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Bandwidth Caps Would Kill The Internet

In 2002 CNET wrote an article regarding the use of bandwidth caps by ISPs, or at least the “proposed use” of them.

Now many of the biggest high-speed ISPs are considering capping the amount of bandwidth that their subscribers can use per month, a move that could undermine subscribers’ free swapping ways–something that many lawsuits have not yet been able to achieve. If people know they have a limited amount of bandwidth available, the thinking goes, they’ll be less likely to download voraciously or allow people to upload songs and music from their computers.

This was 6 years ago and as many of you with broadband access to the Internet (in the U.S.) already know, these never went into effect in any scale. Bandwidth flows freely to you if you pay for the all-you-can-eat package, and regardless of if you’re checking email or streaming high definition video, it’s all the same. Well I hope you enjoyed your World of Warcraft and movie streaming as it’s a pretty good bet that’s all going away fairly soon.

In an article published yesterday by the New York Times, they broke down the steps that ISPs like Comcast, AT&T, and Time Warner Cable have been taking to make the free-for-all bandwidth we’re accustomed to a thing of the past.

All three companies say that placing caps on broadband use will ensure fair access for all users.

Internet metering is a throwback to the days of dial-up service, but at a time when video and interactive games are becoming popular, the experiments could have huge implications for the future of the Web.

Millions of people are moving online to watch movies and television shows, play multiplayer video games and talk over videoconference with family and friends. And media companies are trying to get people to spend more time online: the Disneys and NBCs of the world keep adding television shows and movies to their Web sites, giving consumers convenient entertainment that soaks up a lot of bandwidth.

Approaching A New, Difficult Stage

When you’re low on gas you can look at the meter on your dashboard to know when to refuel (or when to stop driving as much). You can get instant access to how many minutes of cellphone usage you’ve used in the past month by texting your provider or accessing your account online. We, as consumers, take this for granted. When we get charged based on usage, we’re accustomed to having instant access to our usage at all times to prevent huge overages. The problem with bandwidth caps on Internet usage is that ISPs considering this action haven’t given much thought to how they’re going to present usage to customers on an ongoing basis. Yes, we understand that only a small percentage of total broadband customers are going to be affected by these caps, but those are most likely the most vocal customers. If bandwidth caps are put into place then there needs to be a way to track your usage every single day, or else there will be serious issues. I have no idea how much bandwidth I eat up on a monthly basis so I have no way to know whether I should be throttling my Internet usage back or if I’m in the clear.

Here are some prices that are being kicked around:

In that trial, new customers can buy plans with a 5-gigabyte cap, a 20-gigabyte cap or a 40-gigabyte cap. Prices for those plans range from $30 to $50. Above the cap, customers pay $1 a gigabyte. Plans with higher caps come with faster service.

This is rough. Really rough. If you head over to Hulu.com and watch a full, feature-length movie, then you’ve just downloaded a couple gigabytes. Buy and download a movie at the iTunes Store? That’s another couple gigabytes. Stream Internet radio? Well you better stop doing that as soon as possible.

I’ll venture to guess that bandwidth caps are almost as damaging to the Internet as charging for the types of websites you visit, also known as Tiered Service, which is what big Cable companies would move to if they end up defeating Net Neutrality. Tiny caps on bandwidth limit the type of information you can download, and on the other side of the spectrum, limit the messages that people can disseminate across the Internet.

Bandwidth caps will be a serious issue for consumers moving forward, especially as content on the Web gets more interactive. Expect a huge step backward for the history of the Internet if caps arrive.