Despite the recent backlash against Time Warner Cable for their attempt to impose low caps and high overages, smaller cable operators and the organization that represents them insist that metered billing is coming -- whether you like it or not. Broadcasting and Cable says that several attendees of American Cable Association's (ACA) annual summit, including Sunflower Broadband and Wave Broadband, either already bill by the byte or plan to start doing so shortly. ACA President Matt Polka puts forth the by-now-familiar argument that metered billing is necessary for the good of the network, and that when it comes to a shift to metered billing "the outcome is certain." As Time Warner Cable learned, consumers and competitors -- assuming these companies have any -- might have something to say about that.
This is just outrageous. The caps TW is proposing are insane. $15 for 1 gig a month, $35 for 5. To add insult to injury, Time Warner just reported a revenue increase of 11% in the first quarter while at the same time bitching and moaning about how their current business model doesn't work and will need to switch to metered internet use. Its also fantastic to note that they 'tested' their metered billing in areas without FiOS.