With music and movie downloads prompting its customers to use loads of bandwidth, Time Warner Cable is testing out a controversial tiered-pricing plan for bandwidth usage in Rochester, NY, plus North Carolina and Texas: According to eWeek, "In addition to 5, 10, 20 and 40GB caps, the company said this week that it would offer a 100GB tier for heavy users. Prices (so far) would range from $29.95 to $75.00 a month, and users would be charged an extra dollar for every additional gigabyte they download, up to a maximum of $75. An 'unlimited' bandwidth plan, therefore, tops out at $150."
The tiered plan was offered after healthy skepticism over why this plan is needed: Wired found that TWC's broadband costs decreased 12%, while their revenues increased by 11%; Wired now thinks "it's still just a ploy to get consumers to sign up for a more expensive plan than they need... it's bad for innovation and a step backward for the net."
The Bits Blog's Saul Hansell spoke to TWC COO Landell Hobbs earlier in the week; Hobbs claimed it was fair to charge heavy users more for their bandwidth use, but Hansell writes, "The question of what is 'fair' is somewhat more abstract than just saying someone who uses more should pay more. After all, people who watch more hours of cable television don’t pay more than those who don’t." And as a commenter pointed out, the trial is not occurring in FIOS markets (which is why Rochester is hoping FIOS will come its way).
