Saturday, August 30, 2008

Internet Access Pricing Model

Could this be a sign of things to come?

Comcast yesterday announced that it would begin to limit the amount of Internet usage each of its customers is entitled to. Or attempt to.

Their first move is pretty innocuous. Users that transfer over 250 Gigs in a month will get a warning. 250 Gigs is a ton of traffic. 50 million emails. A warning? No big deal.

What concerns me is what may be at the end of this road. With all monthly access priced the same, Comcast has chosen a pricing model that has internet noobs subsidizing the power users in terms of access cost. I'm probably in the middle somewhere, and a Comcast customer. Changing the pricing model is at the minimum an opportunity to raise prices.

I won't be surprised to be paying more for internet access soon, or paying per Meg.

Imagine how confusing a Comcast bill is going to be if they attempt to itemize all uploads and downloads?

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