Clark Howard's Tips

June 18, 2008

Clark recently told you about Time Warner's experimental metering plan for Internet service in Texas. They'll be charging their Lone Star State customers per kilobyte. Now AT&T has announced that such a plan is nearly inevitable for them. What's going on here?

These ISPs are in terror of people skipping cable or satellite and going straight to the Internet to watch video content. Think about it: Comcast, too, has already admitted degrading the Internet experience of its customers when they watch a competitor's video content. Are you beginning to see a trend here?

The cable/phone monopolies are trying to choke their Internet customers. This is a byproduct of our nation's shortsighted policy, where only the monopolies control the Internet. There is, however, a hope on the horizon. Stay tuned for a new wireless way to get on the Internet that will bypass the cable/phone monopolies.

Meanwhile, Kiplinger's has crunched the numbers and figured out that downloading a single movie under Time Warner's metered Internet plan will cost you $30. Imagine if you download 10 movies per month!

They want to eliminate your freedom to watch video with a Time Warner Internet connection. Don't stand for it; anytime an ISP tries to meter you, you need to take your business elsewhere!

Consumer advice courtesy of