Comcast limiting to 250GB a month starting october 1 2008

What is excessive use?
Excessive use means bandwidth or data usage that is significantly higher than typical residential usage. Excessive use is very atypical – less than 1% (currently it’s about one tenth of 1%) of Comcast customers today use an excessive amount of data. Excessive users consume so much data that the usage could negatively impact the online service for other customers.

Comcast has heard from customers who have requested that a number be provided to clarify what the company defines as excessive use. Comcast listened, and recently announced that it will implement a new threshold for data usage. As of October 1, 2008, data usage above 250 Gigabytes ("GB") per month per Comcast High-Speed Internet residential customer account is considered excessive. To reach 250GB in a month, for example, a customer would have to do any of the following:

Send 50 million plain text emails (at 5KB/email)
Download 62,500 songs (at 4 MB/song)
Download 125 standard-definition movies (at 2 GB/movie)
Upload 25,000 hi-resolution digital photos (at 10 MB/photo)
The following Frequently Asked Questions are intended to help clarify what Comcast means by excessive use and how it handles excessive use situations.

What is Comcast's approach to Excessive Use?
Comcast has an excessive use program to provide a high-quality online service for all of its customers. Comcast maintains an Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") located at http://www.comcast.net/terms/use/ for its Comcast High-Speed Internet Service customers. The AUP discloses what constitutes unacceptable conduct and uses of the service. The AUP includes requirements regarding data usage that all Comcast customers and users of the service must follow.

Comcast determines excessive usage in relation to typical residential uses of its service. We do so in order to identify truly excessive use while not impacting the vast majority of Comcast customers–more than 99%–who use the service as intended.

As of October 1, 2008, data usage above 250 Gigabytes ("GB") per month per Comcast High-Speed Internet residential customer account is considered to be excessive

What is data usage or bandwidth usage?
Data usage, also known as bandwidth usage, is the amount of data, such as images, movies, photos, videos, and other files that customers send, receive, download or upload over a specific period of time. Data usage is not the same as the speed of an Internet service. For example, a typical customer who uses the service to send and receive email, surf the Internet, and watch streaming video may consume 2 – 4GB of data in a month (these numbers may vary on a monthly basis); while another customer who uploads or downloads 1,000 pictures in a month may use 10GB. In both cases, however, the speed of each customer's service could be the same (for example, 6 Megabits per second ("Mbps") downstream and 1 Mbps upstream).

Does Comcast use a monthly data usage threshold to determine excessive use?
Comcast has established a 250GB monthly data usage threshold for all residential Comcast High-Speed Internet accounts. This threshold is in place to provide a clear definition of excessive use of the service.

The new monthly data usage threshold went into effect on October 1, 2008.

Why is Comcast providing a monthly data usage threshold for its residential high-speed Internet users?
Comcast has been evaluating a monthly data usage threshold for quite some time and it has heard from high-speed Internet customers who have asked that it provide a specific number for excessive use. By providing a specific monthly data usage threshold, Comcast is providing greater clarity to its customers about excessive use.

When was the 250 GB monthly data usage threshold be put into effect?
Comcast initiated the 250 GB monthly data usage threshold on October 1, 2008.

What will happen if a customer exceeds 250 GB of data usage in a month?
The vast majority - more than 99% - of Comcast customers will not be impacted by a 250 GB monthly bandwidth or data usage threshold. If a customer exceeds more than 250 GB and is one of the heaviest data users who consume the most data on our high-speed Internet service, he or she may receive a call from Comcast's Customer Security Assurance ("CSA") group to notify them of excessive use. At that time, Comcast will tell the customer exactly how much data per month he or she had used. When we call these customers, we try to help them identify the source of excessive use and ask them to moderate their usage, which the vast majority do voluntarily.

If a customer who has been contacted by Comcast’s CSA team is contacted again for excessive use within six months of the first contact that customer’s service will be subject to termination for one year. We know from experience that most customers curb their usage after our first call. If a customer’s account is terminated, after the one year period expires the customer may resume service by subscribing to a service plan appropriate to his or her needs.

Our practice for the past several years has been to call only our heaviest data users, and this practice remains the same now that the 250GB data usage threshold is in effect. We may change our practice but will, of course, provide notice to customers of any change.

Will all customers who exceed 250 GB of data usage in a month be identified as excessive users?
Yes, Comcast set 250GB as the residential data usage threshold for excessive use. Since average consumption of those top users changes monthly, we have chosen a monthly threshold at 250GB so that our high-speed Internet customers have a number that they can stay under and will not receive a call from Comcast. Customers who exceed 250GB and are among the heaviest users of Comcast’s high-speed Internet service may be contacted by Comcast about their excessive use. It’s important to note that this is the same practice we’ve had in place for several years. We continue to contact only the heaviest users of our service. We are continuing that practice now that the 250GB data usage threshold is in effect.

How does monthly data usage threshold change Comcast's policy on excessive use?
Comcast’s overall policy on excessive use remains the same—the only change is that Comcast now provides a monthly data usage threshold starting on October 1, 2008. By providing a specific monthly data usage threshold, Comcast is providing greater clarity to its customers about excessive use.

Why did Comcast choose 250 GB as its data usage threshold?
250GB is far beyond the current median of data usage for a typical residential Internet customer in a month, so this amount of data accommodates any reasonable definition of typical monthly residential usage.

To reach 250 GB in a month, for example, a customer would have to do any of the following:

Send 50 million plain text emails (at 5KB/email)
Download 62,500 songs (at 4 MB/song)
Download 125 standard-definition movies (at 2 GB/movie)
Upload 25,000 hi-resolution digital photos (at 10 MB/photo)
What is normal or typical use?
Data usage changes over time as Comcast's customers use the Internet and the services and applications available for it. Currently, the median data usage by Comcast High-Speed Internet customers is approximately 2 - 4GB each month (these numbers may vary on a monthly basis). This reflects typical residential use of the service for purposes such as sending and receiving e-mail, surfing the Internet, and watching streaming video.

How is Comcast notifying its customers about the 250 GB/month data usage threshold?
Comcast is taking a number of steps to notify its customers:

Comcast has posted a preview (in PDF format) of the amended AUP on its Network Management page as well as an overview and a link to updated FAQs.
Comcast is also running banners on its Comcast.net home page as well as on its Security Channel Web page directing customers to the Acceptable Use Policy Web page.
Comcast has also created a dedicated Acceptable Use Update page that explains all of the details of these changes to our Policy and what it means to you. http://help.comcast.net/aup
Do I need to worry that I may be an excessive user?
There are very few excessive users. The vast majority—more than 99%--of Comcast customers are not excessive users and do not need to be concerned with excessive use. Comcast currently identifies well less than 1% of Comcast High-Speed Internet customers as excessive users each month. Here are some additional facts to keep in mind based on Comcast's current policies:

95% of service customers could increase their data usage many times over and still not be considered an excessive user
An excessive user who is a residential customer greatly exceeds a typical small business customer's usage.
Many excessive users consume more data than a business-class T1 line running at full capacity in a month.
How does Comcast help customers who have been identified as excessive users?
Comcast's experience shows that some customers identified as excessive users were not aware of the activity that caused the excessive use. For example, after being notified by Comcast some customers identify another person in their household, such as a child or roommate, who uses the service in ways that generate excessive use. In other cases, a customer's personal computer may be compromised by a virus or spyware that uses the computer to send large amounts of spam or perform repeated bulk transfers of large files. Still other customers may have an unsecured wireless router or be using our residential Comcast High-Speed Internet service for a commercial or business purpose and not the intended residential purpose. In each of these situations, and many others, Comcast is able to help the customer identify and address the cause of the excessive use made with his or her account. In fact, most customers identified as excessive users change their usage patterns or make other adjustments and continue to use the service. Only a small fraction of the tiny number of users who are identified as excessive users ever have their service terminated for one year because of continued excessive use.

Does this mean that you monitor what specific activities customers are doing with their Internet accounts?
No. Comcast determines aggregate data usage. The company does not monitor specific customer activities on the Internet in order to identify excessive users. It looks for data usage in the aggregate and then it will identify those customer accounts that have used more than 250GB in the month.

Do you offer usage tiers based on data usage?
No, Comcast currently offers varying speed plans for its residential service as well as several business level services to support customers' individual needs.

How does Comcast help its customers track their usage so they can avoid exceeding the limit?
We are in the process of creating a usage meter that will measure consumption for the Comcast account which will be available in the coming months. In the meantime, we offer a meter for free with our McAfee security suite available at http://security.comcast.net/

There are many online tools customers can download and use to measure their consumption. Customers can find such tools by simply doing a Web search – for example, a search for “bandwidth meter” will provide some options. Customers using multiple PCs should just be aware that they will need to measure and combine their total monthly usage in order to identify the data usage for their entire account. Comcast cannot verify that any tools customers may find themselves and use to measure data usage are accurate or without other flaws. Comcast’s determination of each customer account’s data usage is final.

It’s important to note that when our new threshold does not change our practice around excessive use. We continue to call only the top users who consume the most data each month, which is usually well over 250GB, which is the same practice we’ve had in place for several years.

Is it possible that someone could fall victim to a hacker or bandwidth hijacker, which could look like excessive use?
Yes. In a small number of instances, Comcast finds that outsiders exploiting a customer's personal computer and Comcast High-Speed Internet service may cause excessive use. For example, a customer using an unsecured wi-fi or wireless connection in an apartment building could have his or her service used by another tenant in the building. Or, a customer's computer may be compromised with a virus or spyware used to send large amounts of spam or perform repeated bulk transfers of large files. The company will work with customers in these and similar situations to secure their computers and services wherever possible. You can read more about security at the Comcast Security Channel located at http://security.comcast.net/.

Unless your doing something like running servers this won't really effect most residential users, even if you do some downloading or file sharing. If you need more you can just get a commercial acct...