Several broadband companies have started talking about putting caps on the amount of bandwidth each customer can use. Having a broadband cap, or metered broadband would mean that rather than just paying one price for unlimited use of the Internet, you would instead pay for the amount of Internet you use (similar to your electric bill), or you would be limited to using a certain amount of bandwidth each month.

Time Warner Cable suggested plans to test consumption based billing in the United States a few weeks ago, and the idea was met with quite a bit of unhappiness from consumers. Most consumers are used to paying one set price each month for all the Internet they can handle, and don’t want to have to shell out more money to do the same thing.

For people who don’t use the Internet very much, or only use it for light activities like reading email and general surfing metered broadband could potentially be a good thing. Chances are cable broadband companies would change some sort of base rate whether or not you sue the service or not, but it would only check your email five or six times a month, then you’ll likely run up a considerably smaller monthly bill than someone who downloads tons of movies and exchanges files all month long.

In a post on Zatznotfunny.com this week blogger Todd Barnard also pointed out that if broadband was metered then the broadband companies couldn’t require you to use a specific device you use the broadband for after it goes through the meter.

” When electricity arrives at your home, after passing through the meter, the influence of your local power company ends. What devices and appliances you use is out of the of control of the utility provider. (Imagine mandatory use of an electric company provided washing machine with all other brand names forbidden!) The same goes for your natural gas hot water heater or furnace, or the kind of automobile you pull up to the gas station pump.

In a post metered bandwidth billing world, the ISPs will no longer have any right to dictate what physical devices are making use of the data after passing through the meter, as described in the FCC’s long delayed yet to be implemented “Plug and Play” law;

With “Plug and Play” the FCC requires all cable companies to make available CableCARDs, which enable anyone to offer an alternative to set-top boxes. The CableCARD is slotted into a compatible device like a TV or a DVR, and then that device acts as a set-top box. Inter-industry agreements force anyone who wants to create a CableCARD-compatible device to get licensed through a private organization jointly run by cable companies called CableLabs.”

So are you for or against broadband metering?

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Entry was posted on Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 at 11:43 pm under Internet, Technology.

Read more entries by Emily Price.
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