Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it
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For anyone who wants to copy/paste responses, here is the raw text of the email.
Introducing a Terabyte Internet Experience
We’re writing to let you know that we will be trialing a new XFINITY Internet data usage plan in your area. Starting August 1, 2016, your monthly XFINITY Internet service will include a terabyte data usage plan (that’s 1,024 GB).
With 1 terabyte of data you can stream about 700 hours of HD video, play more than 12,000 hours of online games, or download 600,000 high-res photos in a month. If you believe you will need more data, we also offer an Unlimited Data Option.
Your average data usage for the past three months is 190 GB, so based on your historical usage, with this new plan you can stream, surf, game, download or do whatever you want online, worry free. Less than 1% of Comcast XFINITY Internet customers use a terabyte of data or more in a month.
Details of the Terabyte and Unlimited Plans:
1 Terabyte (TB) included/month If 1 TB is exceeded, $10 for each additional data block of up to 50 GB/month $200 overage limit - no matter how much data you use
Unlimited Data $50 per month No overage charges — no matter how much data you use
You can also track and manage your usage so there are never any surprises about how much data you use. Here are a few tools you can use:
Usage meter – Monitor how much data you have used with our Data Usage Meter.
Data Usage Calculator - Estimate your data usage with our
Calculator Tool. Simply enter how often and how much you typically use the Internet, and the calculator will estimate your monthly data usage.
Notifications - Should you approach a terabyte of usage, we will send you a courtesy "in-browser" notice and an email letting you know when you reach 90%, 100%, 110%, and 125% of that amount. Usage notifications will not be sent to customers who enroll in the unlimited data option. Learn more about notifications here.
For the small percentage of customers who use more than a terabyte of data, we will offer them two courtesy months so they will not be billed the first two times they exceed a terabyte while they are getting comfortable with the new data usage plan. If you have any questions about the new data usage plan, please see our FAQs.Thank you for being an XFINITY Internet Customer.
Sincerely,
John Crowley
Regional Senior Vice President of Comcast’s Greater Chicago RegionPlease note that this is a consumer trial. Comcast may modify or discontinue this trial at any time. However, we will notify you in advance of any such change.
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damnit, move to IT News....
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The only thing that has me concerned is the courtesy notification "in browser" ... This makes me wonder what else they would be monitoring on your connection.
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@dafyre said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
The only thing that has me concerned is the courtesy notification "in browser" ... This makes me wonder what else they would be monitoring on your connection.
Anything they want that is not encrypted of course. Any ISP has the ability. That is why I push for encryption just for browsing even a site like ML.
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So @JaredBusch are you excited to try this new service out? Or just letting everyone in the area know what new schemes comcast has planned?
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If you are using such a low amount, why the need for caps? oh so they can punish the 1-5% who who choose to use more.
I have to ask, are those 1-5% really costing the company money? Or are they simply looking for ways to make more money for no reason other than they can?
And if they start here now, who's to say in 5 years they won't be doing this again.
Oh we see that your usage is 190 GB/m on average - your new cap is 200 GB, if you over that you will be billed $1/meg. UG!
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@Dashrender said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
If you are using such a low amount, why the need for caps? oh so they can punish the 1-5% who who choose to use more.
I have to ask, are those 1-5% really costing the company money? Or are they simply looking for ways to make more money for no reason other than they can?
And if they start here now, who's to say in 5 years they won't be doing this again.
Oh we see that your usage is 190 GB/m on average - your new cap is 200 GB, if you over that you will be billed $1/meg. UG!
This is actually a raise from the original trial (which I was not in) according to the FAQ. https://customer.xfinity.com/help-and-support/internet/data-usage-trials
There is also a Flexible use trial apparently.
The biggest issue I have is the max overage is $200. If you offer a $50 add on for "unlimited" why is your max overage $200? Obviously to make money. but still, the few people that are going to hit these numbers are going to be the noisy ones. Why not just set the max overage to $50?
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ATT has done metered connections for a while now. Not that its a good thing.
I see no advantages, only disadvantages. I am also sure it isn't just in Chicago. This type of testing isn't limited to geographical location.
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@JaredBusch said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@Dashrender said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
If you are using such a low amount, why the need for caps? oh so they can punish the 1-5% who who choose to use more.
I have to ask, are those 1-5% really costing the company money? Or are they simply looking for ways to make more money for no reason other than they can?
And if they start here now, who's to say in 5 years they won't be doing this again.
Oh we see that your usage is 190 GB/m on average - your new cap is 200 GB, if you over that you will be billed $1/meg. UG!
This is actually a raise from the original trial (which I was not in) according to the FAQ. https://customer.xfinity.com/help-and-support/internet/data-usage-trials
There is also a Flexible use trial apparently.
The biggest issue I have is the max overage is $200. If you offer a $50 add on for "unlimited" why is your max overage $200? Obviously to make money. but still, the few people that are going to hit these numbers are going to be the noisy ones. Why not just set the max overage to $50?
I suppose I can see a slight penalty for not paying for the unlimited plan, but 400% penalty? That's just robbery! The cell phone companies did the same thing back when we used to pay per text (both ways). And there was no cap. You could easily be in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars due to text fees if you had a limited (say 100 text) plan.
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@IRJ said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
ATT has done metered connections for a while now. Not that its a good thing.
I see no advantages, only disadvantages. I am also sure it isn't just in Chicago. This type of testing isn't limited to geographical location.
The FAQ list a large number of markets that it is going into effect in.
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@JaredBusch said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@Dashrender said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
If you are using such a low amount, why the need for caps? oh so they can punish the 1-5% who who choose to use more.
I have to ask, are those 1-5% really costing the company money? Or are they simply looking for ways to make more money for no reason other than they can?
And if they start here now, who's to say in 5 years they won't be doing this again.
Oh we see that your usage is 190 GB/m on average - your new cap is 200 GB, if you over that you will be billed $1/meg. UG!
This is actually a raise from the original trial (which I was not in) according to the FAQ. https://customer.xfinity.com/help-and-support/internet/data-usage-trials
There is also a Flexible use trial apparently.
The biggest issue I have is the max overage is $200. If you offer a $50 add on for "unlimited" why is your max overage $200? Obviously to make money. but still, the few people that are going to hit these numbers are going to be the noisy ones. Why not just set the max overage to $50?
Did they give you a breakdown of the bandwidth you use on average? I think the average home user is unlikely to know how much bandwidth they use in a month.
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@wirestyle22 said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@JaredBusch said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@Dashrender said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
If you are using such a low amount, why the need for caps? oh so they can punish the 1-5% who who choose to use more.
I have to ask, are those 1-5% really costing the company money? Or are they simply looking for ways to make more money for no reason other than they can?
And if they start here now, who's to say in 5 years they won't be doing this again.
Oh we see that your usage is 190 GB/m on average - your new cap is 200 GB, if you over that you will be billed $1/meg. UG!
This is actually a raise from the original trial (which I was not in) according to the FAQ. https://customer.xfinity.com/help-and-support/internet/data-usage-trials
There is also a Flexible use trial apparently.
The biggest issue I have is the max overage is $200. If you offer a $50 add on for "unlimited" why is your max overage $200? Obviously to make money. but still, the few people that are going to hit these numbers are going to be the noisy ones. Why not just set the max overage to $50?
Did they give you a breakdown of the bandwidth you use on average? I think the average home user is unlikely to know how much bandwidth they use in a month.
I have no clue how much internet I use in a month, and don't care honestly. If they want to meter usage, they had better have a great way of letting people know when they are near the cap before the penalties take place.
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@DustinB3403 said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@wirestyle22 said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@JaredBusch said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@Dashrender said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
If you are using such a low amount, why the need for caps? oh so they can punish the 1-5% who who choose to use more.
I have to ask, are those 1-5% really costing the company money? Or are they simply looking for ways to make more money for no reason other than they can?
And if they start here now, who's to say in 5 years they won't be doing this again.
Oh we see that your usage is 190 GB/m on average - your new cap is 200 GB, if you over that you will be billed $1/meg. UG!
This is actually a raise from the original trial (which I was not in) according to the FAQ. https://customer.xfinity.com/help-and-support/internet/data-usage-trials
There is also a Flexible use trial apparently.
The biggest issue I have is the max overage is $200. If you offer a $50 add on for "unlimited" why is your max overage $200? Obviously to make money. but still, the few people that are going to hit these numbers are going to be the noisy ones. Why not just set the max overage to $50?
Did they give you a breakdown of the bandwidth you use on average? I think the average home user is unlikely to know how much bandwidth they use in a month.
I have no clue how much internet I use in a month, and don't care honestly. If they want to meter usage, they had better have a great way of letting people know when they are near the cap before the penalties take place.
How can they even do this with Verizon shitting all over them?
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@wirestyle22 said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@JaredBusch said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@Dashrender said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
If you are using such a low amount, why the need for caps? oh so they can punish the 1-5% who who choose to use more.
I have to ask, are those 1-5% really costing the company money? Or are they simply looking for ways to make more money for no reason other than they can?
And if they start here now, who's to say in 5 years they won't be doing this again.
Oh we see that your usage is 190 GB/m on average - your new cap is 200 GB, if you over that you will be billed $1/meg. UG!
This is actually a raise from the original trial (which I was not in) according to the FAQ. https://customer.xfinity.com/help-and-support/internet/data-usage-trials
There is also a Flexible use trial apparently.
The biggest issue I have is the max overage is $200. If you offer a $50 add on for "unlimited" why is your max overage $200? Obviously to make money. but still, the few people that are going to hit these numbers are going to be the noisy ones. Why not just set the max overage to $50?
Did they give you a breakdown of the bandwidth you use on average? I think the average home user is unlikely to know how much bandwidth they use in a month.
You can see it when logged into your account.. I like how the numbers do not match.
I suspect that the lack of detail is because I bought my own modem and do not use their gear.
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@wirestyle22 said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@DustinB3403 said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@wirestyle22 said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@JaredBusch said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@Dashrender said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
If you are using such a low amount, why the need for caps? oh so they can punish the 1-5% who who choose to use more.
I have to ask, are those 1-5% really costing the company money? Or are they simply looking for ways to make more money for no reason other than they can?
And if they start here now, who's to say in 5 years they won't be doing this again.
Oh we see that your usage is 190 GB/m on average - your new cap is 200 GB, if you over that you will be billed $1/meg. UG!
This is actually a raise from the original trial (which I was not in) according to the FAQ. https://customer.xfinity.com/help-and-support/internet/data-usage-trials
There is also a Flexible use trial apparently.
The biggest issue I have is the max overage is $200. If you offer a $50 add on for "unlimited" why is your max overage $200? Obviously to make money. but still, the few people that are going to hit these numbers are going to be the noisy ones. Why not just set the max overage to $50?
Did they give you a breakdown of the bandwidth you use on average? I think the average home user is unlikely to know how much bandwidth they use in a month.
I have no clue how much internet I use in a month, and don't care honestly. If they want to meter usage, they had better have a great way of letting people know when they are near the cap before the penalties take place.
How can they even do this with Verizon shitting all over them?
Because comcast is buying TW, so they are looking to find ways to circumvent Net Neutrality.
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@DustinB3403 said
Because comcast is buying TW, so they are looking to find ways to circumvent Net Neutrality.
No they aren't. Level3 (one of the biggest) was just bought by TWC. Comcast would not be allowed to buy TWC
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@Jason said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
@DustinB3403 said
Because comcast is buying TW, so they are looking to find ways to circumvent Net Neutrality.
No they aren't. Level3 (one of the biggest) was just bought by TWC. Comcast would not be allowed to buy TWC
Right, Charter bought TWC and Brighthouse Networks.
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TWC and TW are different companies.
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@JaredBusch said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
I suspect that the lack of detail is because I bought my own modem and do not use their gear.
Mine Matches and I own it. I would say modem model/firmware they loaded is more of the issue.
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@DustinB3403 said in Xfinity (Comcast) is rolling out a metered connection trial in Chicagoland and I am part of it:
TWC and TW are different companies.
If Comcast ever owns the rights to Animaniacs they will RUE THE DAY
