do clean water? It's simple if you don't like what someone charges DON"T BUY IT!!! Without customers they will lower the price.
Fortunately, Optimum Online didn't implement this stupid type of cap.
From the TWC chart:
On average, a customer costs them $17.30 a year. A staggering $1.44 a month.
On average, a customer generates $495.12 a year. A mere $41.26 a month.
A rate hike is totally necessary! They'll go out of business!
Time Warner already lost a bunch of subscribers (including me) to their cable services in Western New York when they didn't air the Buffalo Bills games for a few weeks.
I guess TW didn't feel like paying the local station (that actually aired the game), because people could still watch the game for free anyways over the antenna, big difference was in the signal quality!
TW ended up paying for the station again after a few weeks of bleeding customers. Seems like they haven't learned their lesson.
Even though I canceled their TV service, I still have them as an ISP. Now I am ready to do switch off of them completely as soon as FiOS is available.
$16.2 Million salary for a CEO at the expense of customers is bad enough in this time of economic downturn.
This is nothing more than more money to line the CEO's Pocket along with other corporate heads at TWC.
I'd like to see a Cap on their salaries of say no more than $500K for the CEO with other corporate heads earning less than that.
WTF $150 for the same service that I'm getting now for $60. That's insane. AT&T DLS is already cheaper. Without a cap. If they impose a cap here I'm switching. As will most people I suspect.
TWC = insane, crazy, shadey, greedy, b@st@rds with no concern for consumers/customers other than how much they can milk them for.
This is simply ridiculous that they even try to justify such blatant extortion. I guess they are taking a page out of the oil company's books.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Infras [...] re-202147/
Thank you, state of NY. Now go spam your own represenatives and get this thing moving.
Verizon's FIOS may not be an option in your area not because the company just hasn't scheduled it, but because they're not allowed to. In my area, we have AT&T DSL and Comcast cable, and both of them have successfully lobbied very hard to keep FIOS out, even though this is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the US. Why do we give them local monopolies again?
regardless of whether or not that bill passes, im stitching companies once i move to Rochester
go F*#$ yourself TWC
We all must write to the goverment and do everything we can to stop this insanity before it gets any worse.I have and will continue to do what I can.I even have a lawyer looking into a class action suit.
DO SOMETHING TOO !!!!
And if we had FIOS or VERIZON in Maine I would go ahead and drop mine now.
[citation][nom] Why do we give them local monopolies again?[/citation]
because politicians are corrupt. god they caught one of them in an airport bathroom trying to get his jollies with another man, what else can i say... what did jesus say
"...I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
That's why stupid sheeple need to quit looking for the government to fix everything for them. The last time I checked we don't have to have internet service like we do clean water? It's simple if you don't like what someone charges DON"T BUY IT!!! Without customers they will lower the price.
Obviously you don't live in an area with TimeWarner (or TimeWarner isn't your only option), because you're missing the whole point.
TimeWarner is the ONLY option in many markets. If you need the internet faster than dial-up, you are stuck with their service. TimeWarner performed their "study" in a market where only they existed, meaning customers didn't have a choice. Then they said "hey look, no one in Asscrack, Texas complained, so it must work for the rest of the world".
Free-market capitalism has failed in this instance, which is why the government needs to step in. Its easy to say don't buy their crap (and often times I don't, looking at you Apple), but when you don't have a choice, then someone with authority has to step in and fix the problem.
That's why stupid sheeple need to quit looking for the government to fix everything for them. The last time I checked we don't have to have internet service like we do clean water? It's simple if you don't like what someone charges DON"T BUY IT!!! Without customers they will lower the price.
i believe that's true but also close minded of you... if the government just stood still to watch then what are those tax money for?... i dont think people pay tax money just to haf those politicians get their teeth cleaned... banning their product is also a good choice but if it happen in somewhere where there's no choice than that would be monopoly...
I like how someone mentioned food monitoring programs as a failure because food is being recalled for being poisoned. I guess they would rather eat the poisoned food and not now about it. That would be much better.
FDA. . . endless poisoned food recalls, all of this overlooked by the government agencies created to supposedly look-out for the consumer.
Yeah it would be much better if the food wasn't recalled huh? And those failures to catch the tainted food is because decreases in funding and an increase in deregulation.
I've had to deal with a similar cap for the last 9 years, but from Cox Communications. They are a monopoly in my area (Santa Barbara, CA) though, and no Verizon FIOS either. At least they don't overcharge (yet)...
lets all make the move to dsl or Fios asap.
than they can continue hiking their prices all the want
TWC is telling a crock of lies. Operational costs does not increased proportionally to support increase number of users and download. If anything over the years, everything gets more efficient and streamlined. TWC just wants to increase their revenue stream. I hope the FTC slaps huge violations and customers find alternatives. There's always satellite if you are stuck in an area TWC is the only provider. TWC sucks.
Fortunately, Optimum Online didn't implement this stupid type of cap.
YET. Remember, the Dolans, who own Cablevision, have already run the Knicks into the ground and pissing off the fans (customers)----who's to say they wouldnt do the same with Optimum Online: impose a cap and piss off the customers.
Join me in a small prayer please... "Oh God. Please let Verizon move into my home town/city/whatever so that I might have access to a fairly priced service provided by a company that is obviously not in league with Lucifer" Amem...
Thank you...
Man, i do NOT envy people in the us... In most parts of sweden we have 100/100 for the equivalent of 33 dollars a month, if they even gave a hint at raising it above 49 dollars a month, it would be unacceptable, and i'd move (again) just to get a better price. It's time for the US people to rally against the damned ISP's, in my opinion.