Comcast: Excessive usage gets OTB a mean phone call!

[onthebutton]

I got a call from my good friends at Comcast today. They told me that I was in the top .9% of home users for January (yeah for me!!!!), and that if I didn't reduce my usage, my account would be terminated without further warning. Has anyone else gotten a threat like this? Does anyone have any idea what the largest amount I can download without getting canned is?

Of course, I googled, and can't seem to find an answer as to what this number might be. Apparently I had done a bit more torrenting than I had realized. I'm pretty sure that when I signed up, Comcast was advertising "unlimited Internet", but there is now some interpretation of their vague TOS that allows them to pull this [censored].

[cardcounter0]

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They told me that I was in the top .9% of home users for January

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There probably isn't an actual number, it is the top 1% of users that get flagged.

So the solution is not to reduce the amount you use, but to get everyone else to use more, so you are not the top 1% anymore.

[mungpo]

How much did you download in the last month? I usually download 100-200/gb a month.

[liquidboss]

Yeah, I remember awhile back reading on Slashdot about a bunch of people being pissed off at Comcast for cancelling accounts that repeatedly break their monthly bandwidth limit. The thing that was making everyone angry was that they would threaten to cancel or cancel people's accounts, but never tell anyone what the specific number was that you couldn't go over. Everyone came to the conclusion that they just want to have the power to get rid of people using a lot of bandwidth without having to set an upper limit.

[onthebutton]

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How much did you download in the last month? I usually download 100-200/gb a month.

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They told me it was over 300GB for the month. Personally, I find it hard to believe that this amount constitutes the top 1%.

[Cry Me A River]

This is standard for most cable companies. It's "unlimited", but they can boot you at any time, for any reason. Sort of like how card counting is not illegal, but casinos reserve the right to ban anyone for any reason.

Google "throttle torrent" if you really want to get pissed off. My brother got a similar notice from Rogers Cable early last year. He took it easy for the next month, maybe two, then went right on with his life. They haven't bothered him since.

[edfurlong]

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How much did you download in the last month? I usually download 100-200/gb a month.

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They told me it was over 300GB for the month. Personally, I find it hard to believe that this amount constitutes the top 1%.

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I find that pretty easy to believe.

[cbloom]

I've also heard Comcast throttles people they suspect of torrenting. No idea if that's true. I do know I'm spending $100/month for the most basic cable TV & internet possible and those f**kers should let me do whatever I please with it.

OTOH Cable is a shared bandwidth system, so it is pretty lame that a few heavy torrenters can slow down the whole block.

[econophile]

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I've also heard Comcast throttles people they suspect of torrenting. No idea if that's true. I do know I'm spending $100/month for the most basic cable TV & internet possible and those f**kers should let me do whatever I please with it.

OTOH Cable is a shared bandwidth system, so it is pretty lame that a few heavy torrenters can slow down the whole block.

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cancel the cable tv, and you will still get it

[A S U]

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How much did you download in the last month? I usually download 100-200/gb a month.

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They told me it was over 300GB for the month. Personally, I find it hard to believe that this amount constitutes the top 1%.

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Holy crap 300 GB!