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April 7, 2009 · Time Warner Cable is using San Antonio, Austin and several other cities as test markets to experiment with how Internet service is sold. The company will begin testing a
pricing scheme that would charge based on how much a person downloads.
Time Warner Cable has not yet determined a pricing structure, but it is estimated that a forty-gigabyte plan, for example, would cost around fifty-five dollars per month.
"We want to make sure that we have a more equitable distribution of the cost from our customers,” said Stacy Schmitt, vice president of public affairs for Time Warner Central Texas.
Critics say Time Warner's Internet pricing strategy may also have to do with stifling competition among its cable business. Other companies like Apple, Hulu, Xbox Lives, and Netflix on Demand distribute their own TV and movie content over the Internet.
One such critic is Ben Scott, policy director for Free Press, a national non-partisan organization that promotes the decentralization of broadcasting.
Scott said Time Warner is worried about people watching television over the Internet instead of through cable networks.
"Because if Disney and Viacom and Universal and all those guys decide they don't need cable anymore to sell video to consumers, the whole model of cable television suddenly gets drawn into question," said Scott.
That's a scary prospect if you're in the video business and you're staring down the barrel of a technology change that has already transformed the music and newspaper industries.
University of Texas Internet policy professor Gary Chapman said the difference with video is that it takes a lot more bandwidth.
"And if there were monthly caps that cost you money once you went over them, then you might be inclined to use Time Warner's service instead," said Chapman.
Time Warner is not going to start charging more for tiered residential Internet access for at least three months. The company is seeking consumer feedback in the meantime through this email address: realideas@twcable.com. |
