ArsTechnica has an excellent article laying out why the major ISP’s claims that they need data caps to avoid financial ruin just don’t hold water. Just like their opposition to the various “net neutrality” proposals we continue to see evidence of what we already expected–they are just being greedy.
Now, the libertarian side of me believes in a free capitalist market. But keep in mind that in most areas the major telcos/cable operators have a government-approved and somewhat protected monopoly. That isn’t a free market and the lack of competition means they don’t truly operate at the levels that the “market would bear” without such constructs.
In areas where there is more competition we see things can be done better at some pretty amazing costs. However, the major players are always ready to fiercely protect their restricted markets even lobbying government to actively prohibit municipal and other independent providers. I call foul. For a recent example, just see what Time Warner is doing in North Carolina.
ISP’s costs, revenues don’t support… [ars technica]
Time Warner lobbies government… [neowin]
What do you think?
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I think usage caps is unnecessary. They already charge for different speeds. Someone who is a typical bandwith hog will want the most speed they can get. They can just keep adding layers of speed and charging more.