Comcast charging for Netflix usage

[Shane_Connor]

Okay, so, my wife and I rent an in-law suite from her parents and get free internet through them. We used to use their Netflix account but when the usage skyrocketed, Comcast charged us extra for it. We ended up creating our own account and we've been using it twice as much as before but no extra charges since. Now, my brother-in-law and his gf are visiting and they started using my in-laws' Netflix and they got charged extra again this month. So I'm trying to figure out if Comcast can only see your usage if you're Netflix and Comcast accounts are synched. I haven't been able to find any info on it and I'm wondering if anyone has had similar issues.

 

[shortylickens]

Comcast is poo.

I love my FIOS.

After new years, I recommend you switch to something else. Comcast will quickly call up and beg you to come back, hopefully with some kind of deal.

 

[Sonikku]

After new years, I recommend you switch to something else.

lol

 

[shortylickens]

lol

 

[Elixer]

Okay, so, my wife and I rent an in-law suite from her parents and get free internet through them. We used to use their Netflix account but when the usage skyrocketed, Comcast charged us extra for it. We ended up creating our own account and we've been using it twice as much as before but no extra charges since. Now, my brother-in-law and his gf are visiting and they started using my in-laws' Netflix and they got charged extra again this month. So I'm trying to figure out if Comcast can only see your usage if you're Netflix and Comcast accounts are synched. I haven't been able to find any info on it and I'm wondering if anyone has had similar issues.

Comcast has usage caps. If you go over, they hit you over the head.
The only solution to this is find a new provider, and bitch at the FCC, and social media sites about comcast, and their horrible caps.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Welcome Shane, are you related to John?


Just curious.

 

[lamedude]

Comcast charges $10 per 50GB over 300GB in some places.

 

[Pulsar]

Comcast charges $10 per 50GB over 300GB in some places.

Wow. That sucks ass. I just got all new computers (5) and easily blew through resyncing dropbox/googledrive and installing software.

 

[luv2liv]

yep comcast charges when you go over the limit, not because of netflix.
people who think streaming anything is the future are obviously oblivious to data caps.

 

[Jodell88]

yep comcast charges when you go over the limit, not because of netflix.
people who think streaming anything is the future are obviously oblivious to data caps.

It is the future. Just not for the US.

 

[Markbnj]

yep comcast charges when you go over the limit, not because of netflix.
people who think streaming anything is the future are obviously oblivious to data caps.

It's obviously the future, and data caps will last only as long as it takes to develop some real competition in the last mile. Couple more decades... half a century at most.

 

[steppinthrax]

One thing I've found is to get your own modem and don't register it. Idk, but for some reason I can't check my usage cap because they need my mac address. I was trying to check my cap and called cust service. They indicated that I need to open a case and they need to get my mac address reg on their page. Therefore when I go to the comcast page it says "trouble loading equipment". It's been like that for a few years. Once I realized, I decided I'm not going to reg it.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Total junk. We use the internet for all sorts of entertainment, and due to HD streaming the usage has gone way up. No "pirating" involved.

I don't have any neighbors that are technically savvy "stealing" my connection. I don't leave my computers on at night anymore. I don't torrent. Just straight up streaming legit...

glad they're currently not enforcing the cap in my area...

 

[Genx87]

It's obviously the future, and data caps will last only as long as it takes to develop some real competition in the last mile. Couple more decades... half a century at most.

That will require our govt stop supporting the local monopoly.

 

[BeeBoop]

One thing I've found is to get your own modem and don't register it. Idk, but for some reason I can't check my usage cap because they need my mac address. I was trying to check my cap and called cust service. They indicated that I need to open a case and they need to get my mac address reg on their page. Therefore when I go to the comcast page it says "trouble loading equipment". It's been like that for a few years. Once I realized, I decided I'm not going to reg it.

This works seriously? Does the modem automatically pick up the internet signal? I would think that you have to register for it to work. I'm going to try this.

 

[Engineer]

After new years, I recommend you switch to something else. Comcast will quickly call up and beg you to come back, hopefully with some kind of deal.

For the majority of the people in the US, there are no real alternative choices to switch. Of course, that's by money and design as the ISP's bribe the localities to write franchise agreements in terms on one ISP monopolies (including keeping the very city from installing it's own network).

Edit: See Genx87's comments above. Exactly what I'm describing.

 

[MrDudeMan]

lol @ all of you complaining about data caps. 99% of people don't get anywhere near the cap. If you're using more of something than 99% of the other people who use it, you deserve to pay more. That's life. Also, go outside and stop staring at the computer all night.

Edit: sorry, 98%.

We surveyed our heavy data users and 80% thought this approach was fairer than our past approach, which was a 250 GB/month static cap with an extremely rarely used last resort option of account termination for users who went far beyond that amount and who did not voluntarily curb usage when we asked them repeatedly to do so.

The approach we’re trialing in Atlanta, and elsewhere, is fairer because it eliminates that prior policy and creates a flexible mechanism for heavy data users to pay more to use more and for light data users to save money for using less.

98% of our customers nationally don’t use 300GB/month so, for those that want to use more they now can and we’re seeing customers in our trial markets taking advantage of the option to use more if they want to—a clear indication that this approach is working.

To put 300GB in context, our median customer’s data use is about 16 to 18GB per month. - See more at: http://www.dailytech.com/Comcast+to...Cap+You/article34913.htm#sthash.eLLgwRzR.dpuf

This model is FANTASTIC. At the end of the day, if you use more of a resource, you need to pay more. Electricity, water, natural gas, and every other utility is already metered and tiered. Internet is utility. You don't deserve unlimited access until your usage has 0% impact on everyone else.

Edit 2: Updated numbers for 2014. A whopping 25 GB!

XFINITY Internet customers' median monthly data usage is 20 - 25 GB per month.

 

[Pulsar]

Total junk. We use the internet for all sorts of entertainment, and due to HD streaming the usage has gone way up. No "pirating" involved.

I don't have any neighbors that are technically savvy "stealing" my connection. I don't leave my computers on at night anymore. I don't torrent. Just straight up streaming legit...

glad they're currently not enforcing the cap in my area...

That's 6 hours of HD streaming a night. Every night, (assuming 3 GB / Hour and a 30 day month).

 

[BeeBoop]

One thing I've found is to get your own modem and don't register it. Idk, but for some reason I can't check my usage cap because they need my mac address. I was trying to check my cap and called cust service. They indicated that I need to open a case and they need to get my mac address reg on their page. Therefore when I go to the comcast page it says "trouble loading equipment". It's been like that for a few years. Once I realized, I decided I'm not going to reg it.

Can you run me through the process? Did you return the Comcast modem first or did you install your consumer modem first?

 

[ch33zw1z]

That's 6 hours of HD streaming a night. Every night, (assuming 3 GB / Hour and a 30 day month).

No doubt, between my wife, both my kids, and myself all watching via the internet...6 hours a day can be divied up to 1.5 hours of HD streaming per person / per day.

Sounds about right.

 

[MrDudeMan]

That's 6 hours of HD streaming a night. Every night, (assuming 3 GB / Hour and a 30 day month).

It's actually kind of disgusting how much TV people watch. I haven't owned a TV in 7 years and I'm better off as a result.

 

[boomerang]

One thing I've found is to get your own modem and don't register it.

Really? When you attach a new modem to their network you get pushed to a page to register the device. I've done it twice in the past year at two residences. One had no active Comcast account associated with it at the time and the other did. In the latter case I was moving from their modem to my modem.

 

[smackababy]

lol @ all of you complaining about data caps. 99% of people don't get anywhere near the cap. If you're using more of something than 99% of the other people who use it, you deserve to pay more. That's life. Also, go outside and stop staring at the computer all night.

Edit: sorry, 98%.



This model is FANTASTIC. At the end of the day, if you use more of a resource, you need to pay more.

How dare someone consume an unlimited resource to their hearts content after buying an unlimited plan! Bandwidth isn't a sack of potatoes that everyone can only take a few each until it is all gone forever. Me using a lot of bandwidth shouldn't impact you in any way, if companies actually had to compete and update their infrastructure after 1990.

 

[darkswordsman17]

lol @ all of you complaining about data caps. 99% of people don't get anywhere near the cap. If you're using more of something than 99% of the other people who use it, you deserve to pay more. That's life. Also, go outside and stop staring at the computer all night.

So do you work for Comcast, Verizon, Time Warner, or AT&T?

Nice ass pull. 99% is a crock of shit (especially for ones like AT&T DSL which has a 150GB cap). Stream a single HD movie a night for a month and you'll eat 90GB pretty easily, so for a family you could easily use up your cap. Not to mention other things like buying digital goods (movies, games which are getting to be 20-50GB in size).

Considering they're selling "unlimited" service I don't know how you can defend it. Not only that but they also lie out their asses constantly, they advertise about all the improvements they make and how their network is so fast and stellar, yet they then blackmail companies and tell the FCC they're so congested they can't manage and can't afford to upgrade their network (unless, say, Netflix pays them). And yet somehow they've been paying out more to their shareholders than ever.

 

[Jimzz]

lol @ all of you complaining about data caps. 99% of people don't get anywhere near the cap. If you're using more of something than 99% of the other people who use it, you deserve to pay more. That's life. Also, go outside and stop staring at the computer all night.

Edit: sorry, 98%.



This model is FANTASTIC. At the end of the day, if you use more of a resource, you need to pay more. Electricity, water, natural gas, and every other utility is already metered and tiered. Internet is utility. You don't deserve unlimited access until your usage has 0% impact on everyone else.

Edit 2: Updated numbers for 2014. A whopping 25 GB!

Did you read what you posted? They have the 250GB limit yet when it came time to get their 98% number they had to move the goal post to 300GB.

That and many more are dropping TV and streaming. I have not had cable in a good decade. I am more IT savvy so making it work is easier to me and most here, But now with Roku's, amazon TV, etc... anybody can plug it in and go. And even with the low rate of those only streaming they had to move to 300GB to make their case even though they have 250GB limits.

Then on top of that your link ask the question...

What is the average usage of people on your network today?

Yet their answer was the "median monthly data usage", not average. So even their own BS is not working anymore. Do you work for a cable company or just a sheep that eats up the BS as gospel?