Comcast Wants Customers To Pay More For Using The Internet Too Much

Supporters of net neutrality have long argued that content on the Internet is at risk of being available to the highest bidder without intervention via government regulation. Up until now, it has focused on the ability of ISPs to control content providers' accessto Internet users. While the debate continues, ISPs are taking advantage of the delay to find alternative ways to control the gateway and make a profit.

It seems like Comcast is looking at the past to move into the future.

In the early 1990s, using the Internet for non-work related purposes was just beginning to come into fashion. Dialing in via a phone line was the only way to connect, and it didn't come free. Services such as Prodigy and AOL would charge a monthly fee to use email and explore the world as created by them via message boards and chat rooms from the comfort of a Compaq computer. Other services had similar plans, charging hourly rates, which were higher during peak times.

For many users this became an expensive proposition.

It was quite a deal when the price dropped in 1995 to $9.95 for those five hours a month, though per hour charges would start to add up. Finally, unlimited was introduced the next year and for $19.95 a month, hundreds of thousands of people would log on excited to hear a connection instead of busy tone and the message "You've got mail!" This would be the norm for several years until broadband access and free email service became more widely available.

Now, Comcast would like to charge you like it's 1995, except instead of charging by the hour, they are charging by the gigabyte.

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