As Broadband Usage Caps Expand, Nobody Is Checking Whether Usage Meters Are Reliable

from the what-could-possibly-go-wrong dept

Despite the hype surrounding Google Fiber and gigabit connections, vast swaths of the U.S. broadband industry are actually becoming less competitive than ever. As large telcos like Windstream, Frontier, CenturyLink, and Verizon refuse to upgrade aging DSL lines at any scale, they're effectively giving cable providers a growing monopoly over broadband in countless markets. And these companies are quickly rushing to take advantage of this dwindling competition by imposing entirely arbitrary, confusing and unnecessary usage caps and overage fees in these captive markets.

The benefits of these pricey limitations are two fold: they allow cable providers to not only jack up the price of service, but they're an incredible weapon against the looming threat of streaming video competition. Caps and overage fees make using streaming alternatives notably more expensive, helping to protect legacy TV revenues. But cable operators are also exempting their own streaming services from these caps (as Comcast did with the launch of its own, new streaming platform this week), while still penalizing competitors. This kind of behavior is just one of several reasons why net neutrality rules are kind of important.

Oddly though, you'd be hard pressed to find politicians or regulators from either party that give much of a damn that this massive distortion of the level internet playing field is occurring. Which is why, unlike in other sectors, nobody anywhere is verifying whether ISP usage meters are accurate. As a result, there have been countless instances where users say they've been billed for bandwidth despite their modem being off or the power being out. And numerous studies have indicated ISPs routinely abuse this lack of oversight by overcharging for service.

Comcast has, of course, been at the forefront of imposing these usage limitations and overage fees. And unsurprisingly, consumers pretty consistently state that the cable giant -- already world renowned for historically-abysmal customer service -- isn't tracking usage or billing these customers accurately. Users who were billed for usage while away on vacation have had no real ability to challenge Comcast's meter readings. And Ars Technica documented another user this week who says he battled with Comcast for months over errant meter readings before cancelling fixed-line broadband service entirely:

"At one point, Weaver says he left town for three days and had left his wireless router unplugged, though the modem itself was plugged in. After his trip, Comcast's meter showed that he "used 500GB in three days of not even being home and not having a Wi-Fi network running ," Weaver said. He then tried disconnecting the modem for three days and found that Comcast's meter finally stopped counting data usage, he said. "I have been told no less than eight times that I can rest easy if I would just buy the $50 unlimited data plan," he said. "This whole thing reeks of scam."

In short it goes something like this: lobby to keep the broadband industry uncompetitive, use that lack of competition to impose arbitrary and unnecessary limits that hinder competitors, then charge users $50 more per month if they want to enjoy the same, unlimited connection they used to enjoy. It is a scam, but again, you'd be hard pressed to find absolutely anybody in government that gives much of a damn, despite the ploy's negative impact on competition and the health of the internet. What a wonderful time to dismantle some of the only rules we have protecting consumers from this kind of behavior, don't you think?

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Filed Under: accuracy, broadband, broadband caps, competition, data caps, meters

Companies: comcast