

jchambers28

Premium Member

join:2007-05-12

Tulsa, OK jchambers28 Premium Member OMFG this is BS. I knew this was going to happen sooner than later.

firedrakes

join:2009-01-29

Arcadia, FL 1 edit firedrakes Member Re: money well dam. this is bs.

FastLearner

join:2003-09-14

Arvada, CO FastLearner Member Re: money

»qwest.centurylink.com/in ··· eup.html



Effective February 2012 Here is a link:Effective February 2012



letmoneytalk

@qwest.net letmoneytalk Anon I figured Centurylink is just following suit, and I can't blame them, as they must see the profits that other ISP's are making with these caps?



They can't blame me when I cancel their service either, as I'm just doing what I see others doing...

rradina

join:2000-08-08

Chesterfield, MO 920.3 39.3

·Charter

rradina Member Re: I figured I haven't read any numbers. How much are they making? Is this because folks upgrade to more expensive packages or because the provider's have overage charges?



For instance, Charter has 100GB cap but as I understand it, it's only used to warn excessive users and possibly take corrective action if they don't abide by the limits. I'm not aware of them stating what they would charge per unit over 100GB or if they would force a user into a higher priced package.



letmoneytalk

@qwest.net letmoneytalk Anon Re: I figured "How much are they making?"



I would say this move would help their bottom line overall, as it will scare users into wondering if it's ok to "click on that next Netflix/Youtube" video, or possibly face letters inquiring about usage and upgrade requests from their ISP(that alone would probably allow capacity upgrades to be postponed). I pay for 40/5mb service with CL, and for what I pay for and use each month, I don't want a "cap hanging over my head". Although I am not a "problem user", and may have hit 250Gb in a month once in a my time with this account(maybe), I just do not like the idea of throttling users or pushing users to upgrade accounts, when the ISP thinks* your using too much bandwidth - they are writing their own rules/speed limits. That being said, their will always be some users(losers) that leave bit torrents and other file shares open all month long and rack up crazy outgoing bandwidth, and I would appreciate it if those users were singled out by the ISP for this abuse and sent letters or "informed that excessive usage can lead to account termination", but leave the majority of us alone, and don't hold these caps over our heads. At the end of the day though, I feel that we are going backwards in our pursuit of technology, and think that limiting people to the amount of content, or their perception of the amount of content that can reach them monthly, is just wrong. In a world where we compete with each other on an intellectual basis, limiting a users access to rich content, is a sin.

Wilsdom

join:2009-08-06 Wilsdom Member Re: I figured With most connections having such pitiful upload capacity in the US excessive torrenting isn't even possible.

talz13

join:2006-03-15

Avon, OH talz13 Member Re: I figured It's perfectly possible. You get 5 users who actually have decent upload bandwidth, and the rest of them sponge off of them and each other. Torrenting worked fine back when 5/384 was the best they had.



Just because you can't grab a finished torrent in under 10 minutes doesn't mean it's not possible... You just gotta have patience!

rradina

join:2000-08-08

Chesterfield, MO 920.3 39.3

·Charter

rradina to letmoneytalk

Member to letmoneytalk

I get the subjective reasons for why you don't like caps. I'm looking for some facts regarding how much these caps increase revenue or stall growth which thereby stretches capex upgrade cycles.



Right now my gut tells me wire line caps aren't as much about a revenue play as protecting other revenue streams. Granted, a definition is needed to gauge outliers but right now they don't seem to be monetizing like wireless. Maybe that's because they don't have good meters, yet, but rather than speculate, I was wondering if anyone has put this in numbers.

Fibre2

join:2011-06-11 Fibre2 to letmoneytalk

Member to letmoneytalk

In the history of the Internet, there was no such thing for capping or throttling and enough with the 'growing users' as an excuse. Because as much as users grow, technology grows in order to support the load in their servers from users at full bandwidth. Browsing or Torrenting, ISP's need to mind their own business since it is just the service their giving and not regulating our usage, much less the neighbor ranting others habits and comparing their usages to others. If ISP's can't provide the support like they supposedly say which I doubt, then why not drop their speeds? Downgrade their service enough so that they could estimate a stable service if such amount of users connect at full load without problem. And now regular users are forced to upgrade to "business" accounts for true ethical unlimited service all because the family easily surpasses the 250GB cap from Netflixing, Youtubing and Gaming. Call this corrupt business practices for profit, control or greed.

timo17459

join:2012-01-26

Bloomsbury, NJ timo17459 Member Eh? said by Fibre2: In the history of the Internet, there was no such thing for capping or throttling and enough with the 'growing users' as an excuse. Because as much as users grow, technology grows in order to support the load in their servers from users at full bandwidth.



I don't like it much either, but the days of the "all you can eat buffet" of unlimited internet access plans will soon be a thing of the past, and customers are actually gonna' be faced with paying for what they use. Like a car rental. Like a hotel stay. Like your electric bill, monthly wireless plan minutes....and pretty much everything else. said by Fibre2: Call this corrupt business practices for profit, control or greed.

A lot has happened since the advent of the Internet. How exactly to you think providers continue to provide as demand grows and grows? Magic? And how is expanding a network and infrastructure to meet demand an "excuse" exactly? Yes, providers are trying to keep pace with customer demand--which is skyrocketing, by the way--and maintaining an ever-growing infrastructure to meet that demand costs....wait for it.....lots of money. Megabucks. Providers also base their rates/plans/caps around the "average" usage by a typical family. So, if your usage is far above that average, guess what....you're going to be paying more. And how does downgrading your internet service help you exactly? You want slower throughput at home--just so that you don't have to pay for a higher data cap?I don't like it much either, but the days of the "all you can eat buffet" of unlimited internet access plans will soon be a thing of the past, and customers are actually gonna' be faced with paying for what they use. Like a car rental. Like a hotel stay. Like your electric bill, monthly wireless plan minutes....and pretty much everything else.That's actually a good summary of pretty much any capitalistic society. Capping usage to control costs and ensure equal service for all customers is not corrupt; it's called "doing business". If a company either imposes an unrealistic cap or raises their rates so that they are no longer competitive, then the market will adjust, they will lose customers and either go out of business or adjust their cap/rates again. And yes...it's ALL about greed; that's how companies makes money.

elray

join:2000-12-16

Santa Monica, CA elray to letmoneytalk

Member to letmoneytalk

said by letmoneytalk : Centurylink is just following suit, and I can't blame them, as they must see the profits that other ISP's are making with these caps?



They can't blame me when I cancel their service either, as I'm just doing what I see others doing...





They are not profiting with caps. As you suggest, cap threats alone, not enforcement, causes customers like you to head for the exit door. As populists claim bandwidth/consumption costs them "nothing", they're sacrificing pure profit as you leave.



Wired caps are merely a defensive measure to protect the pay-tv product.

With the introduction of so-called "net neutrality", caps are one way to limit cable-tv defections to OTT/IPTV/streaming services without violating the rules. Utter nonsense.They are not profiting with caps. As you suggest, cap threats alone, not enforcement, causes customers like you to head for the exit door. As populists claim bandwidth/consumption costs them "nothing", they're sacrificing pure profit as you leave.Wired caps are merely a defensive measure to protect the pay-tv product.With the introduction of so-called "net neutrality", caps are one way to limit cable-tv defections to OTT/IPTV/streaming services without violating the rules.

88615298 (banned)

join:2004-07-28

West Tenness 88615298 (banned) Member On the other hand the caps are better than what Charter has on it's lower tiers which is 100 GB. Also 1.5 Mbps can only download 475 GB a month. So 150 GB would be 31.5%. Not bad compared to other ISPs. Once again Charter's caps are less than 3%.

Technicholas

Premium Member

join:2010-11-11

Winterset, IA Technicholas Premium Member I've been a Qwest/Centurylink customer for over 10 years. I've been a Qwest customer for over 10 years..... they shouldn't be enforcing this cap because I get close to the 250GB limit every month.... we have a house of 4 everyone uses the internet on YouTube and Netflix streaming at 7mbps. I think they are out there to reduce congestion. Wonder what they will do? Make us go to a business account or just cut us off hmm?

Skippy25

join:2000-09-13

Hazelwood, MO 1 recommendation Skippy25 Member Re: I've been a Qwest/Centurylink customer for over 10 years. They wont cut you off.



Many people here and throughout the world are not aware of this... but when you move up to a higher service or just simply begin paying more then "congestion" suddenly disappears and all is good on the ISP's network.



It has something to do with some network physics that scientist are still trying to wrap their heads around. It is believed once these scientist/economist figure this out we will have enough bandwidth in the world to do anything we want.



FFH5

Premium Member

join:2002-03-03

Tavistock NJ FFH5 to Technicholas

Premium Member to Technicholas

said by Technicholas: . we have a house of 4 everyone uses the internet on YouTube and Netflix streaming at 7mbps.





»account.netflix.com/HdToggle Manage video quality

We know that some of you have Internet data caps and we want to make it easier for you to manage how much data you use.

We offer 3 video quality settings to help you manage your data usage. No matter what level you choose, your Netflix membership price will remain the same.



Good quality (up to 0.3 GB per hour)

Better quality (up to 0.7 GB per hour)

Best quality (up to 1 GB per hour, or up to 2.3 GB per hour for HD)

Save Cancel Then backoff on the quality. Most of the time you won't be able to tell the difference:

Wilsdom

join:2009-08-06 Wilsdom Member Re: I've been a Qwest/Centurylink customer for over 10 years. There is no point in watching movies in sub-optimal quality. Certainly not worth paying for it--we aren't taking about pirated cam releases. And unless you have a severe eye disease you will notice. It's like reading CliffsNotes when you aren't in school (or dyslexic).



SpaethCo

Digital Plumber

MVM

join:2001-04-21

Minneapolis, MN 1 recommendation SpaethCo MVM Re: I've been a Qwest/Centurylink customer for over 10 years. said by Wilsdom: There is no point in watching movies in sub-optimal quality. I agree to a point, but you're not watching multiple streams all on 42"+ TVs, are you?



Thaler

Premium Member

join:2004-02-02

Los Angeles, CA 1 recommendation Thaler to Wilsdom

Premium Member to Wilsdom

said by Wilsdom: There is no point in watching movies in sub-optimal quality.





Honestly, do you need HD to watch your "Crap movies I missed last year but want to say I saw them" list? An exception might be Michaelbaysplosion films, but that's because the only allure in those films is the visual eye candy. Pretty sure I'm not missing anything when I watch a Twilight movie in "sub-optimal" quality.Also, I don't think seeing it in HD's going to fix the plot or actors.Honestly, do you need HD to watch your "Crap movies I missed last year but want to say I saw them" list? An exception might be Michaelbaysplosion films, but that's because the only allure in those films is the visual eye candy.

Skippy25

join:2000-09-13

Hazelwood, MO Skippy25 to FFH5

Member to FFH5

LOL, thanks TK.



Maybe next time you should just suggest they quit actually watching TV. No dont cancel the service, that would be bad for the company. Just stop watching through Netflix while you still pay them so that all the corporations benefit.



Thaler

Premium Member

join:2004-02-02

Los Angeles, CA 1 recommendation Thaler Premium Member Re: I've been a Qwest/Centurylink customer for over 10 years. Because Netflix is responsible for your crap internet service, clearly.



Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go yell at McDonalds as to why my Toyota Camry isn't as fast as a Ferrari.



dvd536

as Mr. Pink as they come

Premium Member

join:2001-04-27

Phoenix, AZ 1 recommendation dvd536 to Technicholas

Premium Member to Technicholas

said by Technicholas: I think they are out there to reduce congestion. easier and cheaper than actually beefing up your network.

pooker314

join:2005-04-12

Brush Prairie, WA pooker314 Member I would LOVE to upgrade to a faster tier but unfortunately, Centurylink's refusal to make any improvements to service in my area makes that impossible. Perhaps the only good thing about CL's craptacular service is that it is slow enough to keep most people from hitting the caps.



On my service level (nominally 1.5mpbs), I have managed to exceed 100GB a month twice in the past two years. Both times were in during Steam's annual Xmas sale, when I was downloading game files 24/7 for well over a week straight. But with video streaming not really being an option, I don't see how I could ever come close to hitting 150GB. Most months are well under 15GB.



Transmaster

Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus

join:2001-06-20

Cheyenne, WY Transmaster Member Re: I would LOVE to upgrade to a faster tier I have the fastest tier avialable in Cheyenne. I was looking at my usage figures and most I have done in one month in the last year was somewhere around 86 gig's.



Can anyone suggest a good useage meter. I have a D-link DIR-655 what can I get to work with it?

Mr Matt

join:2008-01-29

Eustis, FL Mr Matt Member Now that CenturyLink has TV over internet (Prism) Now that CenturyLink has TV over internet (Prism) they want to limit subscribers usage so that they cannot stream many movies from Netflix and others without consequences. Must make subscribers use prism if they want to watch television. Now that CenturyLink has TV over internet (Prism) they want to limit subscribers usage so that they cannot stream many movies from Netflix and others without consequences. Must make subscribers use prism if they want to watch television.

88615298 (banned)

join:2004-07-28

West Tenness 88615298 (banned) Member Re: Now that CenturyLink has TV over internet (Prism) Streaming Netflix at 1.5 Mbps sucks anyways.



fifty nine

join:2002-09-25

Sussex, NJ fifty nine Member Re: Now that CenturyLink has TV over internet (Prism) said by 88615298: Streaming Netflix at 1.5 Mbps sucks anyways.

CenturyLink DSL goes up to 10Mbps here.

88615298 (banned)

join:2004-07-28

West Tenness 88615298 (banned) Member Re: Now that CenturyLink has TV over internet (Prism) said by fifty nine: said by 88615298: Streaming Netflix at 1.5 Mbps sucks anyways.



CenturyLink DSL goes up to 10Mbps here. Well your 250 GB cap is better than the 100 GB Charter has on it's 15 Mbps service.



fifty nine

join:2002-09-25

Sussex, NJ fifty nine Member Re: Now that CenturyLink has TV over internet (Prism) said by 88615298: said by fifty nine: said by 88615298: Streaming Netflix at 1.5 Mbps sucks anyways.



CenturyLink DSL goes up to 10Mbps here.

Well your 250 GB cap is better than the 100 GB Charter has on it's 15 Mbps service. I don't have centurylink. I have the cable company's internet and for my tier their cap is 350GB peak hours (5P-1A) only.

jcremin

join:2009-12-22

Siren, WI jcremin Member Re: Now that CenturyLink has TV over internet (Prism) said by fifty nine: for my tier their cap is 350GB peak hours (5P-1A) only.

And I think that is where caps should be enforced. Peak hours only. That way customers have the option to move their traffic to off-peak hours, much the way I can make a call after 9pm if I don't want to use my cell minutes.



dks7

join:2004-05-31

Omak, WA dks7 Member monopoly This is what happens when corps are allowed in America. There is zero competition, they make the decisions. Ma bell put herself back together and now she's mad as hell and has a french tickler, bend over.



KrK

Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy

Premium Member

join:2000-01-17

Tulsa, OK Netgear WNDR3700v2

Zoom 5341J

KrK Premium Member Who still doesn't see the wrong way the US is heading... ... in practically every regard.



Ironic how reports about bandwidth costs dropping dramatically are equally matched by the latest ISP announcing caps and overages and moving towards UBB profiteering.



... and as for consumers voting with their wallets.... there's now not a single broadband ISP I can choose that isn't capping and charging more for usage. So much for the "free market."



Bring on Muni-Fi.

ArizonaSteve

join:2004-01-31

Apache Junction, AZ ArizonaSteve Member How Much Data Is In A Packet? Since the modem records packets sent and received I don't see how they could enforce a limit of 250Gb. How many packets is that?

mlcarson

join:2001-09-20

Santa Maria, CA mlcarson Member Re: How Much Data Is In A Packet? Since the amount of data in a packet is variable and the type of packets vary -- it's not a set number.

Joe12345678

join:2003-07-22

Des Plaines, IL Joe12345678 to ArizonaSteve

Member to ArizonaSteve

all over head, network ack, arp, resends, etc are part of your cap.

scooper

join:2000-07-11

Kansas City, KS scooper Member Since I got a SamKnows router (with traffic meter) We never exceeded the 100GB "softlimit " I put in the router.



This is 2 non- gameplay adults who don't do alot of You-Tube either.

Wilsdom

join:2009-08-06 Wilsdom Member Re: Since I got a SamKnows router (with traffic meter) You should only have to pay like $10/month.



thedragonmas

Premium Member

join:2007-12-28

Albany, GA ·VOIPO

Netgear R6300 v2

ARRIS SB6180

thedragonmas to scooper

Premium Member to scooper

yeah? i have the same router, it said i used 250GB's in one month, however the person i talked to with my isp said i used closer to 500GB's that month, so whos meter is right? and thus points out a flaw in any thing with a limit like this, who's setting the metrics the meters use.



edit: fat fingerd a 3 instead of 5



mdaddyrabbit

Premium Member

join:2004-02-05

Clinton, NC mdaddyrabbit Premium Member Terrible Leadership to say the least I can only speak for myself but how do you cap someone who has not gained any improvement in speeds for last 4 years. I mean come on people! Max we can get is 10M down and 768K up. Focus on bigger and better infrastructure and less on cutting your customer base back. The companies focus is heading in the wrong direction and customers can go away.

Skippy25

join:2000-09-13

Hazelwood, MO Skippy25 Member Re: Terrible Leadership to say the least Because they have not stopped overselling their network. Therefore they have added people that want to use bandwidth, but now need to try and create a scarcity to limit and monetize it.

bmat

Premium Member

join:2004-08-14

Bloomsbury, NJ bmat Premium Member Contract Does this mean I could leave my contract without an ETF?



Even since CL and Embarq merged, my service has gone to absolute crap.

shinji5

join:2003-11-27

Newburg, PA shinji5 Member Re: Contract Not likely as it is also in the terms and conditions that they may change the conditions at any time. Most providers do that now.

EAQOCaA

join:2010-03-22

Littlestown, PA EAQOCaA Member how much more is business class? those who violate their cap will receive an e-mail, call or in-browser web message informing them they've crossed the cap, and advising them to upgrade to a faster residential or business-class tier. Seems there is no upgrade if one crosses the 250GB cap unless one goes to 'business-class'.

I pay $50 for a 5M/768 naked dsl connection. How much would that cost me with business-class, or is that even possible? Would I need to pick up phone service?



I have stuck with sprint/embarq/centurylink dsl since I have never had to worry about caps. The speed has been fast enough.



CenturyLink is taking away the 1 reason why I have stayed with them.

So CenturyLink tell me, why should I stick with you when you will now have the same cap as Comcast and less then half the speed for the same price? Seems there is no upgrade if one crosses the 250GB cap unless one goes to 'business-class'.I pay $50 for a 5M/768 naked dsl connection. How much would that cost me with business-class, or is that even possible? Would I need to pick up phone service?I have stuck with sprint/embarq/centurylink dsl since I have never had to worry about caps. The speed has been fast enough.CenturyLink is taking away the 1 reason why I have stayed with them.So CenturyLink tell me, why should I stick with you when you will now have the same cap as Comcast and less then half the speed for the same price?



W7PSK

Just Me

Premium Member

join:2000-12-04

Everett, WA W7PSK Premium Member More money for the Boards pockets Just another money grab. We are going to see more and more companies putting on caps so they can charge ridiculous fees for going over. Until we consumers say STOP they wont.



Barron

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Premium Member

join:2001-11-25

Litchfield Park, AZ ·Cox HSI

Motorola MB8600

Synology RT2600ac

Barron Premium Member Who Cares-Still Sh***y Service Since they are making no moves to upgrade their decades old copper in Phoenix or elsewhere, and their speeds are super sucko unless you are down the street from the CO, what difference if they cap. I used to love Qwest and DSL(still have my Cisco routers) but Cox and even Charter are better service providers.



Saw it

@twtelecom.net Saw it Anon bad Qwest is dead long live Century link??????????????????



It looks like a desperate move to pay back big debt. Qwest was only worth 10b when sold. Another 10b of debt was taken over by Centurylink. The way they are racking up debt I believe bankruptcy is in their future. Going the way of regular postal mail are we.



danawhitaker

Space...The Final Frontier

Premium Member

join:2002-03-02

Thorndale, ON danawhitaker Premium Member I was hoping CenturyLink would upgrade speeds in my area... ...and now I find that I don't even care. This is no better than the cable company I'm with now, which has a soft cap of around 250 gigs. I was looking to get away from even having a soft cap if they increased speeds beyond 1.5mbit in my neighborhood, but apparently that's just not going to be an option. It's not that I even come close to hitting the cap, I just dislike them on principle, and I don't want to give my money to a company that caps if I can avoid it.

FastLearner

join:2003-09-14

Arvada, CO FastLearner Member This sucks I am with Qwest/CenturyLink BECAUSE there are no caps. I have the 40meg down 5meg up and it works great! I avoided Comcast because my roommates and I will easily use up 250GB per month with just Netflix and Hulu alone.



NOCMan

MadMacHatter

Premium Member

join:2004-09-30

Colorado Springs, CO NOCMan Premium Member Duopoly Caps Comcast 250G

Century 250G



Wish they would of at least overshot Comcast in some attempt at competition. Neither company has any impetus to raise their caps.

catnapped

join:2010-11-22

Elizabethtown, PA catnapped Member Re: Duopoly Caps said by NOCMan: Comcast 250G

Century 250G



Wish they would of at least overshot Comcast in some attempt at competition. Neither company has any impetus to raise their caps.

Of course not! If anything I'd expect many will lower those caps over time and charge (or push up) overage fees knowing many of their subscribers have no choice ("really, where you gonna go?")



herb77

join:2005-02-23

Fort Myers, FL herb77 Member Time to Occupy Centurylink Occupy Centurylink