Step 1 on Internet regulation
Check out Frontier’s latest BS on managing Internet downloads.
DFE is, of course, all over it.
Frontier Internet is capping its users’ downloads at 5Gb per month. After that, they now say they reserve the right to either cancel the account or charge a whopping $10.80 a gigabyte in overage charges!
[snip]
You might want to consider this before downloading your next movie from NetFlix.com, eh? And lest we forget, Frontier also charges you $4 for the modem even if you use your own and locks you into a multi-year contract.
Rotten in an offline email line note added this
Here’s information on how Frontier subscribers locked into a contract can exit before they are subject to the cap: http://stopthecap.com/?p=55
(h/t Rottenchester and Dragonflyeye)
Related posts:
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- Massa’s Internet bill to be introduced later this morning
- Time Warner Internet Cap - where do our other Members of Congress Stand?
- tech issues with Internet Explorer
- Have we forgotten about the County Clerk’s Office posting Social Security numbers on the Internet?
Thanks for posting this.
What makes it even worse is that Frontier tried to sneak the change in their terms of service onto a little-seen web page, rather than sending a letter to customers, in hopes that those on long-term contracts would miss it.
5 GB is an absurdly low amount of bandwidth. A heavy dial-up user could use that much in a month.
If Frontier follows through with this, Rochester becomes a one-provider ISP town for anyone who wants to use the Internet the way it is used in 2008 (instead of 1998, where Frontier seems to be stuck.) If that happens, expect RoadRunner to raise rates and lessen service. Such are the fruits of an unregulated duopoly.
these rate rises are happening all over the country. Time warner has I think already imposed them in some areas and at least one other major company like comcast (can’t remember which one) has done so too in selected areas, So much for the myth of the free Internet.
Its another way around the net neutrality issue,
For the benefit of those not overly familiar with the “Internet Weights and Measures,” it’s worth noting that a DVD typically holds 5GB of data on it. That means you get one, maybe two movies from NetFlix and you’re in Chargesville.
@Greecer ~ Comcast is correct. Time Warner’s got a pilot program in some town in Texas. You’ve hit it on the head, this is a back door means to bypass Net Neutrality, making customers pay for having discovered the Internet.
This about companies who used to make money off Pay-per-View and being the sole source of content imposing their will on the public to make money.
This about companies who used to make money off Pay-per-View and being the sole source of content imposing their will on the public to make money.
I agree that this is the Comcast and TW reason.
Frontier’s is a little more opaque to me. They’re an also-ran ISP in Rochester, and they don’t have an entertainment revenue stream to protect, so I would have expected them to lay back and let the cable co’s make the first move, and then emulate them.
I don’t understand why Frontier is carrying their water.
Well, if it works, it works. If Comcast and Time Warner are going to make more money trying this, then Frontier will jump as well. Remember that they’re bleeding money from cellular taking their phone charges. They need income.
TW, Comcast and Frontier have similar “problems” to the extent that they are the provider of the pipes but not getting to cash in on every little profit made off their lines.
Well I just tried to opt out or cancel my contract without ETF.
In order I was told:
“It will be almost impossible to reach that cap”
“The cap is in place to help your computer” (???)
“There is nothing to opt out from”
“We aren’t currently monitoring or metering usage so we can’t not apply it to you”
“There is no one who can cancel your contract with out a fee”
“I’ll have a supervisor call you in 24 to 48 hours”
Sigh… If they call at all I bet they call my home phone when I’m at work.
There are a few issues here:
1) The overage charge is not $10.80 per gigabyte. That refers to the cost per gigabyte of the first five gigabytes you consume during 30 days - your new limit, when you divide those on a $49.99 per month plan by five. An article on stopthecap.com provides a chart of what Frontier is charging, versus what it actually costs them. Frontier has not disclosed what, if any, charge will be levied for those exceeding the five gigabyte cap. Their current contract language permits them to terminate your account if you exceed the cap.
2) CSRs have been ineptly responding to customer complaints regarding this. Regardless of what they say, the only language that matters is what is in their contract with you as a subscriber. A CSR cannot verbally change your written contract, terms and conditions, and acceptable use policy no matter what they say.
It is absolutely your right, under their contract, to opt out of a change made by them within a 30 day grace period. They have three options:
1) Guarantee, in WRITING, that for the remainder of your contract, no 5GB usage cap will apply to your account, regardless of any terms and conditions on their website, or provided to you in any other form.
2) You can cancel your contract without penalty because they have changed the terms of your agreement without your consent, which you are naturally not giving during this 30 day notification window.
3) They can officially rescind the cap by removing it from their website.
Absolutely no other answer is acceptable. Please read the step by step instructions on stopthecap.com for cancellation, and move to the Executive Office customer service department and avoid the low level employees.
Thank you for bringing their latest excuses to my attention. I’ll be writing that up this afternoon.
F@@k Frontier
I thought TW’s killing off newsgroups because it was easier than spending some engineering dollars to filter them better, but this is much much worse.
The nonsense that rreay was given over the phone is utterly inexcusable.
Wow…all I said was Catholic.
Wasn’t Frontier the company that Mag’s had wire the wireless connects throughout the county? Where is our free wireless access? Where is our free internet? Is “free” metered on the downloads, or does free mean not so free? Is this a way to monitor or control what we see or do? Is the dowload ratio similar to the thermostat settings in the county buildings? Did the strain of wiring the county put a strain on their own capability to provide services? Have al the “free” wireless zones that Maggie promised putting a strain on the resources that people pay for? Are the “friends of Maggie” who get their net for free tying up the resources downloading porn? Did the library filter break down and now the terrible financially poor city folk are taking more than they give, and it’s time to put a little “Fair” plan into place? Could it be those commercials of all of those people complaining on TV about excessive fees, and slow downloads and net speeds be true?
Frontier - an appropriate name for a “new” technology company. I suppose the cafeteria in the corporate office vends a live animal that needs to be killed, skinned, and cooked.
Go away Frontier. Just go away. You’ve become an embarrasment in this community for too many years. Isn’t their a disgruntled retiree that you screwed somewhere that you can take your anger out on?
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