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This strikes me as preemptive optimization. That's a lot of argument to back up, though I think it has merit. I would feel much more comfortable with straight

by duaneb 11y ago

This strikes me as preemptive optimization. That's a lot of argument to back up, though I think it has merit. I would feel much more comfortable with straight up metered internet, variably-priced based on current congestion. I would feel much more inclined to believe you if it didn't look like the service providers were trying to change the meaning of internet access—it shouldn't matter which kind of device is "plugged in". That's just terrible service.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
snuxoll 11y ago
> it shouldn't matter which kind of device is "plugged in". That's just terrible service. For all of T-Mobile's plans except for the "unlimited" plan, it doesn't. I have 1GB of LTE data, after I use it on my device or through tethering I get throttled to EDGE and tethering is disabled until the end of my billing cycle. Users on the "unlimited" plan only get unlimited usage on their device to prevent network congestion from people using it as their primary internet connection for their home (and there is a lot more people that would try to do this than you would think). These users get a separate 7GB bucket of tethering usage, and it is plainly spelled out when choosing a plan.
- duaneb 11y ago
  > I have 1GB of LTE data, after I use it on my device or through tethering I get throttled to EDGE and tethering is disabled until the end of my billing cycle. I'm fine with this. I don't like calling it unlimited if it's limited to your cell phone.
chc 11y ago
In what way is it possibly beneficial to me as a user to have metered Internet for all cases rather than unlimited for most cases and metered for others?
- duaneb 11y ago
  Because, when I look around, I don't see internet being offered at a e.g. per GB rate. So I don't think your dichotomy is correct; I think people WOULD look quite favorably on metered tethered data with up-front costs as opposed to a cap with hidden metered fees or retroactive fines. However, even if it WERE correct, I much prefer to think of internet as a service. It is incredibly frustrating to deal with tiers that are only slowly approaching the reality they use to defend the tiers themselves. I'm very open to the idea that bandwidth might be a dominating restriction, but the optimal way to deal with it would be a) transparency and b) incentivizing avoiding congestion. However, I'm afraid to tether my computer and actually take advantage of the service I'm paying for since the tools are horrible to actually figure out what the costs might be or how to avoid them.
  - chc 11y ago
    T-Mobile offers apps with up-to-the-minute accounting of your usage, and at least with me, they were quite explicit about how everything is priced. It doesn't seem that hard or scary to me, and I've never gotten "shock" bills from them.

by duaneb 11y ago

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

snuxoll 11y ago

> it shouldn't matter which kind of device is "plugged in". That's just terrible service. For all of T-Mobile's plans except for the "unlimited" plan, it doesn't. I have 1GB of LTE data, after I use it on my device or through tethering I get throttled to EDGE and tethering is disabled until the end of my billing cycle. Users on the "unlimited" plan only get unlimited usage on their device to prevent network congestion from people using it as their primary internet connection for their home (and there is a lot more people that would try to do this than you would think). These users get a separate 7GB bucket of tethering usage, and it is plainly spelled out when choosing a plan.

duaneb 11y ago
> I have 1GB of LTE data, after I use it on my device or through tethering I get throttled to EDGE and tethering is disabled until the end of my billing cycle. I'm fine with this. I don't like calling it unlimited if it's limited to your cell phone.

chc 11y ago

In what way is it possibly beneficial to me as a user to have metered Internet for all cases rather than unlimited for most cases and metered for others?

duaneb 11y ago
Because, when I look around, I don't see internet being offered at a e.g. per GB rate. So I don't think your dichotomy is correct; I think people WOULD look quite favorably on metered tethered data with up-front costs as opposed to a cap with hidden metered fees or retroactive fines. However, even if it WERE correct, I much prefer to think of internet as a service. It is incredibly frustrating to deal with tiers that are only slowly approaching the reality they use to defend the tiers themselves. I'm very open to the idea that bandwidth might be a dominating restriction, but the optimal way to deal with it would be a) transparency and b) incentivizing avoiding congestion. However, I'm afraid to tether my computer and actually take advantage of the service I'm paying for since the tools are horrible to actually figure out what the costs might be or how to avoid them.
- chc 11y ago
  T-Mobile offers apps with up-to-the-minute accounting of your usage, and at least with me, they were quite explicit about how everything is priced. It doesn't seem that hard or scary to me, and I've never gotten "shock" bills from them.