Submission + - Will Monday Be The Day The U.S. Internet Died?
theodp writes: Shed a tear, writes Wired's Ryan Singel. The Age of Broadband Caps begins Monday, with AT&T imposing a 150 GB cap on DSL subscribers and 250 GB for UVerse users, and keeping the meter running after that. The move comes as AT&T's 16+ million customers are increasingly turning to online video such as Hulu and Netflix on-demand streaming service instead of paying for cable. With AT&T's Man in the White House, some fear there's a 'digital dirt road' in America's future. Already, the enforcement of data caps in Canada has prompted Netflix to default to lower-quality streaming video to shield its users from overage fees. In January's State of the Union address, President Obama told the nation: 'We need the fastest and most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information — from high-speed rail to high-speed Internet.' Curiously, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson publicly agreed Obama's speech was spot-on, but AT&T's recent actions have been less ask-what-you-can-do-for-your-country and more ask-what-your-country-can-do-for-you.'
