AT&T wants to charge consumption of wireless usage; Time Warner Cable and others want to institute usage-based pricing for their broadband platform. The all-you-can-eat buffet of streaming large files may be going away sooner than later as cellular and cable companies look for growing their connection revenue stream. "While the way cable companies price and package products is changing, so will the way they are marketed, he (Glenn Britt, TWC CEO) added, especially broadband." But the streaming pipeline is seen by the consumer as a commodity.
Few can tell you just how fast one pipe is from the other; they simply can enable access or they can't. And fewer still want to watch their meter every day to see how much they have consumed and how much is left in the month before they are penalized. We have left the days where we looked at every long distance phone call and opted for a monthly unlimited price for all nationwide calls. Asked to pay what we stream for broadband consumption seems a step backwards and one that will be met with heavy consumer dissatisfaction.
