I'm not the OP, but here's why I disagree with it. Functionally, there's no way for you to appeal overage charges. Very few consumers have the ability to measure their bandwidth usage, and those that do do not have the legal firepower to challenge ISPs in court. I mean, even if you manage to get a day in court, who are the jurors going to believe - the ISP with the $50,000 traffic measurement box, or you with a BSD router lash-up? In practice, bandwidth caps mean that ISPs just get to either drop or drastically throttle your service towards the end of the month by saying you've exceeded your limit.
I won't accept bandwidth caps unless a) usage is determined by an open, transparent and verifiably accurate method and b) there exists an appeals process by which one can appeal erroneous cutoffs. Without that, the power inequality between ISPs and regular consumers is an invitation for abuse.
I won't accept bandwidth caps unless a) usage is determined by an open, transparent and verifiably accurate method and b) there exists an appeals process by which one can appeal erroneous cutoffs. Without that, the power inequality between ISPs and regular consumers is an invitation for abuse.