Net neutrality supporters have reason to smile this morning - the day after Time Warner said it is halting a plan to charge Internet users for the amount of bandwidth they consume.

The company - like other Internet Service Providers, including our own Charter Communications - is looking for a way to manage Internet traffic. Providers complain that a relatively small percentage of users take up a significant portion of bandwidth, sharing huge files like movies.

Other companies have gotten into trouble in this arena in the past. Comcast, for example, has run afoul of the Federal Communications Commission with some of its efforts to regulate traffic.

Charter also has taken steps, announcing in February new rules that put download caps on users. Customers with service speeds up to 15 mbps have a 100 (GB) per month limit. Those with speeds between 15 and 25 mpbs have a 250 (GB) cap.

Interestingly, Charter’s download caps don’t seem to have attracted the same level of opposition seen by Comcast and Time Warner. In the case of the latter, the company had planned to test out its new pricing plan in four U.S. cities. But after facing opposition from customers and politicians, the company changed course yesterday. From Wired.com:

TWC’s plan was met with customer rebellion and skeptical press coverage since it was announced earlier this month. TWC said it needed to ditch the current-all-you-can-eat plans because data usage was growing so fast that internet outages would be imminent.

Instead, under the proposed consumption model, consumers would have to choose from an array of plans with usage limits ranging from 1GB to 75GB, much in the way that mobile carriers sell plans by the minute. The company has 8.4 million subscribers to its Roadrunner broadband service.

Still, it should be noted that Time Warner isn’t saying the plan is dead. It’s just in limbo.

Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Officer Glenn Britt said, “It is clear from the public response over the last two weeks that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about our plans to roll out additional tests on consumption based billing. As a result, we will not proceed with implementation of additional tests until further consultation with our customers and other interested parties, ensuring that community needs are being met.

Regardless, Time Warner’s course change is being touted as a victory by groups like Free Press, which promotes Internet access. Said Timothy Karr, the  group’s campaign director:

“We’re glad to see Time Warner Cable’s price-gouging scheme collapse in the face of consumer opposition. Let this be a lesson to other Internet service providers looking to head down a similar path.”