Comcast Cutting Back Service From Some Customers

Remember a few months back when Sprint told about 1,000 of its customers to hit the road because they were spending too much time complaining to customer service?

Some Sprint customers were tying up its customer service lines with as many as 50 complaint calls a month — often about the same complaint. One look at the cost and revenue equation for these customers, and it’s easy to see why Sprint told the worst offenders to look elsewhere for their cell service.

But is this worse?

Comcast has recently cut Internet service to bandwidth hogs. The cable company stated that customers who consistently download music and video are hogging capacity and slowing down the network for other customers.

Like Sprint did with its complaining customers last June, Comcast sent letters to its heavy Internet users warning them they were using too much bandwidth. Some customers reported that after cutting back usage they were still cut off from service.

So how much Internet usage is too much? Comcast declined to reveal specific bandwidth limits nor would they say how many customers have had the plug pulled.

This actually is an issue that could effect cable companies as a whole. Cable companies like Comcast, Time Warner and Cox have basically acted as monopolies in their respective markets. But now that telephone companies like AT&T and Verizon have entered the picture and installed lines that can carry more Internet traffic, cable companies are facing pressure - and bandwidth issues.

On cable networks, several hundred subscribers often share an Internet connection, so one high-traffic user could slow the rest of a neighborhood's connections. Phone lines are run directly to each home, so a single bandwidth hog will not slow other connections.

Comcast said it gives customers a month to fix problems or upgrade to business accounts before shutting off their Internet service. Its recent announcement of rate increases in Houston have already triggered outbursts from customers. The first report of a customer's cable service being shut off here should cause even more fireworks.