Comcast To Delay Speeds For Heaviest Users During Peak Time
This story was written by Rafat Ali.
It is kinda like London's congestion charge: you pay up for using heaviest during peak time...in online access terms, paying up translates into slower speeds for the heaviest users, by about 10 to 20 minutes to keep service to other users flowing, Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) outlined today. This comes after FCC lambasted Comcast for blocking traffic from some P2P users earlier this month. The FCC didn't fine Comcast but ordered end all its discriminatory ways by the end of the year, and asked it to disclose all its practices within 30 days.
With this, a heavy Comcast Web user would only have speeds of "a really good DSL experience", much slower than cable Internet speeds. In trials, Comcast has found the fair-share system to be effective if the slowing lasted for "roughly between, probably, 10 and 20 minutes, the company told Bloomberg. It calls the new system "Fair-Share"...yes, truly.
Also, the company is considering charging heavy users more for access, something Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) Cable is already testing.
By Rafat Ali