ISPs Start Broadband Capping
While the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is still in-process of conducting public hearings on minimum broadband speed and without any law to prevent its adoption, Internet service providers (ISPs) have decided to invoke the “fair use” doctrine in imposing the broadband cap or data limit on the Internet subscription of their customers as a way to curb unrestrained use of just a few broadband users. Globe Telecoms Inc. (Globe) citing its fair use policy is the the latest ISP to announce the move to cap the Internet data volume that the company provides to its subscribers. San Miguel-owned Liberty Telecoms, which operates Wi-Tribe, has been offering WiMax services that have data limits while SkyBroadband, the broadband service unit of SkyCable, also recently rolled out a 5-Mbps Internet offering with 15-GB threshold.
The broadband cap remains a contentious issue in the industry with the ISPs urging the NTC to impose it as a formal regulatory rule. However, the agency has already announced that it will not include any provision on data capping on a circular it is currently drafting on the minimum broadband speed in the country. The various broadband consumer groups have expressed their opposition on the imposition of cap on broadband usage of a subscriber.
Be that as it may, more questions will arise as ISPs implement the broadband cap. Will capping assure the subscribers that they will now get the connection speed that they are paying for? How will we know that the broadband usage being charged to us are correctly metered? How about the rebate system for failure to deliver the promised speed consistently? As in any undertaking that affects the public, safeguards must be put in place before anything goes onstream. Will the broadband service of current ISPs really improve if the cap is implemented?
Internet should really be regulated…
Does the capping apply only to 3G connections or also applies to DSL connections?
I am on a PLDTDSL bundle plan (phone+landline = 1299)… I want to ask their customer support but I doubt if I’d get any good answer.
I have a DSL that is capped at a specific level. I can’t go above that cap, but I never get less then the cap either. It works out well for me.
Thanks for the visit and the comment.
It’s good that your ISP delivers the DSL speed that you pay for. Our situation is very different. Our ISPs have not proven yet that they can deliver the bandwidth they promise and yet they want to put the cap and say that that is the only way they can fulfill their obligation. We do not believe them. We say that they must prove first that they can provide what they promise before we talk about capping.
True on all counts. Just to add, data is data… it is there in the world wide web for all to access. It is not owned by the telcos or the ISP’s. What we are paying for is the speed at which these data can be accessed by us paying customers. Isn’t that the gist on why they spend so much for their advertisements? DATA CAPPING is bad for us in this interconnected world. They are hampering our right by LIMITING our access per day. What’s the point in BRAGGING about how fast their speed is? Truth is, it’s a blessing if you can get a STABLE 60% of their ADVERTISED SPEEDS. And they blame the internet hogs? It is not their fault. And it is not for the ISP’s to say and blame THE CUSTOMERS for using a service which they pay for.
Let’s put it this way, CABLE TV for example. Those broadcasts you see ARE DATA. Sure they also provide extra channels as an add on to your monthly bills if you want them, but i digress. The point is, I can keep my TV SET on for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, flick through all the channels if I want to without the cable company telling me that I’ve watched too much that other USERS of their SERVICE are suffering, so the solution FOR THEM is to LIMIT my watching hours. GET THE DRIFT? But of course that doesn’t happen with Cable TV. Good thing about them is when there is a SERVICE INTERRUPTION, they tell you WHERE THE PROBLEM AREAS ARE, THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM, AND A SPECIFIC TIME FRAME WHEN THE SERVICE WILL BE RESTORED. Can we say the same of our INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS?
The main cause of the problem with these telcos is their infrastructure. They lack the equipment to service their existing customers yet they accept more subscriptions than what their EXISTING SYSTEMS CAN HANDLE. And their CHEAP SOLUTION? LIMIT SPEED or CAP DATA. Or worse, BOTH. Instead of upgrading their systems to solve bottleneck connectivity issues, THEY BLAME THE USERS for “abusing their connection.” PUHLEEZE! The data we get (download) from the net or give the net (upload) is not theirs. What we pay them for is the medium on how we receive and deliver these data. Which by the way is still so much to hope for as it is. What we users contend with ON A DAILY BASIS: Unsteady, unreliable, half or sometimes below THEIR ADVERTISED SPEED (allegedly throttling), and to add insult to injury, CAP THE AMOUNT OF DATA we can access PER DAY. ENOUGH!
The TELCOS, by their advertisements, tells us we can get X Mbps for X amount of pesos per month. No mention of data limits except maybe for some in the fine print. And more, they add the word UNLIMITED to their ads. That speed will mean NOTHING. If one can rip through the DATA CAPS in 3 hours or less. That is if you can have a stable and steady connection for 3 straight hours. Just ask those who constantly monitor their speeds and they will tell you. If they can’t route me my X Mbps, they shouldn’t have sold me X Mbps if they can’t deliver.
Do they even reimburse us during downtimes or below workable speeds? I don’t understand why they have to CONTROL the AMOUNT of INFORMATION from flowing steadily to solve their bottleneck which is allegedly artificial if not, allegedly nonexistent to begin with. The internet is the last bastion of TRUE FREEDOM all over the globe, no one has the right to control, regulate, nor curtail that freedom. Well, except maybe for China (political) and parts of the Arab countries (modesty).
Too bad I wasn’t able to attend the NTC Public Hearing held last January 2011 regarding this latest scheme to skim more money off of subscribers by these ISP’s, else, I could have give them a piece of my mind in person. People, they want to get away with it by implementing their own version of Canada’s Usage-Based Billing (UBB). As a starter, they are now calling it as “FAIR USE POLICY.” UBB by the way was largely protested against by Canadian users. We should all do the same.
To know more on what UBB is all about, click on the link below.
CLICK HERE
This might be what we have to contend with soon if we allow whoever it is that “owns the medium to control the message.”