stopTWC!
Stop Time Warner Cable's Unfair Bandwidth Tier System
Thank you for the support! TWC has dropped tier-based pricing plans for now!
News Story:
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090416/BUSINESS/90416024&referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSEL
http://stopthecap.com/2009/04/16/we-won-time-warner-killing-usage-caps-in-all-markets/
Time Warner Cable (TWC) is planning on introducing a tier-based bandwidth allocation system in Austin TX, San Antonio TX, Greensboro, NC and Rochester NY.
This system is similar to current cell phone plans that charge consumers based on minutes used. TWC is introducing 5GB, 10GB and 40GB plans priced from $22.95 to $54.90 a month. Users that exceed the limit will be charged $1 for each GB they go over.
The maximum 40GB cap is so low that consumers can easily exceed it and encounter huge fees. Technologies such as the iTunes store, Apple TV, Netflix Watch Instant, Xbox LIVE and PlayStation 3 Marketplace all use large amounts of bandwidth to deliver content. Consumers that use any of these products will have a very hard time staying under this extremely low cap and will likely have to adjust their habits in order to avoid extremely large fees.
Why this is bad
-
More and more content is being delivered online
This content ranges from online radio to downloading high definition movies.
-
Physical Media Is Being Replaced
More and more applications are being delivered online. These programs can range from games to office software.
-
Increasing File Size
As internet speeds get faster, hard drives get cheaper and media gets easier to distribute having a finite cap on the amount of data you can transfer per month will slow the adoption of new technologies.
-
Online Content Consumes More Bandwidth
Streaming just 9 hours of high definition content a month is more than 40GB. Consumers are shifting from watching media on TV to watching online. This is being made possible with technologies such as iTunes, Netflix, X-Box Live, PlayStaton 3 Marketplace and many others
-
Computers are not 100% safe
Many people have programs installed on their computer that they do not know about. These programs may be communicating with a remote server and consuming bandwidth without the owners knowledge. This policy may charge the user for something he or she may not even know is happening.
What you can do
1. Call your local TWC phone number and express your dissatisfaction with the new pricing and bandwidth caps. Remember to be polite and persistent!
2. Email your complaint to realideas@twcable.com. This email address was set up so TWC has a single place to check for everything related to the new tier policy.
3. Share this site with your friends! Use the links on the right side of this page to promote this cause. TWC knows about this website and they know that we, the consumers, are not happy with these changes. The more people that get involved the better! Webmasters: we greatly appreciate all the links we are getting to this page and invite anyone with a website to link to us!
4. Contact your local government representatives. In most of the areas affected consumers do not have a choice between broadband providers. If this 40GB cap goes through as planned these people will be forced to change the way they view and acquire content online.
5. Browse our delicious links and email us at info@stoptwc.info with websites related to this issue. We are constantly updating this list of bookmarks and are building a great collection of information.
Links to more information:
BusinessWeekInside Tech
DSL Report story
Help spread the word!
Contact TWC
Please contact TWC and voice your opinion on these changes. Please be courteous.Contact realideas@twcable.com with all complaints
-
Rochester TWC contact Information:
Customer Service 585-756-5000 or 1-800-756-7956
Level 3 support number: 1-585-756-1119
Colleen Bernard at TWC Customer Care: 585-756-1202
-
Austin TWC contact info:
Customer service: 800-418-8848
-
San Antonio TWC contact info:
Customer service: 210-244-0500 -
Greensboro TWC contact info:
Customer service: 866-874-2389 -
Contact the NYS ATTORNEY GENERAL:
File a complaint with the New York Attorney General on how Time Warner is attempting to block competition for sites such as Hulu, Youtube, iTunes, and other online services by forcing users to limit their usage of these sites with arbitrary bandwidth caps.
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/online_forms/complaint_alert.jsp