Quote:
Originally Posted by SackAttack
The argument would be that that change is being imposed by companies who own both the ISP and the cable provider, coincidentally just as a competitor is offering a product that threatens the cable business.
Vertical integration, after a fashion. I'm not saying that such a lawsuit would definitely win - I don't trust the courts enough to side with the consumer given the current makeup of SCOTUS - but there would definitely be lawsuits.
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Vertical integration isn't illegal. Having a monopoly isn't illegal. I'm sure lawsuits would argue that data caps are anti-competitive, but if cable internet isn't a public utility, I doubt you could make any argument that charging for data usage isn't something that the cable companies should be allowed to do.
Ironically, the expansion of Google Fiber (which is also spurring AT&T UVerse to get off its ass a bit) probably strengthens the arguments of the cable companies about competition.