Margins Check: Internet pricing, filtering and unprotected music

Editor’s Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week, the RCR Wireless News staff considers events in the wider business world and how they could affect the wireless industry.
–Time Warner Cable is reportedly planning to offer a new pricing structure for its cable service based on usage. The tiered service will be based on how much data a consumer downloads each month. The move is seen as a way to force heavy data users to pay a larger share for their network-hogging ways; the cable giant noted that around 5% of its customer base accounted for up to 50% of its network traffic. If the pricing change sticks, it could provide wireless carriers with an alternative to their current “unlimited” data offers.
–While Time Warner Cable is looking at tiered pricing for its Internet service, AT&T recently noted that it was looking at monitoring peer-to-peer file-sharing networks that are commonly used to exchange copyrighted files. Such moves have drawn criticism from consumer groups and are being looked at by the FCC. The eventual outcome of such initiatives could prove even more important to the mobile space, where spectrum and capacity limitations are more acute.
–Online giant Yahoo is reportedly looking at joining the increasing number of online music services offering unprotected music tracks to consumers. The move to offer unprotected MP3s could impact the mobile music space, which to this point has relied on offering DRM-protected music tracks.