So what’s happening with the Beaumont TX, Time Warner metered internet usage test?
For four days at the beginning of June that was all you heard about – then nothing. Rumor was that sales were falling. But on the whole, the indignation over the audacity of Time Warner’s move wore off pretty rapidly.
I don’t get it. We had untold years of phone charges ( you all remember how grandma would not call from Wisconsin to wish you Happy Birthday until after 9:00 ) and now that long distance is no problem through the availability of inclusive plans and unlimited options, cell phones have picked up the ball and run.
With the divorce of standard phone service from the internet by way of high speed Ethernet and broadband connections, unlimited usage has become the standard. Time Warner bucks the newfound tradition by insisting that heavy users should pay a premium for going over a predetermined limit, and low level users should be getting a break.
Now the ISPs have come up with a new way of measuring your usage – download / upload amounts.
This is going to hurt companies like Netflix, Apple iTunes, etc. You will have to factor in the up charges from your provider for going over the ‘cap’ to the charges for the downloads themselves.
This may be our very salvation however – nothing like having some very ticked off major companies on your side… If they are threatened, the problem may be solved automatically.
What does this mean to SEO?
Wow, page download time just became a HUGE factor!! – and goodbye, useful widgets…
I’m still waiting for the test update!
Tags: broadband, metered internet, Time Warner