MSO puts subs on Internet diet.(World)

Time Warner Cable Inc., one of the U.S.'s largest cable MSOs, has proposed a new "consumption-based billing" system that it will test this summer to address the soaring usage of high-speed Internet. In its tiered-pricing trials, the company will offer basic service of one gigabyte of Net usage per month for $15, plus $2 for each additional gigabyte used.

Time Warner will also offer higher-capacity plans ranging from $29 to $75 monthly, allowing up to 100 gigabytes of consumption. With those plans, additional usage will be billed at $1 per gigabyte, with overage fees capped at $75 per month.

Time Warner spokesman Landel Hobbs said that "consumption among our high-speed Internet subscribers is increasing by about 40 percent a year. According to industry analysts, the infrastructure may not be able to accommodate the explosion of online content by 2012. This could result in Internet brownouts [sporadic losses of service]."

The biggest challenge to service providers has been the uptick in online video viewing, particularly through services like Netflix, which allows subscribers to instantly view entire movies and shows on their computer or TV via the Internet.

Karl Bode, editor of BroadBandReports.com, implied greedy intentions behind the move, saying, "By charging a ridiculous amount for Internet viewing, they hope you'll scale back online and go back to watching things on cable."

Time Warner's new model will be introduced in New York and North Carolina this summer and should reach Texas by fall. Other states could follow.

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