Tribune's LA Times launches paywall disguised as "membership program"

You know, a “membership program,” like what you might enroll in at Costco: The cost of the Los Angeles Times’ paywall will translate to $1.99 for news consumers with a print subscription or $3.99 for readers without a print subscription, meaning digital-only access will cost around $16 for people who live outside of the LA Times’ print delivery footprint.

The LA Times will allow non-digital subscribers to read 15 articles within a 30-day period.

AT&T to impose new download caps on Internet customers

AT&T is rolling out a new set of terms for its DSL and U-Verse internet customers in an effort to control online users who hog bandwidth.

Starting May 2nd, AT&T will impose a 150GB download cap per month on DSL users and a 250GB download cap per month on U-Verse customers as a way to keep people from using the service too much.

An AT&T spokesperson says the download caps will likely only apply to “2% of people who whose about 20% of the bandwidth.”

AT&T Internet rival Comcast Cable raised controversy several years ago when it also announced download caps on customers who used “excessive” amounts of Internet bandwidth. In some cases, Comcast severed the internet service of several customers who were the “worst offenders.”

Additionally, under the new AT&T terms of service contract, the company has the right to sever a person’s internet connection if they “engage in conduct that is threatening, abusive or harassing” toward customer service representatives, including the “frequent use of profane or vulgar language.” [LA Times]