Are we going to be bandwidth hogs or cloud computing patrons? A three-way debate

Q4: How are your data caps set?  What data informed that decision?  Why do different ISPs have different data caps when using similar networks and distribution technology?

Comcast A4: We can only speak for ourselves, not for other ISPs.  In 2008, we established a 250 GB per month threshold that was reasonable and fair to high-volume users, and would help us to ensure that all of our high-speed Internet customers would have a superior online experience.  We determined then that this threshold would affect an exceedingly small percentage of our residential customers.  Today, that is still the case.  We will continue to monitor whether our threshold remains fair and reasonable as Internet usage evolves.

Vrignaud A4: This answer does not answer what data was evaluated and the process in which the data cap was set. It also avoids discussion around why data caps between broadband providers are so different, even when using similar networks and distribution technology. The reason that’s important is that it highlights the inconsistencies in logic in setting these data caps if different providers can’t even land on similar values, reasons or justifications industry-wide.

Qwest/CenturyLink A4: We do not currently have data caps. CenturyLink works closely with customers who have been identified as excessive user customers in order to give them every opportunity to either reduce their usage or migrate to another plan.

For perspective, in any given month, less than 0.002 percent (~50 customers) of customers in legacy Qwest markets violate this excessive use standard. This small group of customers is on the extreme margin, downloading hundreds of times the amount of data compared to a normal customer – crossing into commercial-grade usage.

To help illustrate “excessive use,” transfer data may be considered equivalent to: Unique e-mails per month: 15+ million; photo downloads per month of 300,000 to 500,000; or streaming 1,000 to 3,000 30-minute TV shows per month.

We have a very large number of customers using Netflix, Dropbox, Carbonite and Amazon’s Music Cloud Drive and, as I mentioned before, less than 0.002 percent (about 50 customers) of customers in legacy Qwest markets violate this excessive use standard in any given month. More specifically, even if you streamed 48 TV shows (30 mins each) a day on Netflix – every day of the month – you wouldn’t run into an issue.

Q5: How are your data caps evaluated on an ongoing basis?  What customer input do you seek?  What are the conditions under which those caps could be raised and/or eliminated?

Comcast A5:  We recognize that Internet usage patterns are constantly evolving, and we regularly evaluate what policy changes we should make in order to best serve the vast majority our customers.  That is always our first and primary focus.  We regularly evaluate our products, review traffic and top usage volume and patterns, and conduct focus groups and surveys with our customers—all of this work factors into the decisions we make about what products and services to offer, including speeds tiers, usage thresholds, and other components of our service.

We provide a Data Usage Meter to help consumers keep track of their usage, even though the threshold affects only a tiny percentage of users – in fact, only about 1% of our customers exceed the limit in a month.  And when we contact customers who have exceeded the limit, we have found instances when the high-volume use is unintentional (e.g., a bot has infected their computer and forces it to send data at all hours, or someone is using their unsecured WiFi connection without their knowledge.)  These are situations that can be resolved.

Vrignaud A5:  I will give partial credit to this answer, as you state how you evaluate usage, volume, and conduct focus groups and surveys with customers. However, it doesn’t address this original question at all: “What are the conditions under which those caps could be raised and/or eliminated?” It also doesn’t provide transparency. Per my earlier email to Comcast, I made a recommendation around being more transparent. I quote that section below:

A second issue is the lack of transparency and change in the current data cap policy. As you know, the current policy was set without customer or industry feedback three years ago, and doesn’t reflect the reality of internet use today. While my data use may have been significant, the “upload to the cloud” scenarios that put me over the top are understandable. And as your own internal data no doubt shows, more and more people are going to hit this cap over time. So the second point I would suggest is that Comcast agrees to review the “data cap” yearly, with an advisory group that consists of a mix of people from places such as tech blogs, small businesses, college students, etc. I’d also be happy to donate time and support this council as well. You’d buy some pizza, show data about how many people are hitting the cap, have a conversation for a few hours about changes in the industry, new technologies to consider (OnLive is a great example), and listen to the advisory groups input. Then you’d publish updated limits advised by that input each year. (Note that “data cap” is in quotes, because based on the previous point, data would not be cut off – it would be throttled or shaped.)

A second issue with this answer is that the Bandwidth Meter currently provided is very limited and/or broken. It simply doesn’t appear on the website at all for many people (myself included), and doesn’t give any real information about what is consuming data (types of traffic, upload vs. download data, etc.) Below is another snippet from that email I sent to Comcast:

A third point would be that Comcast would commit to exploring why many users cannot see their bandwidth meter online (including myself), and work to address it. Related, I might suggest that you also say that you are “exploring” exposing bandwidth meter APIs to software developers so they can better help their customers manage their bandwidth before they get slowed (not cut off). As a specific example, Carbonite or Amazon could implement these APIs, and with the user’s permission, check the meter daily and stop uploading at a certain point until the clock is reset the next month. I would not insist on the API point, but I do believe it’s an opportunity for Comcast to show you’re working to make things better here.

I would add after the fact that implementing a bandwidth API could also allow Comcast to offer a “Comcast Certified” logo to companies such as Amazon and Carbonite. If those companies implemented your APIs, they’d be allowed to state that use of their uploading tools would not count against your data consumption as they’d work with you to send that data at off-peak, or non-congested hours (such as from midnight to 6 a.m.).

Qwest/CenturyLink A5: Per your example, internet use continues to evolve in terms of the types of activities for which people use their high-speed internet service. That is why, at this time, we do not currently specify a hard and fast number that defines excessive use.

Our excessive use policy is designed to ensure that our high-speed internet network is being used as it was designed in order to deliver the most optimal Internet experience; however, if we enforced the same 250 GB/month usage threshold you mentioned with your previous provider, the number of customers who violate would be 20 times more than it is now!

I want to be clear, when a customer crosses the line we’ll work with them vs. cutting them off. Our process includes up to two electronic notifications via a walled garden message and three letters to those customers identified as an excessive use customer per the terms of their subscriber agreement.

These customers are given direct phone numbers to contact a specialized engineering team that works to assist the customers in either reducing their usage or migrating to an alternative broadband product. In other words, if we get to that point we will work with you first rather than cut you off.

As demand for Internet capacity grows, ISPs will face increasing pressure to lower caps or charge usage-based fees, as certain wireless carriers have started to do. And because the FCC’s Open Internet rules largely require ISPs to recover all network costs from end users instead of content providers, regardless of whether those providers are willing to pay some of the cost for delivering content to their customers, it may be necessary that consumers pay for capacity, regardless of the volume they use. Accordingly, as the costs that must be recovered from end users grow to meet rapidly escalating demands, it may be more fair — perhaps even necessary — to ask all to pay for what they consume.

Q6: Do you practice selective enforcement of data caps?  (Many ISP users report being over their supposed limits for months in a row without action.)

Comcast A6:  We seek to be reasonable, fair and transparent with our customers – and we always invite suggestions on how to improve.

While our policy places a data limit of 250 GB per month, we do not contact every customer who exceeds the threshold.  Customers have the benefit of the Data Usage Meter, and can take steps themselves to monitor or, if necessary, moderate their usage, or call us for help.  In practice, we strive to affect the fewest number of customers possible while taking steps necessary to maintain a great experience for all of our customers.

We contact customers who have repeatedly exceeded the threshold in geographic areas where those excessive users are, or could, negatively impact the experience of other customers in their area.  We inform them of the issue, discuss the policy with them, and work with them to moderate their usage.  In our experience, when we contact customers who have exceeded the limit, nearly nine out of ten voluntarily moderate their usage.  The small minority of customers who, despite our efforts to inform and help them, exceed the threshold for a second time in a six-month interval, may have their service suspended for a year.  Our goal is always to work with a customer to address the issue, and it is only in the rare circumstance that a customer does not moderate usage to comply with the policy that we take these steps.

Vrignaud A6: Another partial credit answer. I appreciate that for the first time you disclose that you do selectively enforce your data caps. However, the problem with that approach is that you cast a chilling effect on the use of your service.
Many broadband customers have reached out to me after this whole situation became public. And they’re afraid. Some are concerned because they can envision hitting the caps using cloud services such as I did. Some are concerned because they fear what might happen to competitive services they love such as Netflix and Hulu. And some are afraid because they regularly exceed the cap but aren’t contacted, and they just don’t know what’s real or not, and fear the axe.

The answer of “go use our business class service without data caps” isn’t really a legitimate one. For one, your current policy is to not allow a customer to use the business class service if they’ve been cut off from the consumer class service for data overage. Secondly, it’s a bit odd that you conflate “congestion” and “overuse” as an issue in earlier answers, but don’t address how using a business class account on exactly the same network and line into the home suddenly uses “less.” It doesn’t — if I’d suddenly switched to being a business class customer I’d have been using the same network, line, and DOCSIS 3.0 modem, but would suddenly not be considered to be somehow impacting my neighbors—solely because I was paying more, and not because of any structural changes.

Qwest/CenturyLink A6: As previously mentioned, we do not currently have data caps. As you know, CenturyLink recently completed its acquisition of Qwest Communications.  We are currently reviewing each company’s policy to determine the approach for the combined company.  In the interim, we are maintaining the broadband usage policies in place for each company and its legacy territories.