Mediacom Targets Heavy Uploaders

One of the advantages of fiber optic technology is that it is bidirectional, with downstream capacity and upstream capacity being essentially the same. That's not the case for networks that rely on copper for the "last mile" such as cable and DSL. Now Mediacom is starting to clamp down on customers who are using too much upload capacity - even if they aren't hitting their data caps.

According to an article at Ars Technica, Mediacom has contacted customers who use a lot of upload capacity and telling them to cut back or face consequences, citing its Acceptable Use Policy that allows it to enact penalties for excess usage that, in its opinion, impacts other users.

Mediacom's top tier of internet advertises download speeds of up to 1 gigabit (Gbps) per second. That's 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps). Upload speeds for that tier are capped at 50 Mbps, or just 5% of downloads. The data cap for this tier is 6 gigabits per month.