neo2810 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 BT is scrapping the fair-use policy on its ADSL and fibre broadband packages. The changes mean that customers on BT Infinity Option 2 fibre lines and ADSL customers on Broadband Option 3 will effectively be allowed to download as much data as they like. Customers on cheaper packages will still be subject to their stated download caps. Previously, BT customers on the premium "unlimited download" packages were still subject to the company's fair-use policy. That meant customers who downloaded in excess of 300GB were subject to speed restrictions. "As BT continues to invest in the network and network bandwidth we can now remove these restrictions and ensure the experience of the wider customer base," said Mayuresh Thavapalan, general manager of consumer broadband at BT Retail. "On completion there will be no individual user controls targeted at atypical users on our BT Total Broadband and BT Infinity products.” However, BT's service is still far from unrestricted. The ISP will still put the brakes on peer-to-peer traffic and impose other traffic management restrictions "when the network is busy". BT's change of heart on its fair-use policy may have been prompted by regulator Ofcom, which last week said ISPs should only advertise "unlimited" services if they truly were unlimited. Source: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/broadband/365818/bt-lifts-fair-use-policy-on-top-broadband-packages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz6002 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 I wonder if Sky will do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 will that speed things up lol . like being back with dial up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny g Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 That's why I love Virgin cable. 50Mbit + unlimited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 no cable on this new build estate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 will that speed things up lol . like being back with dial up The short answer is no. It just means that rather being slowed down after downloading 300gb, you will be allowed to continue at your current pace. The shaping during 5pm - 12am will still be in place also. Basically BT have had their arse booted for lying. Hopefully everyone else will be getting the same treatment. Would be refreshing to have some honesty regarding internet access, home & mobile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imi Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 if they are anything like plusnet (part of BT) then they will implement traffic management based on type of traffic & time of day. http://www.plus.net/support/broadband/speed_guide/download_speeds.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo2810 Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share Posted March 9, 2011 The short answer is no. It just means that rather being slowed down after downloading 300gb, you will be allowed to continue at your current pace. The shaping during 5pm - 12am will still be in place also. Basically BT have had their arse booted for lying. Hopefully everyone else will be getting the same treatment. Would be refreshing to have some honesty regarding internet access, home & mobile. Christ Scott, that's such a 1990's view... BT have not been blasted and haven't been lying either. They are one of the few ISP's who have been completely transparent about their fair use policy from the start. Its been a necessary evil in order to keep costs down as the contention in the core was expensive to address. They have now integrated the new 21CN core and as a result have removed core contention. Therefore the access links are the bottleneck rather than the edge devices so end user bandwidth usage I now irrelevant. They are actually stepping up with this and leading the way for other ISP's to follow. It should be seen as a positive move, not another reason to have a cheap pop at BT for some questionable practices they carried out years ago under old administration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Christ Scott, that's such a 1990's view... BT have not been blasted and haven't been lying either. They are one of the few ISP's who have been completely transparent about their fair use policy from the start. Its been a necessary evil in order to keep costs down as the contention in the core was expensive to address. They have now integrated the new 21CN core and as a result have removed core contention. Therefore the access links are the bottleneck rather than the edge devices so end user bandwidth usage I now irrelevant. They are actually stepping up with this and leading the way for other ISP's to follow. It should be seen as a positive move, not another reason to have a cheap pop at BT for some questionable practices they carried out years ago under old administration. Here we go again, what is it with you and the 90s? Up to and until this very announcement BT have been providing "unlimited" use on a "fair use policy". I'm not having a pop at BT, I'm having a pop at every internet service provider currently stating "Unlimited" and then in the small print "limited to fair use policy". You really need to stop seeing BT through your tinted vision. To quote something from your post... BT's change of heart on its fair-use policy may have been prompted by regulator Ofcom, which last week said ISPs should only advertise "unlimited" services if they truly were unlimited Or did you not read what you quoted? I do see it as a positive, what part of what I wrote is calling the scrappage of the fair use policy negative? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 How much data do you really need anyway? Most of the complaints I've read on various forums about fair use comes from people who are doing something that would usually go against the general terms and conditions, like runninng a business using a residantial broadband account or file sharing. Maybe things have changed now that we have iPlayer et al, internet radio, legal MP3 downloads, etc. but as 300Gb would get you nearly 20 HD DVDs I think even that should be enough for all of the above. I think my download limit is something like 10Gb. I have the web on in the background doing something most of the time when I'm home and I hardly ever exceed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Plethora Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 You must have all the videos of Jenna Jameson's snatch you will ever need then Digsy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo2810 Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share Posted March 9, 2011 Basically BT have had their arse booted for lying. Hopefully everyone else will be getting the same treatment. That's a pretty clear pop at BT and bollocks. OFCOM suggested that it was unfair to advertise DSL as unlimited if it was capped, and it was aimed at all ISP's, not just BT. BT just happen to be the first out of those to respond. I'm not overly biased, I just have a much more in-depth view of this particular market and tire of seeing the bandwagon jumpers using the same arguments against BT which were used in the 90's when they made some questionable policy decisions. If you were aiming you comments generally, then word them better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 You must have all the videos of Jenna Jameson's snatch you will ever need then Digsy Over 300Gb per month, though? That would put you off mussels for life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 That's a pretty clear pop at BT and bollocks. OFCOM suggested that it was unfair to advertise DSL as unlimited if it was capped, and it was aimed at all ISP's, not just BT. BT just happen to be the first out of those to respond. I'm not overly biased, I just have a much more in-depth view of this particular market and tire of seeing the bandwagon jumpers using the same arguments against BT which were used in the 90's when they made some questionable policy decisions. If you were aiming you comments generally, then word them better. In the 90s? You really do live with your head in the clouds. The same complaints about BT and all other ASDL providers STILL stand to this day. People still moan and complain daily that their internet is slow. Granted they are moving the technology onwards and upwards, like every other company out there, but you can't say the issues were in the 90's and since the turn of 2000 they have been peachy. BT and their service isn't a patch on what is offered from cable, maybe that will change (I hope it does as I want it cheaper, better, faster), but at the moment it is simply the way it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseys Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Quite frankly 300Gb is perfectly adequate for a month's usage - 10Gb a day and then as many others have said, and only p2p currently will use anything like it. Even streaming the iPlayer for 18 hours (let's say you sleep 6 hours a day) you won't even reach that. Commercial use maybe different, but residential use if you're churning through 10Gb/day you must have an impressive amount of storage at home. That and wait for more clampdowns - if they're shaping traffic don't you think they understand what you're downloading? Deep packet inspection? Lack of most people using proxies? If you're worried about being able to only download 300Gb a month off BT I recommend going out and renting an OC-3 or OC12. Anything more would be overkill unless you have a good Raid-1/Raid-10 setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 The same complaints about BT and all other ASDL providers STILL stand to this day. Then why single BT out specifically for a dig? I think that's all he's getting at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo2810 Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share Posted March 9, 2011 Then why single BT out specifically for a dig? I think that's all he's getting at. Yes, pretty much, but Scott prefers to draw out a debate rather than reading posts properly. It's his way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-_-b Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Maybe at some point the net will be faster than 1.5mb in my area and I would be able to take full advantage of an "unlimited" in any sense policy lool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Then why single BT out specifically for a dig? I think that's all he's getting at. Yes, pretty much, but Scott prefers to draw out a debate rather than reading posts properly. It's his way In reference to the first post and latter replies It mentioned BT specifically and other providers off the cuff, I did the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Maybe Scott singled out BT because he is a subscriber to their service! Maybe it's not just a one-man crusade against one telecom company?! If I have a problem with the dodgy practices of an insurance company, I don't feel the need to footnote everything with *other insurance companies exists. Their service may or may not be the same* or some other crap. There is a massive storm-in-a-teacup going on here, and it seems someone has BT firmly up their ass and doesn't like any implied criticism. And by the way they were crap through the 2000's as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Maybe Scott singled out BT because he is a subscriber to their service! Maybe it's not just a one-man crusade against one telecom company?! If I have a problem with the dodgy practices of an insurance company, I don't feel the need to footnote everything with *other insurance companies exists. Their service may or may not be the same* or some other crap. There is a massive storm-in-a-teacup going on here, and it seems someone has BT firmly up their ass and doesn't like any implied criticism. And by the way they were crap through the 2000's as well BT are just the main providers so they see the most stick, from me and most people. Most other providers just piggyback from their services much like the Gas/electricity companies so I generally see BT as including most ADSL providers. I don't have any problem with the BT service to be honest, noone I care about enough to ...well.. care... uses BT and the people that do I generally feel a little sorry for when they complain about the service, or rather the lack of. The 1 gripe I have with them is the "up to" advertising along with the "unlimited" advertising. Of course that goes for all ADSL providers but they were the first, and are the biggest as far as I know, so other companies tend to follow the leader in order to create sales. If BT are changing their methods of advertising, service providing then it will only benefit everyone in the UK. My past opinion of BT is what it is, my future opinion remains to be seen. I am hopeful that all these bells and whistles being mentioned come into fruition for everyone who subscribes to their services, I also hope it happens from my own perspective, my own provider will only make their own services to stay ahead of the competition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo2810 Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share Posted March 9, 2011 Maybe Scott singled out BT because he is a subscriber to their service! Maybe it's not just a one-man crusade against one telecom company?! If I have a problem with the dodgy practices of an insurance company, I don't feel the need to footnote everything with *other insurance companies exists. Their service may or may not be the same* or some other crap. There is a massive storm-in-a-teacup going on here, and it seems someone has BT firmly up their ass and doesn't like any implied criticism. And by the way they were crap through the 2000's as well That's it Ian, I'm not buying back the beer I owe you! To be honest, I probably do come across a little strong when defending BT but it's only because I can see how they are trying to change for the better but swimming against a current of folk who won't let go of the past. They are getting there in the large corporate marketplace but have a long way to go with residential and small/medium enterprise. I'll try and keep my arguments more objective. Scott, you're points are all valid mate. I'll reign my neck in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 10gb a day! WTF do you people do all day? I've only ever used 10gb once in all my time on the net and that was over a one month period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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