The San Antonio Express-News is reporting that Time Warner is stalling its silly tiered broadband service in San Antonio and Austin due to "customer reaction."
Reporting that Time Warner is stalling the tiered structure in San Antonio and Austin due to "customer reaction" sounds more like some kind of trouble down at the local saloon rather than customer feedback. While the San Antonio Express-News didn't specify whether or not the unhappy subscribers wore dusty boots and holsters, apparently those residents will not feel the effects of the upcoming broadband tiered system until October at the very least.
“What happened as we're continuing to listen was we worked in some of the comments and ideas that got sent to us,” said Gavino Ramos, Time Warner's vice president of communication for South Texas. “We came to the realization, let's do this in October.” Originally, the company planned to implement the tiered structure sometime this summer. Now, due to customer feedback, the meter program won't start for another six months, giving customers additional time to enjoy the current unlimited Internet usage.
"We're putting together packages that are going to accommodate everybody,” Ramos told the paper. “I think our customers are going to be pleasantly surprised.”
While his comment seems highly optimistic, the 8 million Road Runner subscribers will more than likely not welcome the implementation of any bandwidth cap. As it stands, Road Runner subscribers will have to shell out $15 for a 1 GB download cap, on up to $75 for a 100 GB download cap. Consumers will also be required to fork over $1 for every GB used over the limit; the $15 "lite" account subscribers will have to pay $2 for each additional GB. Additionally, the gigabyte overages have a limit, capping at $75, thus providing users a virtual "unlimited" package for $150. Honestly, that's crazy talk when current subscribers pay roughly $50 for unlimited access. And believe it or not, company officials evidently think 30-percent of Road Runner subscribers use less than 1 GB a month.
Sure they do.
According to Ramos, subscribers in San Antonio and Austin should see that change in billing in January 2010, three months after the tier program kicks into gear. Time Warner is offering its customers a three-month "grace period" so that users can monitor their actual data usage. Originally, San Antonio was slated to be one of the first markets to use the new system, however now that the launch date is set October, Rochester, N.Y. and Greensboro, N.C. will test the waters first in August.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming year, to see how many long-term customers decide to jump ship and find a better broadband provider.
No one who lives in an area with multiple ISP options should stick with Time Warner with the caps they are currently planning. Vote with your wallets people. They are starting to get the picture let's make it as CLEAR AS POSSIBLE for them.
No one who lives in an area with multiple ISP options should stick with Time Warner with the caps they are currently planning. Vote with your wallets people. They are starting to get the picture let's make it as CLEAR AS POSSIBLE for them.