No Evidence to Support Limited Web

Mike Masnick at TechDirt has been following the capped web and he’s finding that ISPs are pulling our leg:

Just as the various broadband providers are ramping up their bogus astroturf attempts to convince the world that broadband caps are necessary and good for customers, Saul Hansell has been digging deep into the numbers and can’t find any justification at all for the caps.

All those stories about overwhelmed networks and exponential traffic growth? Not happening.

If anything, the evidence is that the opposite is true: advances in technology means that it’s become cheaper for broadband providers to meet the needs of their customers.

I live just outside of town and just south of the famous Silicon Valley, but the only Internet connection available is Sprint’s 3G using an extra $400 for an amp and roof antenna. I no longer consider dial-up a valid product. Sprint’s cap means that I must block all video, all Flash, 99% of any advertising, all audio and cannot view movies or television clips. It’s peg leg web at $60 per month.