In its trials of consumption-based broadband access plans, Time Warner Cable has said it will experiment with "light," "standard" and "heavy user" plans. For lighter users, the company is testing a 1-Gbyte per month service running at speeds of 768 Kbytes downstream and 128 Kbytes upstream for $15 a month. Overage charges will be $2 per Gbyte per month. Landel Hobbs, Time Warner (News - Alert) Cable COO, says about 30 percent of customers use less than 1 Gbyte a month.

 

A new 100-Gbyte "Road Runner Turbo" package, supporting 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream will be priced at $75 per month. Overage charges will be $1 per Gbyte per month.

 

Overage charges will be capped at $75 per month. That means that for $150 per month customers could have virtually unlimited usage at Turbo speeds.

 

Time Warner Cable will offer customers two months worth of usage to assess whether their plans match their consumption. During the first two months, there will be no overage charges.  Then we will provide a one-month grace period in which overages will be noted on customers’ bills, but they will not be charged.

 

Trials will begin in Rochester, N.Y., and Greensboro, N.C., in August. Further trials will occur in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, in October.

 

Time Warner Cable also plans to test demand for a 50 Mbps downstream, 5 Mbps upstream service costing $99 a month.