Lots of people get upset about bandwidth caps that strike me as extraordinarily generous. Does anybody think the planet or the economy would be better off, companies better able to improve service or people given incentives to "do the right thing" if electricity, gasoline, water, natural gas or heating oil were sold on an "all you can eat" basis.
This is simple economics, folks. Most people can do all they want without ever worrying about bandwidth caps. That's why people like flat rate pricing. And most people don't abuse the reasonable use rules.
But when there is literally no penalty for consuming as much as some people seem to want, you get what economics teaches you will get: over-consumption.
I don't necessarily like my electricity or water rates. But I conserve because there is a penalty for unrestrained use.
Consider the difference between wireless "unlimited" plans and other plans that simply offer more minutes or capacity than you actually use in a month. Is there really any practical difference--for most people--between "truly unlimited" and "more than I can use" plans?
Caps are just buckets. As long as the buckets are capacious enough, the plans clear enough, the usage information available and the prices reasonable, buckets work. Bandwidth caps are just buckets.
http://stopthecap.com/2009/04/23/hissyfitwatch-cutting-off-customers-who-use-too-much-in-austin/
Friday, April 24, 2009
Bandwidth Caps are Just Buckets
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
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1 comment:
I think you know better than to make an article like that. You know there is no comparison to gas and Electric. Bandwidth does not permenently consume resources. When someone is not using them, they come back. Take a look at TWCs latest SEC 10-k report and what it is telling it's shareholders, and then come back and honestly say why they are doing this. It is very enlightining. They are trying to cling to an old business model instead of changing their business with the times. More people should really become Leaders and lead their company rather then sit back and let it be status quo.
http://stopthecap.com/2009/04/28/the-tiresome-return-of-the-gas-electric-analogy/
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