Re: Google Phone "Heavy" Data Users May be Throttled

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Joel M Snyder <Joel.Snyder () Opus1 COM>
Date: October 4, 2008 11:33:33 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: Re: [IP] Re:   Google Phone "Heavy" Data Users May be Throttled

Well, everyone's use of their iPhone is personal to them, but I find  
it hard to imagine how one would use 1Gb of data on the thing.  My  
usage has ranged from 40Mb/month to 85Mb/month and I consider myself a  
very heavy user when traveling, which I do all the time.  I suppose I  
could non-stop stream videos even when I'm not watching them, but the  
combination of mediocre battery life in the iPhone and a limit on how  
much data I can consume through its small display seems to make 1Gb a  
limit that I would have a difficult time reaching.

As with the cable modem 'caps' being discussed, this sounds like one  
of those 1/100th of 1% issues.  Since I'd rather NOT be subsidizing  
Shapiro's usage, I cannot object to me paying $30 for my up-to-1Gb of  
data and having him pay more.  (Note: I'm just saying "Shapiro" here  
as an example; I don't know him other than "a guy who wrote into IP  
complaining about the 1Gb throttle.")

Yes, we have been promised unlimited usage and no time limits on our  
Internet since the hyper-competitive dial-in market was created, but  
it is clear to anyone who studies the industry that there is a  
marginal cost for bandwidth. Anyone who doubts that is welcome to  
examine the invoices from our upstream ISP.

Arguments I've heard regarding cable modem usage about congestion  
being the real issue are accurate.  It's actually not congestion; it's  
peak usage, whether that causes congestion or not, because somewhere  
it's all being aggregated up where congestion does occur; but the  
argument is approximately close enough to reality that I can agree  
with it.

HOWEVER, iPhone usage does tend to require a person sitting in front  
of the phone for any significant bandwidth usage.   Would it be even  
MORE fair to have a special "Insomniac's Data Plan" to cover that 1%  
of the 1/100 of 1% of high bandwidth users who use up their bits when  
no one else is awake?  Yes, probably, but it would be cheaper for  
those 9 people to rant and rave about how unfair it is than to have 9  
million iPhone users [I made this number up] pay the price for time- 
based bandwidth accounting.

jms


David Farber wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
> From: "Jonathan S. Shapiro" <shap () eros-os com>
> Date: October 3, 2008 11:27:53 PM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Google Phone "Heavy" Data Users May be Throttled
> On Wed, 2008-09-24 at 03:10 -0400, David Farber wrote:
> >  "If your total data usage in any billing cycle is more than 1GB,
> >   your data throughput for the remainder of that cycle may be reduced
> >   to 50 kbps or less.
> This is particularly irritating to those of us T-mobile customers who
> are *already* on unlimited GPRS data plans, and are being forced to a
> more expensive and more limited plan when we switch to the new  
> handset;
> even though we don't live or work anywhere that 3G services are  
> offered.
> So if this is enforced my service is simply getting worse and more
> expensive...
> shap
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--
Joel M Snyder, 1404 East Lind Road, Tucson, AZ, 85719
Senior Partner, Opus One       Phone: +1 520 324 0494
jms () Opus1 COM                http://www.opus1.com/jms




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