Time Warner Cable’s plan for tiered Internet service is running into more opposition and competition. In Rochester, N.Y., the site of one of the trials, competitor Frontier Communications has dropped its own plan for tiered DSL service — and is looking to accommodate any disgruntled Time Warner customers.
Frontier spokesperson Ann Burr told news media that her company got “hundreds of calls from Time Warner customers into our call centers,” adding that it appeared the trial in that area was a “public-relations crisis for Time Warner.” However, Frontier says five gigabytes monthly is “a reasonable amount” for its service, in effect a soft cap.
Not a ‘Guinea Pig’
Time Warner’s metered plan began last year in Beaumont, Texas, where a company spokesperson said only about 14 percent of customers used enough bandwidth to hit the caps. The other trials, besides Rochester, are planned for Greensboro, N.C., and San Antonio and Austin in Texas.
Legislators are also getting into the act. Rep. Eric Mass (D-N.Y.) has said he will introduce legislation to counter the tiered approach in Rochester, which he said can hurt America’s capability to compete globally by limiting bandwidth access. The largest newspaper in the Rochester area, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, is calling for more explanation from the company, and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has told local news media that he doesn’t want Rochester used as a “guinea pig.”
Time Warner’s tiers in its trials now begin at 1GB per month at 768KB/128KB for $15, with an overage charge of $2 per gigabyte. Time Warner said about a third of its customers use less than 1GB. Other packages are available at 10GB, 20GB, 40GB, and 60GB, with overages at $1 per gigabyte.
There is also a top tier of 100GB for $75 a month, with $1 per gigabyte over that. But the overages…