Comcast set to begin bandwidth capping come October 1st {Engadget HD}

Aug 29th 2008 11:57PM I hope that is 250GB per direction (250GB down + 250GB up). Then 250GB averaged over a month comes to about 0.75 Mbit/sec continuous. I think few cable modems will give a burst upload rate that high (and only more expensive DSL connections will) so the cap will probably only be an issue for downloading.

The cheapest DSL connections are less than 0.75 Mbit/sec. If you are close enough to the CO, and willing to pay, you can usually get a 1 Mbps or 1.5 Mbps DSL connection. But it will probably run you more than a Comcast cable modem.

I've got some servers in a carrier-neutral colocation site and I got price quotes for bandwidth from a number of suppliers. The best was about $900/mo for 100 Mbps of bandwidth. That comes to $6.75 per month per 0.75 Mbps.

But that is not a fair comparison, since the "last mile" is by far the most expensive part for the cable and telecom companies. At the colo (which is sitting on a multiple-carrier nexus), there is no "last mile" so I can get bandwidth cheaply. At my home, I pay a lot more for bandwidth. No doubt some of the extra charge is due to less competition for bandwidth in my home, but I also have no doubt that a sizable chunk of the extra charge is due to the cost of installing and maintaining the last mile equipment. Just look at the cable companies' stocks, they are not making huge amounts of money for shareholders. They can't be gouging us that much.