Data caps in 2024… first world country… allegedly.
first world country
That just means NATO, not high on the human development index.
That is the original meaning. The colloquial meaning is different. Language is fluid.
Actually, the US was downgraded to “developing nation” for lack of nationwide accessible healthcare in 2017.
See, now that terminology works much better! The counterpart to it is “developed” not “first world,” though.
Examples:
- “Switzerland is a developed, third world country.”
- “The US is a developing, first world country.”
(Disclaimer: I’m neither agreeing or disagreeing with folks’ assessment of the US, just discussing categories.)
Feels more like regressing than developing. Maybe they should update the labels
Developing vs. developed. It was, in fact, regression.
By who?
Not in my area. Our local ISPs are great, I have 2 options for fiber at affordable prices, with no data caps. Fuck comcast and AT&T - it’s the biggest ISPs that push bullshit like that on the public.
I mean this is nice and all but for it to matter I would need to have options available.
Comcast raised my rate my 30% a few weeks ago and I went on a rage filled search for a replacement. The only other providers are either barely usable or starlink.
Call up, say you want to cancel, because you found a deal with another internet provider for whatever low price you paying originally. After they confirm you’re “sure you want to leave” they’ll offer you the reduced rate in return for you staying on with them. I’ve done it a couple times now, cuts my internet bill in half for like a year
That used to work. Tried that with Comcast a few months ago; they refused to match AT&T’s price for the same speeds. So I’m with AT&T now.
Did you accept a “free” upgrade a while back? That’s what happened to me and at some point they made my bill reflect the speed they were giving me. I then immediately downgraded back to what I originally had.
I was in a neighborhood where we had FOUR competitors, all giving reasonable pricing. I immediately went to customer service and told them I’m switching, and they magically found a way to keep me happy.
I am now in a neighborhood with only Comcast cable and Verizon DSL. The pricing is $40 vs $120 for basic speed. The competition when there’s only two carriers is a lie.
At the very least, Rocket Money has a service where they call your cable company and get you a reduced rate in exchange for a cut of what you save. It’s a lot more convenient and effective than doing it yourself. I hate that the system has come to this, but it’s better than paying full price for a service you are basically forced to use.
Weird
“Today’s nationwide launch of the Broadband Consumer Labels means internet service providers are now required to display consumer-friendly labels at the point of sale,” the Federal Communications Commission said. “Labels are required for all standalone home or fixed Internet service or mobile broadband plans. Providers must display the label—not simply an icon or link to the label—in close proximity to an associated plan’s advertisement.”
The labels are required now for providers with at least 100,000 subscribers, while ISPs with fewer customers have until October 10, 2024, to comply. “If a provider is not displaying their labels or has posted inaccurate information about its fees or service plans, consumers can file a complaint with the FCC Consumer Complaint Center,” an agency webpage says.
Because of course the FCC has a CCC
the FCCCCC, even.
Helpful quote though, thanks.
The democrats just got majority of the FCC in October. They passed this, and are almost ready to reenact Net Neutrality, despite Carr’s stalling tactics.
Lol, all of Spectrum’s plans (outside gig) say “Typical Upload: 10Mbs or higher”
Why is it so hard for ISPs to provide a higher upload speed
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It’s so ridiculous when other countries do things that really put the “America #1” to shame.
Because then we go, “Well ackshaully we can’t do that because…” BS excuse and jerking off major corporations.
I hate the “we can’t do it” excuse more than anything. If the richest country on earth can’t do it, how the fuck are other countries doing it?
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Sonic internet provides 10Gb up and down. I have no idea how they do it, but I love them.
Balancing, customer needs, limitation of hardware/infrastructure. Copper doesn’t handle symmetrical download and upload as well (this is where fiber comes in). There can be too much noise resulting in degraded consistency. Its prone to interference and leaks. To improve reliability, you get asymmetrical plans. Most people just want download. Which has historically been the cheaper choice. An example local to my area, a home plan will be 800 down and 20 up. A business plan will be 500 down and 300 up. The business plan costs more.
Yeah I get 370 mbps down but only 10 mbps up why can’t I at least have around 50 up? Is it really that hard or just capitalism? lol
Mines about the same so I assume it’s intentionally being throttled.
imho they’ve always shittily capped uploads primarily cause they dont want you hosting servers which could eat up tons of bandwidth.
and again, i want to reiterate, this is IMHO, not something i am saying is a fact.
What country? Anyway, good, good.
EDIT: ah, USA. Fix your ISPs already.
well this is a step towards that
Good, good.
You mean they didn’t have to tell you price and speed already? Ffs! 🤦
They had to give you a price and a speed, but often that price gets jacked way up with hidden fees, and the speeds they provide are usually just speeds you could get during off peak hours.
Saying things like “up to 25 Mbps” is well and good, but it doesn’t fix the problem that ISPs don’t invest in ensuring the availability of sufficient network bandwidth for speeds to actually be what is promised, and doesn’t fix the problem that the definition of bandwidth should be well beyond 25 Mbps by this point, with a minimum upload speed of far beyond the laughable 3 Mbps minimum.
Yeah, definitions need to be updated to reflect modern standards. As it is currently, “broadband” is a very outdated term, with 100/20 DSL still included under the broadband umbrella. But many people would agree that 100Mbps DSL is far too slow to count as modern broadband, and companies shouldn’t be able to market it as such.
There are also big issues with companies marketing “fiber” service, but it’s really just a fiber trunk line to the neighborhood, with copper for the last quarter mile to each individual home. It means customers don’t get a true fiber experience, (like symmetrical up/down speeds) because they’re still bottlenecked by the copper run. It also means they still have issues with things like massive throttling during peak hours, because the aging copper infrastructure can’t support modern needs.
Didn’t realize the minimum broadband definition was finally increased last month, though I agree that even 100 Mbps, and especially 20 Mbps upload, is keeping standards a decade behind what they should be. With how essential internet access is in the modern economy, particularly for low-income and rural areas that internet providers won’t voluntarily serve to the best of their abilities, it should really be regulated at the same level as other utilities.
Google has its issues as a company, but I’m pretty happy with symmetrical gigabit for $70.70 a month. I’m pretty sure 2 gigabit, and possibly 5, are also available at my location, but I’d have to upgrade all my network stuff to use that.
Now all we have to do is get ISPs to define what they consider a data cap.
Every single ISP has unlimited Internet as long as you don’t exceed a certain amount of data and then you get 56k speeds.
Which is unusable
Where in the whole world?
Wait, wasn’t always like this? Also data caps? Is this talking about mobile or wifi internet?
Yeah, but now if they provide inaccurate info, you can report them for it. Also, they have to provide it in an easy to understand format.
Cable companies need to be forced to provide alternative last mile providers, just like DSL is for telcos. There’s no reason PPPoE can not work in cable network infrastructure.
Yay so I can see exactly how I’m being fucked over with the only fucking choice in town unless I want dial up.
I recently switched back to AT&T since they’re currently in a non data-cap phase. Hopefully this will keep them there.
It depends on where you live.
Area with competition? No data cap
Area without competition? Data cap
Literally moved from one area to another, both AT&T within 1 hr driving distance from each other. One has a cap. The other doesn’t.
Checking the details of my plan revealed they stopped giving me a paperless discount months ago. I guess I know what I’ll be doing for the next four hours…
Also confirmed I still get sub 25Mbs upload unless I stick to their most expensive plan… at which point I get sub 40Mbs. I hate to say this, but I miss having an area served by Verizon FiOS.
