Binge On! - get your umbrellas out, stuff's hitting the fan.

Sat Jan 9 23:52:03 UTC 2016

Comcast uses a standardized protocol called IPDR for their accounting and
if they're still using the same software collector that they were a few
years ago it was independently verified for accuracy.  IPDR had been part
of the DOCSIS protocol for nearly a decade and is publicly documented.

Now, what (if anything) they choose to zero rate or otherwise manipulate I
can't  speak on, but the collection of the usage is well understood,
independent of the CPE, and extremely accurate.
On Jan 9, 2016 12:05 PM, "Robert Webb" <rwebb at ropeguru.com> wrote:

> Unfortunately when it comes to "competition" in the wireless world, even
> though there are multiple providers, the consumer will always be gouged
> given the attitude of today's providers to just follow what the other does.
> In my opinion, kind of a in the public eye form of collusion. So there will
> never be a true competition based market in the wireless given the current
> players.
>
> There should be certifications for measurement is that is what my bill is
> going to be based on as a consumer. My power meter, gas meter, water meter,
> etc. get replaced every so often for calibration and the particular utility
> will come out and swap or test on site if I think there is an issue.
>
> Unfortunately, providers like Comcast, yes, I know they aren't wireless,
> but their usage meter is a joke and a proprietary based joke at that. I do
> not think I have ever seen anyone from Comcast willing to describe exactly
> how their meter works and what is and is not counted towards usage. I am
> not a wireless expert, but my guess is that it would be even more difficult
> to accurately track usage on wireless given the portable nature.
>
> (In my area, luckily, my landline ISP doesn't charge or have caps either.
> But my wireless carrier has caps. And given the data hungry phones these
> days in which a lot of the data cannot be controlled by the user, then I
> certainly want the technical details of the usage calculation open to me
> for review.)
>
> Robert Webb
>
> On Sat, 9 Jan 2016 10:46:29 -0600 (CST)
>  Mike Hammett <nanog at ics-il.net> wrote:
>
>> The cost to the provider is irrelevant to the consumer. Cost to the
>> consumer is all the consumer should be concerned with. Competition,
>> industry and media would serve as the barometer to sensible or ridiculous
>> pricing.
>> There are a myriad of ways to measure usage. I'm not sure there are any
>> certifications for any other billing relating to the Internet, so why start
>> now?
>>
>> (My ISP doesn't charge for usage and I don't intend to until the industry
>> makes that shift. I'm just debating this side.)
>>
>> ----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions http://www.ics-il.com
>>
>> Midwest Internet Exchange http://www.midwest-ix.com
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>
>> From: "Robert Webb" <rwebb at ropeguru.com> To: "Mike Hammett" <
>> nanog at ics-il.net> Cc: "North American Network Operators' Group" <
>> nanog at nanog.org> Sent: Saturday, January 9, 2016 10:37:23 AM Subject:
>> Re: Binge On! - get your umbrellas out, stuff's hitting the fan.
>> The normal consumer has no way to correlate what the "real" cost is as
>> the providers keep their "costs" for bandwidth, transit, etc. proprietary
>> secrets and always lie to the consumer and muddy the picture of what the
>> ISP actually pays for regarding bits!
>> Additionally, until there can be proper tools that are "certified" for
>> measuring usage, then usage based billing will never be viable.
>> Robert Webb
>> On Sat, 9 Jan 2016 10:11:29 -0600 (CST) Mike Hammett <nanog at ics-il.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> My point on usage based billing isn't meant to stifle anything, but to
>>> provide equitable service to everyone at a fair price. $10/gig certainly
>>> isn't a fair price for almost any network. People pay variable rates for
>>> water, electricity, gas, food, etc., etc.
>>> Is it necessarily a bad thing if people stop to think about what their
>>> usage costs?
>>>
>>> ----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions http://www.ics-il.com
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>