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Old 09-14-2013, 01:30 PM
 
4 posts, read 10,318 times
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Is there a good alternative to Bendbroadband? I nearly fainted when I opened our first bill from BBand and saw that we had gone over our usage cap by over 100 GB. It would have been nice if they had informed us about the usage cap. Having been longtime Comcast users we have never had to deal with the issue.

I know that CenturyLink has a soft limit of 250 GB which I can live with. Does anyone have any feedback on CenturyLink's service in the NW area of Bend?

We mainly use our home internet for basic surfing and video streaming.

Thanks for any info or ideas.
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Old 09-14-2013, 02:00 PM
 
Location: Bend, OR
1,337 posts, read 3,266,701 times
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I had the same issue with BBB. Talk to a manager there and explain that you had no idea about the usage cap, they'll take it off. I think my over usage bill was something like $300 and we're considered 'power users'....it's a bit ridiculous actually. Anyway, what I did was stay with them another month to make sure the over-usage refund went through then opted out (no obligation, least the contract I signed) and switched over to CenturyLink's 20mbps service. Didn't know they had a soft 250 GB limit, but I've never run into problems and my two roommates and I definitely go over that limit so it must be very soft.

Oh...and depending where you live CenturyLink can only offer 'x' mbps. I live on the westside near Newport Market and the highest speed they offered me was the 20mbps. Call and find out. Also, when they install it definitely track your average mbps to make sure you're clocking what you're paying for - I hear it can be off (both +/-)
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Old 09-15-2013, 06:03 AM
 
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first cell phone data gets a cap now home internet to? what ever happened to unlimited?
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Old 09-15-2013, 09:49 AM
 
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The BBB usage cap is detailed on their website. They make it easy to check bandwidth usage with the website and you can setup email warnings for usage.

What are you guys doing to exceed the caps by so much?
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Old 09-15-2013, 10:03 AM
 
681 posts, read 1,039,688 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BendLocal View Post
The BBB usage cap is detailed on their website. They make it easy to check bandwidth usage with the website and you can setup email warnings for usage.

What are you guys doing to exceed the caps by so much?
lol on my smart phone alone I exceed 10GB of data a month. Luckily I never upgraded so I still have my unlimited data plan with Verizon.

I do a lot of online gaming, youtubing and facebooking so that takes up a lot of usage, so I would need unlimited for my networking needs.
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Old 09-15-2013, 10:18 AM
 
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Online gaming and FB don't use high amounts of bandwidth.
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Old 09-15-2013, 10:51 AM
 
Location: Bend, OR
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VirtualErik and I are in our 20's.....we likely use the internet TOTALLY different than you.

People live differently than you, BendLocal. Welcome to that reality.
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Old 09-15-2013, 10:59 AM
 
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What are you doing to that is consuming 100s of GB per month? Countless hours of video streaming and torrents?
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Old 09-15-2013, 11:44 AM
 
4 posts, read 10,318 times
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BendLocal, I asked a simple question about alternatives to BBB. No need to get judgmental.

But, since you asked, I will be happy to tell you how my family is "consuming" 100s of GB per month. Many households are turning away from conventional cable and choosing to stream their videos, both TV and movies. That is why services like Hulu and Netflix are so popular and why the networks put full videos on their websites. Also, YouTube provides more than mindless videos. There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube on everything from cooking to how to play guitar. In addition, Kahn Academy is an online video educational site that is used by teachers and students all over the country to supplement classroom teaching. So, my friend, there are plenty of constructive ways to use bandwidth. No torrents in this household.

Streaming an HD video consumes 2000MB per hour which gives our family roughly 2.5 hours a day of usage which is not a great amount.
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Old 09-15-2013, 12:27 PM
 
2,542 posts, read 3,982,996 times
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Unfortunately bandwidth is a limited and shared resource.

Report: North American Internet Data Usage Up 120% In The Last Year, Netflix Still Responsible For 33% Of Peak Traffic | TechCrunch

Quote:
According to Sandvine CEO Dave Caputo there can be little doubt that usage-based pricing will soon become commonplace. “With a 120 percent growth rate there is no doubt that more communications service providers will be launching application-based pricing plans that provide cost certainty and a consistent quality of experience for high-demand applications.”
And if Verizon wins the FCC lawsuit?

Look out Netflix and Google! An analyst thinks the court may allow ISPs to charge you — Tech News and Analysis

Quote:
The FCC’s open internet rules that prevent ISPs from blocking content or otherwise discriminating against the packets that are flowing across their broadband networks are on trial today. This morning, a three-panel judge heard arguments from Verizon and the FCC, and one analyst thinks the questions and comments from the judges indicates that the court may allow ISPs to charge web providers for premium services.
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