What is the data usage difference if I watch TV for 5 hours vs. streaming to watch TV for 5 hours?
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The difference is that if 10 people watch TV thatās just one broadcast that is being sent out anyway (cable providers effectively broadcast the signal for all their channels, all the time over the wire, you just tune into one of them).
If 10 people all stream the same show, thatās 10 seperate connections. If 100 people watch then thatās 100 connections. If you are lucky, the company providing the stream will have a āpoint of presenceā inside your ISPās network, and so only one copy of that stream has to be sent to them, and from there itās sent to all the people watching. If they donāt, then all those streams will have to leave your ISPs network individually.
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I would suggest Comcastās accountants and lawyers should do that calculation and price accordingly (except, they already have). They should otherwise offer ā50 Mbps except weekends and between 6 and 10 pm.ā
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as a customer - itās the exact same number of bits coming into my home.
I live three blocks from Comcasts home office.
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But how it gets to your home affects how much infrastructure it takes to get it there.
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Then donāt use a gas station analogy. And - yep - thatās his cost of doing business. They donāt seem to be going broke.
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Doesnāt look like a problem:
Comcast Reports 2nd Quarter 2015 Results
Consolidated 2nd Quarter 2015 Highlights:
Consolidated Revenue Increased 11.3%, Operating Cash Flow Increased 8.0%, and Operating Income Increased 7.9%
Free Cash Flow Increased 30.0%
Earnings per Share Increased 10.5% to $0.84; Excluding Adjustments, EPS Increased 12.0%
Quarterly Dividends and Quarterly Share Repurchases Increased $878 Million, or 65.8%, to $2.2 Billion
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Well, yes. That was my point (I think).
Comcast should be taking a more neuanced approach to traffic management, but instead are going for the totally dumb blanket caps, which donāt actually deal with the real problem of peak demand and infrastructure design.
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Absolutely, as I explained above, the gas analogy is wrong.
More than that - the itās a huge expense thatās hurting the company subtext is flat out wrong.
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Yes, that too.
Just to clarify, Iām not suggesting Comcast are not money grabbing capitalists out to make as much money as possible, they clearly are using the standard operating procedures of corporate America 
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I believe it is your fondness for responding to bullshit, with bullshit.
When the converse of that very point explicitly predicates the bullet numbered list points you had to make about how you would have presented a different opinion on your own blog, while insuling the hosts as an unreliable and biased presenter.
So, just check in with yourself. Nobody but you brought who you are into this conversation. Nobody but you thinks HAND isnāt bullshit.
and of the two of us, only one is pretending to be above it.
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I find it interesting how ISPs, almost uniquely, seem to be able to turn otherwise pro-capitalism, pro-business Americans (by this europeanās standards) into raging socialists
ISPs in the UK are generally a bit useless, but they donāt seem to provoke quite so much ire as the US ones do.
I guess thatās because we have some sembelence of competition, whereas the US system seems to be a poor joke pretending to be a functioning market.
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Thatās a fair point. I just think itās possible to fight that without abandoning the high ground.
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File a complaint with the FCC. They have to respond individually, the more complaints the better.
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I just want my Comcast connection to get near the promised speed and have one goddamn game of HotS that dosenāt lag.
I am probably going to switch to something else if I can soon. I wish I could get Google Fiber that is literally going in across the street from me, but not here.
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Would you say that youāre disappointed in Boing Boing?
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Next your going to tell me providing healthcare shouldnāt be a profitable business.
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Are you friendly enough with your across-the-street neighbors theyād let you put a directional antenna on their property in exchange for paying half their internet bill?
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