Leaked document shows that Comcast's 300GB data cap has nothing to do with network congestion

[MannDude]

Anyone else see this today? On the front page of Reddit but for those who don't lurk it, here is the full article: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/s/leaked-comcast-docs-prove-300gb-data-cap-nothing-003027574.html


The relevant part of the leaked document shown in the image below:





I don't think anyone here will be shocked by this, I do believe everyone here is more or less aware that Comcast sucks.

 

[zzrok]

Comcast has long shown that they absolutely hate their customers.  I can't figure out why because they are just begging for the government to impose regulations on them and the other ISPs to protect the consumer.  The FCC has shown a renewed willingness to do so, but Comcast evidently isn't concerned.  Their infrastructure team seems competent but their management is the epitome of "manglement."

 

[KuJoe]

Comcast has been the only ISP I've ever been extremely happy with and had the least amount of issues with (although my 2nd attempt with Verizon FIOS has been perfect since it was installed a few months ago, knock on wood). I was expecting to pay hundreds of dollars in ETFs when I moved to a different state but the rep on the phone was awesome. I explained that I was moving to a location that didn't have Comcast a they asked me for my new address (I assumed it was to look up if they offered service there or not) and then told me my check would be mailed there. I asked them what the check was for and they said that they were sending me back a check for my most recent payment (from 2 weeks ago) and waived any fees which I think was upwards of $200 since I had over a year left of my contract. I told them I was very surprised because of what I've read online and how my other ISPs treated me and they said management was working hard on fixing their image and building customer loyalty (and if I had the option to switch to Comcast in the future I definitely would and they'd make back the money I saved in a few months easily so it was a smart play for them).


Back on topic...


I always hated seeing the data usage counter in my client area on Comcast's website even though it said below it "data limits have been suspended" meaning I fully expected the counter to start working one day and I offloaded hundreds of GBs of bandwidth outside of my home network because of it (still going over the 300GB limit each month, but I could have gotten a 3G/4G plan to make up the difference for the last week of the month and suspended any offsite backups). I asked the tech who came out to install the modem and hookup the cable (almost 3 years ago) about the data cap and he said that a lot of people were using residential service for hosting adult websites and stuff like that (he told me there was a chart they handed out a long time ago about the top sites hosted on Comcast residential connections where the owners would rent multiple residential connections and saturate a neighborhood's termination box or whatever it's called). I found it hard to believe because of how cheap it is to get a dedicated server even 5-6 years ago but still a funny story none-the-less.

 

[drmike]

Cable companies have monopolies in most places.  You get 'high' speed from cable or have what?  DSL as alternative?


Franchised monopolies need outlawed and we need right of way / open networks and some competition for a damn change.


FIOS has been good.  One of the best products out there.  Outside of that and local fiber plays elsewhere, good freaking luck with bandwidth in the US.

 

[OSTKCabal]

300GB of data on a residential connection... It's not like this is a 4G connection where the usage is often spread out over multiple towers; this is usage in a single location. Comcast themselves say it's not at all due to congestion; so what's it for? They can't provide a legitimate reason.


IF a company is going to impose these sort of data caps, at least make them fair data caps. Even normal people who watch Netflix every day are going to suffer (much more so those who work from home, stream music, and do all other average daily internet usage activities), and likely won't be told about the activation of the caps. They'll get their bill with an extra $50 of charges they didn't expect.

 

[raindog308]

I just checked and from Nov 1 to Nov 8 I used 204GB of data.  Is that 204 up or down?  My CrashPlan, Dropbox, etc. runs 24x7, plus I download from my seedbox, Netflix/Amazon...


$30 uncap fee here I come.


Portland keeps being mentioned as a Google Fiber city Real Soon Now...

 

[lowesthost]

I don't think anyone here will be shocked by this, I do believe everyone here is more or less aware that Comcast sucks

Yes they certainly do I have just recently switched back to Comcrap  on my home internet after a 7 years hiatus  was forced  back because Centurylink dropped the ball  Like I have a real choice I stuck with Century link  because even though the speed is overall slower their customer service is better  and they kept  giving me new  discounts to keep me  but when the connection went down and it  would not be repaired for over a Week  I had to switch. 

Cable companies have monopolies in most places.  You get 'high' speed from cable or have what?  DSL as alternative?

No competition  no incentive to do anything for their customers. 


There is a beautiful  Metro municipal fiber ring in my metro area  and Comcast & Centurylink  have bankrupted it twice with stupid Lawsuits (there ought to be a Law against the stupid lawsuits )  and In my city Centurylink was able to outlaw it all together. To further add insult to injury even business who were willing to pay the construction costs  to build it out were banned to to so. 


Google Fiber on the way (under construction)  hooray. Although  its a bit like just adding another Monopoly to the mix  at least their prices are the prices none of the pay me low now and we will  price gouge you later. It will force all three to play nicer together.


As soon as Google announced  Magically Centurylink suddenly had 1G  business & residential connections  ( not my neighborhood) 


I am a bit tired of the no competition in the residential  internet market. 


I do the same shit with my TV/Cable  I play musical providers and switch every 2 years  direct TV DISH Comcast Centrylink although  Centrylink does not provide TV  they do have a deal with  direct TV (only used that option once). Just not going to pay $70+  for 100's of channels with nothing on them 

 

[lowesthost]

I just checked and from Nov 1 to Nov 8 I used 204GB of data.  Is that 204 up or down?  My CrashPlan, Dropbox, etc. runs 24x7, plus I download from my seedbox, Netflix/Amazon...


$30 uncap fee here I come.


Portland keeps being mentioned as a Google Fiber city Real Soon Now...

I just checked mine and at the current rate  30 days will yield just shy of 200GB  I do not use home connection  for mass downloads or backing up anything Just a normal use surfing the net  watch  a few Netflix at night, kids play some on line games, etc 

 

[drmike]

I pay too damn much to the cable whores.   Considering how much shit I've been through with them and how much they mass overcharge I have increasing packet therapy for them.


On main VPN: 
November: 523.76 GiB


Hoping to get that number way up.  Slacking.  Need to start streaming everything, even recorded content from remote locations.


Maybe they can flag my account again and put the connection offline for another 5 hours... What they did last month when everything went entirely crypto in and out and they couldn't see anything plaintext. Oh must be hacked or something... No more of their forced DNS crap and collecting data to resell.  Sorry I ever donated, I repent this Sunday, giving won't ever happen again


... Finally scripted main VPN gateway cold start routine so it works around the plaintext issue, connects tunnels, brings up crypto DNS tunnels, locks the doors and says goodbye to plaintext world.

 

[KuJoe]

Since it came up, I remember reading that Netflix (and other select streaming content) traffic would not be counted towards that 300GB because of a peering agreement between Comcast and them.