Major cable companies are introducing a cap on bandwidth for residential subscribers. Each home network will be limited to a certain amount of gigabytes per month. Comcast has decided to allow each subscriber 250 gigabytes a month and anything over that will be charged for. About 15 dollars for every 10 gigabytes that exceeds the 250. Other cables companies, like Quest, have already established the same policy on their users. There are local cable companies that have instated a policy of 40 to 70 gigabytes a month. Though it might seem like a generous policy to Comcast, what gives them the right to limit the internet in the first place?
As I sat at the table in a restaurant, I listened to my friends discuss this issue. Panic struck me with a gripping force. Would this effect me? Comcast claims that it will affect only 1% of users but I still wonder how far the company will take it in the future. I chose to do this topic because I felt that it is an issue that i should be aware of since it involves my internet link to the world. I go to the internet for just about everything and I don’t think I could live a day without clicking my mouse.
I expected that there would be more people that were aware of this but most of the people that I have talked to know nothing of the subject. Of course, I can understand that because the cap has not been put into action yet. I also expected there to be more information on the subject but I have only found bits and pieces of the policy. It seems that the policy is not set in stone.
I have found that the legislation has become involved in the process of making policys that will not limit the internet. It has been suggested that policies are to be made clear for the subscriber.
I find it difficult to find more information from the cable companies about what their real concerns are. Why do they really want to put this cap on theiir subscribers? I found some information that says the cap will not cause so much backlog for users and it will also make it harder for people who pirate material. Pirated material takes a lot of gigabytes to download it. I have found that most of my best sources are from blogs of supporters or people who are against the idea.
I will try to research more about network neutrality because i think this can help with my research. It has to do with the internet being a neutral source. Many feel that the cable companies are degrading information or screening material to promote their ideas. It would be an interesting thing to think about and find information on.
