Quote:
Originally Posted by stomachmonkey
Unlimited plans are never truly unlimited.
This concerns me more as it's the 1st shot across the bow for pay per usage models.
Cable providers have been mulling exactly the same model for a couple of years now but I think no one wants to be the first to test the waters for fear of consumer backlash.
Larry Ellison envisioned digital distribution as the future of media delivery 15 years ago. Took longer than he anticipated but it's here, Netflix, Hulu, PlayStation Network, xBox Marketplace, Steam, youtube, etc....
My fear is the cable providers will turn streaming services into premium tiers.
You can get your basic broadband access for $xx.xx per month but access to high bandwidth services will become an additional premium channel same as HBO, Cinemax or even HD content.
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That already exists. I'm on the Premium tier with Comcast which gives me 25 Mbps. The regular is 5-8 Mbps. DSL definitely has multiple tier service. Again, I have the highest available at 6 Mbps, but there are 3 Mbps and 750 kbps levels.