Between downloading tons of music and video streaming, we rack up quite the hefty bandwidth tab every month, which is why we were a little concerned for our wallets when we learned that companies like Time Warner Cable were preparing to impose internet downloading caps. Well, apparently we aren't alone in our panic, as numerous TWC customers are up in arms over the proposed caps, so much in fact that a Congressman from New York may be stepping up to become our downloading savior.
Congressman Eric Massa (D-NY) announced last Friday that he plans to introduce a bill called the "Broadband Internet Fairness Act," which he says would "prevent job killing broadband internet downloading caps." Why the sudden interest? One of TWC's test markets for the data caps is in the New York city of Rochester, which is in Massa's district. Apparently so many of the residents in his area are displeased with the internet restriction he feels a need to step forward and make something happen.
"I am taking a leadership position on this issue because of all the phone calls, emails and faxes I've received from my district and all over the country," he said in a statement. "While I favor a business's right to maximize their profit potential, I believe safeguards must be put in place when a business has a monopoly on a specific region."
Due to the large amount of complaints they've received as of late, TWC recently announced that they would be limiting overage fees to $75, but that comes as little comfort to Massa, who believes that this "excessive and disproportionate charge" sets a "horrible long-term precedent" that could inspire future limiting of internet usage. Time Warner Cable isn't the only company doling out data caps either. Comcast currently has a 250GB a month cap in place across their entire network, and right now AT&T is testing out a 20GB/month cap in certain markets.
more here
Congressman Eric Massa (D-NY) announced last Friday that he plans to introduce a bill called the "Broadband Internet Fairness Act," which he says would "prevent job killing broadband internet downloading caps." Why the sudden interest? One of TWC's test markets for the data caps is in the New York city of Rochester, which is in Massa's district. Apparently so many of the residents in his area are displeased with the internet restriction he feels a need to step forward and make something happen.
"I am taking a leadership position on this issue because of all the phone calls, emails and faxes I've received from my district and all over the country," he said in a statement. "While I favor a business's right to maximize their profit potential, I believe safeguards must be put in place when a business has a monopoly on a specific region."
Due to the large amount of complaints they've received as of late, TWC recently announced that they would be limiting overage fees to $75, but that comes as little comfort to Massa, who believes that this "excessive and disproportionate charge" sets a "horrible long-term precedent" that could inspire future limiting of internet usage. Time Warner Cable isn't the only company doling out data caps either. Comcast currently has a 250GB a month cap in place across their entire network, and right now AT&T is testing out a 20GB/month cap in certain markets.
more here