The cable industry wants Internet users to go on a diet. Cable companies have been testing a new business model that charges customers based on how much data they use, and penalizes them for exceeding those limits. Time Warner, the nation's second-largest cable provider, now offers such tiered plans to customers nationwide. The industry says so-called "usage-based pricing" -- which resembles most wireless plans -- is a sensible option for light Internet users and a way for companies to manage networks that have become congested by the explosion of data-heavy online video. Yet the industry's shift away from one price, all-you-can-eat service has drawn scrutiny from consumer groups, regulators and lawmakers who worry the new model is motivated by a desire to boost profits when users go over their caps and protect cable TV from competing Internet services like Hulu and Netflix. In a report last month, the New America Foundation said the impact of such data caps would not only restrict consumers who want to stream movies and TV shows online, but also those who want access to the future of data-heavy services like online classes and medicine. "Making bandwidth an unnecessarily scarce commodity is bad for consumers and innovation," the report said. Read more http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/03/cable-industry-internet-scale_n_2398475.html
