UPDATE: NYT gets in the game with an article about changes in broadband pricing.

Time Warner Cable's retreat on its tiered pricing plan was a big win for customers, test cities, and businesses, but it's important to see this as one battle in a long war.

The TWC plan was really bad, which made it relatively easy to defeat. Other tiered usage plans will emerge over time; some of them might even make sense, by metering the right thing and setting reasonable caps.

Educated, connected consumers made a difference in this fight, in part by bringing about political pressure. Other avenues of resistance, including appeals on the grounds of network neutrality, could come into play in the future.

Competition, limited as it is in many places, also played a role.

TWC seemed unprepared for the intensity of the reaction. That won't happen again.