Time Warner rethinking online pricing plan

NEW YORK, April 18 (UPI) -- A Time Warner Cable Inc. executive says the U.S. company has decided to hold off on introducing a tiered pricing plan for Internet service users.

Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Glenn Britt told The Wall Street Journal Thursday that after consumers and politicians alike criticized the company's plan for "consumption-based billing," Time Warner has delayed its implementation in certain U.S. states.

"While we continue to believe that consumption-based billing may be the best pricing plan for consumers, we want to do everything we can to inform our customers of our plans and have the benefit of their views as part of our testing process," Britt said.

The plan, which would have charged broadband Internet service customers based on their bandwidth consumption, had been set to be implemented in Rochester, N.Y., and Greensboro, N.C., along with San Antonio and Austin, Texas.

Unidentified politicians, along with some consumers, have complained the plan would result in significant penalties should a customer exceed their monthly bandwidth limits.

But Time Warner told the Journal that only 16 percent of customers in Beaumont, Texas, taking part in tests of the bandwidth plan since last spring have had issues with bandwidth caps.