AT&T is looking to create tiered access to the Internet for subscribers. Currently, the company offers Internet speeds “up to” their subscribed amount. At a recent FCC hearing AT&T Senior Federal Regulatory Vice President Robert Quinn said, “When AT&T provides broadband service by speed, it will do so in discrete, non-overlapping tiers.”
Of course, the knee jerk reaction is that the company is looking for ways to charge more for what it already provides, but it may be even more devious than that.
Could this be a plan to meter access to the Internet in a way similar to how gas and electricity is delivered? Possibly. The large companies would surely like to see it become a reality. Time Warner Cable is selling their triple-play services in Texas with some small print stipulating the customer paying for overages. Buyer beware.
Here in Belgium I have a 21mbps connection with Telenet, and I get 35gb of transfer included. I pay 1 euro/gb for each additional gb I use in a month. The alternative is that you can continue to surf over the 35gb for free at a reduced speed. I usually use about 70gb transfer each month. Bills add up…..
Makes me wonder how many people will actually disconnect after they get the first elevated bill without realizing the changes have been made..
I for one already dislike the fact that I pay for “speeds up to”…and not the actual speed advertised. Most of the time, I don’t even get half the speed, and they have and will do nothing about it.
Comcast User.