Suddenlink plans to charge based on how much Internet you use
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To read the details of Suddenlink's Allowance Plan, visit http://www.suddenlink.com/allowanceplan/
If you tried to save a buck by ditching Suddenlink's cable TV service to consume video programming online, you might want to change the channel.
Suddenlink has joined other companies that meter your Internet usage and charge overage fees to customers who bust a monthly data cap. The more data you consume online while at home, the greater your bill could become.
While the company won't say when the usage rates will roll out in the Crossroads, Suddenlink already has begun the program elsewhere.
Armando Cordero, a 37-year-old Victoria father of two, subscribes to Suddenlink's cable TV and Internet services. While he doesn't foresee consuming more data than his Internet cap would allow, he disagrees in principal with the fee structure, he said.
"It's like they're saying, 'If you don't get video from our cable or OnDemand service, and you get your video through Netflix, Xbox or elsewhere online, we're going to penalize you for that,' " Cordero said. "This could hurt a lot of consumers."
The move by Suddenlink and other companies to charge Internet overage fees is linked to a staggering increase in usage of iTunes, Netflix and Hulu - online providers of movies, TV programming and more.
In 2010, 2.5 million American households viewed TV shows and movies online only; by 2015, that number will grow to 12.5 million, according to PC World, a computing publication.
This five-fold increase only solidifies this truism: Reliance on the Web only grows. How often do you send and receive emails, watch video, check your Facebook account, browse YouTube or play online games and movies? Each time you do, you consume data - large amounts of data if it's video you're consuming.
Some technology pundits say Suddenlink, AT&T, Comcast and other providers are metering Internet usage to protect their cable TV subscription. After all, Internet usage is not a consumable like water. Why would companies charge more for a service that already flows readily in the pipeline?
Pete Abel, a Suddenlink corporate spokesman, said the new plan likely will not affect you. Ninety-nine percent of residential Internet customers will not surpass their Internet cap and thus not incur additional fees, he said, citing historic usage data.
This new plan, which Suddenlink calls the Allowance Plan, is a fair approach to ensure the 1 percent of heavy Internet users don't hurt the other 99 percent, he said.
"Consider that households could watch more than 10 hours of Internet video per day plus engage in other favorite online activities - email, Facebook, etc. - and still be well within the generous allowance we've established for their services," Abel said via email. "Compare that 10 hours a day to the Nielsen-estimated average of four hours of traditional TV viewing per day."
Suddenlink measures your Internet usage by the number of gigabytes you consume through your modem - including consumption on devices such as smart phones and tablet computers that connect via WiFi. To illustrate the worth of a gigabyte, you could in that amount of data send 50,000 single-page emails with no attachments, Suddenlink says.
Your monthly usage cap will be determined by the Internet service speed by which you subscribe. The faster and more expensive your service is, the bigger cap you get.
This includes a:
150-gigabyte cap for download service of speeds less than 10 megabytes per second.
250-gigabyte cap for speeds between 10 and 20 megabytes per second.
350-gigabyte cap for speeds greater than 20 megabytes per second.
Suddenlink will alert you after the first and second time you exceed your cap. On the third and subsequent overages, the company will increase your monthly allowance by installments of 50 gigabytes and charge you $10 per installment.
Suddenlink will alert you several weeks in advance of the plan rollout in the Crossroads, Abel said.
"This plan is irrelevant to 99-plus percent of our customers, which is why we expect a neutral reaction to continue to be the case as we expand to other areas," Abel said.
For Cordero, the Victoria father of two, he doesn't foresee incurring extra charges. But if he does, his plan is simple.
"If it ever came down to excessive fees," Cordero said, "I'd just cancel my Internet service. If I really need to find or do something online, I can always use my phone's 3G service."
Dig deeper
To read the details of Suddenlink's Allowance Plan, visit http://www.suddenlink.com/allowanceplan/
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I'm anti suddenlink, I switched to Direct TV HD and AT&T DSL BEST financial decision ever, I don't even bother watching local channels for fox and abc, a simple call to request NY channels and a month later for network approval and I've got everything I've wanted.
February 1, 2012 at 2:59 p.m.Try the services of Internet America. They are fast and seldom break down.
January 16, 2012 at 5:28 a.m.They have serveral plans to choose from up to 10Mbps download speed. All for about $50 a month. They may be a little more expensive than Suddenlink but more dependable. Customer service is good too. If you want to try go to www.internetamerica.com to see their packages and prices.
I don't understand how they are able to know what I'm downloading unless they are hacking my system. I know when I have called support in the past I have to unlock my firewall, because they can't get in. So, how are theygoing to monitor the usage?
January 15, 2012 at 7:45 p.m.Suddenlink service is horrible. Entire bundle-phone, TV, and internet- out one morning. Service number said it would be 5 days before they could fix it.
January 15, 2012 at 6:48 p.m.d6975, tisd.net Internet is pretty good, I question the reliability of it though. Worked for an office downtown, they were our ISP, and we had outages on 20-30 occasions during a 3 year span. With an outage lasting the whole day. And NO you do not get a person every time! I'd get voicemail most of the time during an outage. They are another option though. The Suddenlink overage charges are ludacris. But the plans sound reasonable. 150 gig a month is a lot.
January 15, 2012 at 6:20 p.m.If it's not going to affect 99 percent of current users, then why even bother going through with the change at all? They'd go through all that trouble for that other 1 percent, eh?
January 15, 2012 at 5:51 p.m.I use www.tisd.net Locally owned and operated. I have not had a problem and it's blazing fast. If you have a problem, you get to talk to a human as soon as you call. Not spend the afternoon on the phone.
January 15, 2012 at 3:34 p.m.walktheshoes:
Have you heard about their unlimited VOiP service for $25/month? In all of the ads with Jerry, their CEO, he rants about this but not one word is said about the $6.50 extra for the free long distance calling. This is FALSE advertising and should be known to all that Suddenlink is really playing dirty pool. As already stated, more competition would help this monopoly die.
January 15, 2012 at 1:55 p.m.On the one hand, bandwidth is not free and, as usage increases, someone has to pay for it.
January 15, 2012 at 12:49 p.m.On the other hand, a little competition in the Victoria area would probably do wonders for the rates charged.
Nationwide ISP's listen up!! We need competition in the Victoria area, This is pure BS and tough handed tactics.. Time to start a petition and let us be heard. 100 a month for internet is both STUPID and crooked. They already charge 2-3 times more if you only have internet to begin with. They win because we LET THEM.. cmon, TISD and other small isp's join together and lets have a local run provider that cares about us and not their bottom line only!
January 15, 2012 at 11:56 a.m.my last month bill increased by 7 dollars and that was just for their pocket. nothing to do with internet, just another way of charging us for technology that someone else created.
January 15, 2012 at 11:30 a.m.two words:--------------------THIS SUCKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 15, 2012 at 11:29 a.m.---------------------------oh,well----------------------------------------------------------------
Hopefully the unused gigs will rollover? Not good If they reset each month?
January 15, 2012 at 10:59 a.m.OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!!
January 15, 2012 at 9:54 a.m.I wish we had a choice in cable and data providers in Victoria. With only one provider, its either choose Suddenlink or nothing. Monopoly.
January 15, 2012 at 9:33 a.m.