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UK ISP Imposes Download Limits
Richard_at_work writes "The BBC news site is reporting that NTL have announced it will be imposing 1GB download limits per day for its users. As you can guess, reactions have not been mild :) One thing to note, NTL has said that they will only be persuing persistent offenders, so i guess they understand you cant track your usage to the byte! Also with NTL, they appear to ban the usage of VPNs, citing that their service is for resedential use only. Does this mean I can't email work now?"
They're going to lose a few customers now who take for granted the fact they can leech at 1Mbit 24/7 and are now throwing the toys out the pram - maybe they'll implement a similar pricing structure to DSL - thank God we're not in Australia w/ BigPond cos their prices are scary!
IMO, this is a blow for the British telecommuters out there. All I know is if Earthlink had the same policy I wouldn't be able to work.
I thought technology was supposed to make our lives easier?
I can't imagine really what home user would use a gigabyte per day downstream for... but then again, perhaps there are some who use that much. These users need to wake up to the fact that bandwidth costs money, it is by no means free. When an ISP finds that the bandwidth of their routers, backbone, or outbound links falls short of the demand, they have two choices:
- Increase the capacity of their network and pass the cost on to the customers in the form of higher subscription fees.
- Cap bandwidth usage per subscriber so that the total demand for capacity falls within the capabilities of the infrastructure.
Charging for bandwidth is fair, but I would like to see more flexible subscriber plans. Usually ISPs offer only a few limited home subscriptions with very low caps and limits, and business subscriptions that cost 10 times as much. Usually there is nothing in between. Also... not being allowed to run VPNs or NAT networks stinks. I'm glad my ISP has taken a flexible approach: basically they say "We sell you the connection; as long as you do not resell it, do whatever you want". Webservers, commercial activity, NAT networks, everything is allowed.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
So, does this mean that people can sue companies that advertise using pop-ups for using their limited bandwidth without permission?
Denver Isuzu Suzuki
You're forgetting the simple facts:
1) Service is advertised as "Unlimited" and "Always On"
2) Service is sold as "Unlimited" for a fixed rate.
Now granted, in the TOS there is probably a statement to the effect that NTL is authorized to change the terms of the service agreement at any time.
Of course, and I highly suspect it, I may be talking out of my ass. -oqti
On the other hand, the reality is that ISPs don't budget for everyone to have their connections maxxed out all the time. The only expect people to use a small fraction of the allotted bandwidth. Doing so allows them to offer generally high speeds, for a relatively low price.
Around here, a T1 connection (1.44 Mb/s) will cost you around $1000CDN per month. Why do these people seem to think that they should be able to get the same service for $29.95/month? Don't they understand WHY T1's cost so much more?
Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
Well, if you were creating your own music videos and collaborating with several of your friends that 4Gb wouldn't last very long.
If you were an aspiring artist that allows anybody and everybody to download your artwork, that 4Gb won't last very long.
If you actually use those teleconferencing solutions (Netmeeting for example) with your friends that 4Gb will be gone in no time.
If you were trying to download fansubbed episodes of old foreign TV shows you can't get anymore, that 4Gb won't last you a season.
If you are interested in television commercials and want to download them in storable/indexable format, especially for old commericals, then you aren't going to get much with your 4Gb
If you are trying to download all of the independant free music online to try to find the diamonds in the rough, then you're 4Gb are going to fall short.
I've noticed a trend from MRTG that some games (RTS games in particular) take up a surprisingly large amount of bandwidth, especially if you are acting as the server in an 8+ player game. I don't have hard numbers, but I wouldn't be surprised to see that add up quickly if you are an avid gamer. I don't know of MMORPGs are worse, but if they are then it's almost certain that the 4Gb wouldn't be enough.
This is only the tip of the iceberg. As time goes on more and more people are going to start using high bandwith applications on a regular basis. I don't think there has every been a time where the amount of bandwidth people use decreases without some sort of drastic outside influence (bandwidth caps for instance)
I could turn the question around and ask: if you aren't using 4Gb a month then why are you paying the big $$$ for broadband service? It seems to me you aren't utilizing it enough to make it worth the $40/month minimum it tends to cost. You don't need 1.5Mb download speeds to surf the web, read email, or SSH around.
I read the internet for the articles.
Sorry, but if you're doing more than 30GB of month at home, you're really lucky your ISP isn't just getting so pissed off that they report your downloads to the police :P How much of that 30GB+ is legal? 1GB? 2GB?
I think that's a really unfair assumption. While I'm sure there are quite a few people that use more than 30GB/mo. for illegal purposes, it seems like an indefensible non-sequitur to imply that such a fact gives any reason to believe that a person is doing something illegal simply because they also happen to use 30GB/mo....
It's that type of propaganda logic that supports the RIAA and allows it to continue functioning.
There's a LOT out there on the net. I could easily find 30GB of legal stuff worth downloading every day. Fortunately for me, though, I have better things to do, but the point remains.
Personally, I really fear that this type of stuff will start happening. It would be my guess that the type of people who do use that much bandwidth are not the type to spend lots of money on other forms of entertainment, because they seem to be able to get plenty right at their computer. Those are perfect targets for the RIAA and MPAA... And I'm sure they'd be more than happy to label anyone who finds entertainment outside the accepted forms a criminal.
then don't sell 24/7 unlimited bandwidth if you don't mean it. They have the same thing as an "all you can eat bar". Should I not be allowed to purchase all you can eat ribbs because last time I did I ate four full racks? Should I not be allowed to eat the crab leggs because I at 12 halves? that is the bisuness model, sell "all you can use" to everybody, a few use alot most don't. The ones who don't feel good becuase they CAN use large amounts, if you kick off everyone who does then it's not unlimited (and at least in the US you can sue). Same concept with insurance and many many other things.
AT&T dialup used to send me frequent letters about "too much usage on my unlimited plan. After about the 5'th day I got one I sent back a polite letter. They said If I wanted 24/7 I should purchase the bussiness plan. I e-mailed them back with my service plan and basically said if they kicked me I am a student, have unlimtied time, and could probably find a lawyer who is willing to work for 80 percent of the winnings - go ahead and try. Apparently they were having difficulty with others doing this, made it metered and lost nearly all thier customers, then re-instated thier unlimited plan.
They can't have it both ways (have unlimted usage and require no one use much), if you offer "all you can eat" someone like me is going to come along and eat all they can.
------- Sorry about the spelling, I suffer from two problems. Dyslexia makes it difficult to spell well, lazy makes it
The electric company makes no claims of giving you all of the electricity you want for a flat rate. Most broadband providers are doing just that, and then trying to set limits after the fact. If my isp wanted to offer different tiers I'd have no problem paying for what I use, but I'd be pissed if they just capped us all with no option to pay for what we use.
do not read this line twice.