Update on Comcast Data Cap Situation (Including Complaint with WA Attorney General)
[Thanks for visiting! There are five key posts to read around the Broadband ISP Data Cap issue. I’d suggest you read the first, the second, a wrap-up with tough questions for ISPs, an update with a complaint to the Attorney General, and then press coverage in that order. You are currently reading the complaint to the Attorney General post. In addition, I highly recommend you read my responses (published by VentureBeat) to the evasive responses we received to my tough questions to ISPs. I believe they highlight inconsistencies and deliberate attempts at obfuscation, and may prove useful to press and officials interested in advancing the conversation.]
I’ve received a quite a few mails asking for an update on what’s going on with this whole Comcast Data Cap issue. I’ve purposely kept quiet this last month or so as I wanted attention to focus on the key issue of data caps, and not on me. However, there are a few updates that are worth putting on public record.
First, I wanted to call your attention to two articles Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat wrote on this issue. The first is a good summary of what happened, and includes my hard questions to ISPs. Dean’s continued nudging after publishing that first article caused ISPs to finally respond to those questions. Those responses are quite evasive — especially in Comcast’s case, there’s a deliberate attempt to avoid discussion about why a data cap policy is necessary, and why more customer-friendly solutions that have been suggested have not been implemented. The second article includes my responses to those evasive answers, and highlights inconsistencies and attempts at obfuscation. I strongly suggest reading this second article if you have any interest in this subject, and especially if you are press or public officials who might be involved with reporting on or drafting future broadband policy thinking and legislation.
Second, I wanted to thank CenturyLink (formerly known as Qwest) for stepping up and contacting me about my plight. I was able to immediately get 3 Mbps DSL service through them, and as we speak the company is working to get an easement in my neighborhood which will open up higher-speed broadband offerings. Although they dance carefully around defining “data overuse”, they’ve also stated they do not have a data cap policy, and I don’t foresee being cut off from using their service. I believe in the end I will be able to get 40 Mbps down/20 Mbps up service for less than what I was paying Comcast for my 15 Mbps down/3 Mbps up service (with the added bonus of enabling some real broadband competition in a two-mile radius around my house.)
Finally, I wanted to specifically address one of the most common questions I’ve been receiving: “I’m concerned/scared/chilled by [my ISP's] data cap, what can I do to help?” Simply put, be vocal about your concerns, and complain to your public officials — especially your State’s Attorney General. One of the reasons this issue exists is that not enough people have spoken up with their fears and stories about how data caps impact their lives. Talk about being cut off; talk about the chilling effect a data cap has on your internet use (even if you haven’t been cut off yet); talk about wanting access to competitive services such as Netflix. Complaining to your Attorney General puts the issue on their radar. And more importantly, the more people who (politely) complain, and include details and facts, the more likely it is the AG can act on consumers’ behalf. You can find a list of the Attorneys General for every state here. Find yours, and write!
I’ve done just that. For the sake of putting it on the public record, below you’ll find a copy of my complaint to the Washington State’s Attorney General Rob McKenna. It has been received and is in process. If you live in the state of Washington and are concerned about this issue, I’d strongly suggest submitting your own complaint (with details about your specific concerns and experiences) using this link. The more people who express their concern, the more ammunition your attorney general has to work with. So jump in!
Andre Vrignaud Complaint to Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna:
Explanation of complaint:
On July 11th, 2011 Comcast disconnected me from their broadband internet service for a year due to exceeding their data cap policy. This occurred primarily due to the use of some of the new wave of legitimate “cloud” services, in particular Carbonite (an online backup solution) and Amazon’s Cloud Music Drive service. I strongly disagreed with this action, and wrote several blog posts detailing what happened (worth reading for complete background):
The initial post: http://www.ozymandias.com/the-day-comcast%E2%80%99s-data-cap-policy-killed-my-internet-for-1-year
“Final” post with tough questions for ISPs: http://www.ozymandias.com/a-cloudy-future
The press picked up on the issue, and you can find a summary of known coverage in this post: http://www.ozymandias.com/comcast-data-cap-policy-news-coverage
I have two complaints I would respectfully request you consider investigating and possibly litigating in defense of Washington State consumers.
The first complaint is simply that a data cap policy (such as the one Comcast enforces against consumers) is anti-competitive, and stifles a variety of compelling “cloud” services that Washington consumers use. These include new cloud backup services characterized by significant uploading of data (Carbonite, Amazon), and streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu which offer compelling alternatives to Comcast’s TV offerings. Simply put, a data cap at the least casts a chilling effect on the use of these services, and at worst completely blocks the use of them (especially in locations such as Seattle where Comcast is dominant and the only highspeed competitor). A data cap also protects Comcast’s legacy businesses by denying competitive options to consumers.
VentureBeat.com (an online tech journal) pressed Comcast and Qwest to respond to my “tough questions” blog post, and when they finally responded, the answers were extremely evasive (or not answered). If you read the VentureBeat article with my responses to their answers, I think you’ll find a pattern of evasiveness, and a strong desire on their part to avoid any real scrutiny on their consumer-harming practices. That article is located here: http://venturebeat.com/2011/09/07/are-we-going-to-be-bandwidth-hogs-or-cloud-computing-patrons-a-three-way-debate/ I have also attached the Word document I wrote when I replied to Comcast’s evasive answers (and provided to both Comcast and VentureBeat – I have not heard anything more from Comcast since.)
My request for settlement of this first complaint would be that Comcast agree to no longer completely cut off a user from the internet for “data overuse”, and instead invest in more consumer friendly solutions such as slowing data use after a certain, appropriate point, or ideally, expose APIs that allow third-parties such as Amazon and Carbonite to utilize Comcast’s network at less-congested times (hence addressing Comcast’s stated reason for the existence of this cap policy).
The second complaint is that Comcast does not disclose the existence of their data cap policy anywhere in their online order flow. Hence consumers are not warned that the service they are considering investing in may not actually be able to deliver on their needs, whether it be to stream significant amounts of online video (such as Netflix or Hulu), or use compelling cloud services such as Carbonite and Amazon’s Cloud Music Drive service. As an example, a subscriber to Comcast’s Xfinity Extreme 105 plan using these same services could hypothetically hit their 250 GB data cap in just *five hours* and be cut off from the internet. To this date, I do not know where Comcast supposedly discloses the existence of a data cap. You can verify the lack of disclosure of data caps at this link: http://www.comcast.com/Corporate/Learn/HighSpeedInternet/new-highspeedinternet.html? Simply pick a broadband plan and follow through to the final order button — there is no notice to be found anywhere.
My request for settlement of this second complaint would be that Comcast:
1. disclose the existence of a data cap during the customer order flow
2. explain the potential impact of a data cap on the service the customer is ordering, including explaining that both download *and* upload data apply to the cap (potentially impacting upload-centric cloud services), and explaining that streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu may be impacted by the cap
3. Finally, I would ask that Comcast detail how quickly a user might hit the data cap for each class of service offered (which would allow a user considering the Xfinity Extreme 105 plan to understand they may not actually be able to use it for greater than five hours, for example).
It it worth adding that I have spoken to Comcast directly about this issue several times to no effect. I’ve also sent an email with suggestions (captured in the VentureBeat article above), and have also complained to the Better Business Bureau with two separate complaints (one around the existence of a data cap policy, one about the lack of disclosure of the data cap policy during order flow). To the first complaint, Comcast replied to the BBB that they “were in conversation” with me (which was true) and considered the issue closed. The second complaint (no disclosure of data cap policy during order flow) has been completely ignored and the BBB is in the process of closing it out due to lack of response. (Screen shots attached of latter issue.)
Expected resolution details: Change policies per previous notes above. First, remove data cap policy (ie, do not cut people off from internet). Second, disclose data cap policy during order flow and detail potential impacts on potential customers during order flow.
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