Comcast Suspends Usage Caps in Maine to be 'Consistent' While Comcast continues to happily expand incredibly unpopular usage caps and overage fees, the company is curiously informing customers that it's pulling back on implementing caps in Maine. Primarily Comcast has begun imposing caps in its less competitive markets, and first introduced caps and overage fees to its Maine customers back in 2014. But the company continues to avoid expanding caps into the Northeast, where users historically have seen a little bit more broadband competition (largely thanks to Verizon FiOS).

But Comcast now says the company is pulling the plug on its Maine caps to be "consistent" with the rest of the company's NorthEast division. "We're writing to let you know that we are suspending our Terabyte Internet Data Usage Plan in the state of Maine," a notice being sent to Comcast customers informs them. "We do not currently have data plans anywhere in the Northeast. As a result, we want to ensure we have clear and consistent communications to our customers as well as have our engineering and operations teams aligned around one policy." These changes are effective December 1, 2016 and November 2016 will be the last month for which users may be charged data overage charges, states Comcast. It's not entirely clear why Comcast would backtrack in just one state, and Comcast really doesn't provide a solid explanation. Regulators aren't really pressuring the company on the subject of caps in any meaningful fashion and there's every indication that a Trump administration intends to be friendlier toward incumbent broadband providers. Comcast may be pulling caps in Maine because it's seeing a spike in competition in the state, or it may be finding that it's seeing a spike in complaints as users talk to uncapped customers in neighboring states. I asked Comcast for a deeper explanation and was told Comcast's move was simply "about aligning Maine with the rest of the Division," which the company tells me ensures that "Care, Engineering, Operations, etc are unified on a single, consistent policy." How long it takes before Comcast decides to bring its caps and overage fees to the Northeast remains entirely unclear, but it does seem inevitable all the same. How long it takes before Comcast decides to bring its caps and overage fees to the Northeast remains entirely unclear, but it does seem inevitable all the same.







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Economist

The economy, stupid

Premium Member

join:2015-07-10

united state ·AT&T FTTP

20 recommendations Economist Premium Member Predatory pricing is a Federal crime said by Duh Law : TITLE 15 > CHAPTER 1 > § 13



§ 13. Discrimination in price, services, or facilities



Release date: 2004-05-18



(a) Price; selection of customers

It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in commerce, in the course of such commerce, either directly or indirectly, to discriminate in price between different purchasers of commodities of like grade and quality, where either or any of the purchases involved in such discrimination are in commerce, where such commodities are sold for use, consumption, or resale within the United States or any Territory thereof or the District of Columbia or any insular possession or other place under the jurisdiction of the United States, and where the effect of such discrimination may be substantially to lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in any line of commerce, or to injure, destroy, or prevent competition with any person who either grants or knowingly receives the benefit of such discrimination, or with customers of either of them Unfortunately, bribing, er, lobbying those in charge of enforcing those laws is apparently not.



»www.opensecrets.org/orgs ··· 00022131

»www.opensecrets.org/orgs ··· 00000461 Charging different people different prices for the same product in absence of a justifiable cost driver is predatory pricing and illegal as the reason for it is to defend their video product from competition.Unfortunately, bribing, er, lobbying those in charge of enforcing those laws is apparently not.

tshirt

Premium Member

join:2004-07-11

Snohomish, WA 9 recommendations tshirt Premium Member It would seem to be even easier.... ....to have one consistent overage policy nationwide.

throw in consistent price per speed tier, and people might think it was a consistent company following a consistent plan towards a common goal.