The Time Warner building in NYC
Time Warner Cable wants to charge customers for each download to prevent cable users from downloading shows. If you want unlimited downloading, it would cost $150 a month! (That’s up from the current $40 a month fee.)
Congressman Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) last Friday officially announced that he is drafting legislation that would “prohibit unfair tiered price structures from Internet providers.”
Time Warner claims that downloading is increasing internet infrastructure costs, but even independent analysts say the company is doing this to protect its cable fees.
Rep. Massa said the cable giant has “yet to explain how increased Internet usage increases their costs,” adding, “while I favor a business’s right to maximize their profit potential, I believe safeguards must be put in place when a business has a monopoly on a specific region.”
But the plot thickens: Time Warner is telling customers that costs are increasing… but telling investors that costs are decreasing…
You can sign a petition here if you want Congress to investigate.
In 2007, Time Warner began it’s attempt to kill small press magazines by lobbying the Post Office to increase rates. They won.
