Is your Internet service being throttled down? This wasn't quite the doom and gloom story I was expecting, but it doesn't paint a negative picture. Personally I'm not so worried. Just so you know, I do work for an ISP, so take that into consideration. But keep in mind that I also use the Internet provided by my company, so I have a vested interest in it working well too.

What I think people overlook is that the only way affordable Internet access works is by sharing. You probably remember that concept from kindergarten, right? I dare you to acquire a dedicated line for the $40 a month you're paying now. It just won't happen at speeds that are worth using.

On the other side you see what Comcast has done to a Salt Lake area man. To sum up, he was cut off completely because he went over a monthly limit that Comcast didn't inform him of. Read more about it here.

So what's the compromise? Companies should be upfront about what sort of limits you will expect. Publishing them is good incentive to keep them competitive (you know, the whole capitalist thing?). In turn, consumers should be aware of the terms of use, and if they sign up for service should accept them. They should certainly be aware that just because their line is rated for up to X megabytes, doesn't mean they can use it all the time.

As a side note, if you want to use up some bandwidth, please use the upload. We consistently have upload bandwidth to spare. I've never quite understood why companies moan and complain about people running servers on their home connections. As if I have nothing better to do than police my users.