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AT&T Puts Broadband Users on Monthly Allowance
Dear AT&T,
I am one of those people who live in the rural neighborhoods of the Southern California high desert above Los Angeles. You are the only available internet provider, outside of satellite (which sucks).
You have no competition here, and there are many other such places where you're the sole internet service provider.
I think it is both preposterous and greedy of you to suddenly decide to cap our internet usage, especially (as you'll see in the article) since you don't have a congestion problem justifying it.
Your price for bandwidth continues to fall, and yet, you want to squeeze the last friggin penny out of folks like my roommate and I - two disabled people who spend a lot of time on the internet.
We don't have "traditional" TV. We get our news and entertainment via the internet, via websites and streaming sources. We are low-income so we cannot afford to "go out on the town" if at all. What we find on the internet is our entertainment.
I am an artist, and my pallets are virtual worlds. I regularly spend countless hours logged into one of two 3d Virtual World grids, creating items that I consider to be an expression of art. I also use these venues for much-needed social interaction, and last but not least, I conduct a long-distance relationship via these venues.
Are you going to tell either of us that we'll have to cut off what has become a lifeline to us, just because you want to be greedy?
It also might be an outright contract violation. When I signed up, I signed up for unrestricted internet use. I was not warned, nor given any information, that you planned to install caps. Considering that there is no comparable competition in my area, you may be skirting the law doing so to begin with. We are trapped into using your service because of where we live. That, my dear Corporation, is called entrapment of the worst kind. We have a choice - consider limiting our enjoyment of a service we use extensively, or pay extra we cannot afford.
Since when do you get to determine that for us?
We gave up TV because we can do a better job of picking and choosing our news and entertainment sources via the internet.
I use my time as a creative outlet but it requires I be logged into a service for several hours a day, sometimes up to 16 or more, to create my work. I also run small businesses on these systems that help finance my continuing creativity.
When do YOU get to decide if I can watch a program on Hulu, Netflix, Blockbuster, YouTube many of the other streaming services out there? Why do I have to stop streaming music? What makes YOU think YOU can have that kind of control?
We're already paying a premium to have the highest level of internet you offer, and I'll repeat again, there IS no competition we can alternatively choose from. We don't ABUSE your service, and people like us do NOT cause any sort of internet traffic congestion.
So where the hell do YOU get off? Expect a fight from us little people. After all, we're paying your salaries.
Dear AT&T,
I am one of those people who live in the rural neighborhoods of the Southern California high desert above Los Angeles. You are the only available internet provider, outside of satellite (which sucks).
You have no competition here, and there are many other such places where you're the sole internet service provider.
I think it is both preposterous and greedy of you to suddenly decide to cap our internet usage, especially (as you'll see in the article) since you don't have a congestion problem justifying it.
Your price for bandwidth continues to fall, and yet, you want to squeeze the last friggin penny out of folks like my roommate and I - two disabled people who spend a lot of time on the internet.
We don't have "traditional" TV. We get our news and entertainment via the internet, via websites and streaming sources. We are low-income so we cannot afford to "go out on the town" if at all. What we find on the internet is our entertainment.
I am an artist, and my pallets are virtual worlds. I regularly spend countless hours logged into one of two 3d Virtual World grids, creating items that I consider to be an expression of art. I also use these venues for much-needed social interaction, and last but not least, I conduct a long-distance relationship via these venues.
Are you going to tell either of us that we'll have to cut off what has become a lifeline to us, just because you want to be greedy?
It also might be an outright contract violation. When I signed up, I signed up for unrestricted internet use. I was not warned, nor given any information, that you planned to install caps. Considering that there is no comparable competition in my area, you may be skirting the law doing so to begin with. We are trapped into using your service because of where we live. That, my dear Corporation, is called entrapment of the worst kind. We have a choice - consider limiting our enjoyment of a service we use extensively, or pay extra we cannot afford.
Since when do you get to determine that for us?
We gave up TV because we can do a better job of picking and choosing our news and entertainment sources via the internet.
I use my time as a creative outlet but it requires I be logged into a service for several hours a day, sometimes up to 16 or more, to create my work. I also run small businesses on these systems that help finance my continuing creativity.
When do YOU get to decide if I can watch a program on Hulu, Netflix, Blockbuster, YouTube many of the other streaming services out there? Why do I have to stop streaming music? What makes YOU think YOU can have that kind of control?
We're already paying a premium to have the highest level of internet you offer, and I'll repeat again, there IS no competition we can alternatively choose from. We don't ABUSE your service, and people like us do NOT cause any sort of internet traffic congestion.
So where the hell do YOU get off? Expect a fight from us little people. After all, we're paying your salaries.
