Download cap will slow technology advancement

Comcast, the only cable Internet provider in Northeast Florida, recently announced there will be a 250 gigabyte download cap for all users beginning Oct. 1.

In the short-term, this decision affects a limited number of Internet subscribers nationwide, as Comcast is the only provider enacting this policy, and approximately only 1 percent of its users surpass the cap.

But to see this as only a short-term problem would ignore future technological advances all together.

Just a few years ago, a hard drive with less than 100 gigabytes was not only standard, it was seen as more than enough disc-space for the average user.

But now, the standard is approximately 250-500 gigabytes.

With the increase in storage capacity, servers and mainframes are able to store vast amounts of multimedia data. Streaming audio and visual content has become the norm, and watching high-definition video, which can be several times the size of standard video, is beginning to be explored.

Netflix, the largest online video rental corporation, now allows users to legally stream movies over the Internet and view them on their computers.

Most new computer video cards also are eliminating the need to watch a movie on a DVD player. They are designed with the necessary input and output plugs to interface large televisions and computers.

Another recent innovation, Hulu.com, allows movie and television studios the ability to post entire movies and episodes online. The studios are able to sell brief advertisements, which supplements the cost of production and offsets the cost of administering the data.

But cable companies see this trend as potentially hazardous to their bottom line.

If sports matches, movies and television episodes are being broadcast on-demand with fewer commercials and in unlimited quantity, why purchase cable television?

That is exactly the theme and target demographic Apple Inc. had in mind when it unveiled the new Apple TV.

Once the Apple TV receiver box is installed on an HD television, customers are able to stream a seemingly infinite amount of video and audio content through an Internet connection at no additional charge.

Technological advances in processor and transfer speed occurring every several months, it would not be an unlikely scenario that Internet and television would merge in the next few years and form a hybrid that allows users the ability to stream anything at any time through the Internet.

But TV episodes and movies are not the only technological advances that could be stifled through Comcast’s draconian measures.

Video gaming systems that allow users to connect through the Internet for multi-player games will also be affected. The cap could potentially hinder the advancement in graphics quality due to data caps.

It also affects the business world, as a new generation of business executives has emerged, armed with voice over Internet phone protocols and Web conferencing.

Regardless of Comcast’s motives, this course of action is potentially catastrophic as other companies are likely to follow suit, and the end will result will likely be a slow-down in technological advances centered on data transmission.