Feb 05
Time Warner Considering Per-Gigabyte Service Charges?
Feb 05, `08 — This Slashdot article highlights future of the Internet in the US. “Time-Warner is now mulling a plan to charge a per-gigabyte fee for internet service. A leaked memo reveals they’re now watching how many gigabytes customers use in a ‘consumption-based’ pricing experiment in Texas, which we discussed early last month. The announced plan was that they were considering a tier-based approach, as opposed to per-gigabyte fees.”
Steven Levy of Washington Post reports, “If you are an Internet-crazy movie lover in Beaumont, Tex., life may soon take a miserable turn for you.
Time Warner Cable, which also sells broadband via its Road Runner service, has chosen your city for a pricing experiment.”
Mr. Levy further adds, “Time Warner’s move illuminates some of the troubling issues facing the United States in the Internet era, where, in terms of penetration, we are in 24th place — behind Estonia — in the international broadband competition.
The news broke about Time Warner’s plan from a leaked internal memo that company spokesman Alex Dudley confirms as genuine.”
More at Slashdot, WashingtonPost.