Fair usage policies - Hosting Unlimited explains

[Rouxenator]

Is that why nutjobs are also called fruitcakes? Poor fruit

No, its because they use fruit phones like apple iphones and blackberries.

 

[Kosmik]

No, its because they use fruit phones like apple iphones and blackberries.

Oi! Leave my BB out of this, it earns its way!

 

[PeterCH]

"Unlimited Traffic" - which is the term under scrutiny here - means exactly that - I can keep using traffic within the bounds of their AUP/FUP, and I won't be cut off as a consequence. So far there's been no evidence provided that this isn't exactly what you're getting.

I'm arguing in general.

What does NO LIMITS mean to you? No limits in the traffic quota? No limits in the speed of the service? Must these guys ensure that there's 10mbit? 100mbit? 1gbit? 10gbit? of uncontended traffic available for each of the sites that they host, so that they fit in 100.000% with the Oxford Dictionary definition of "no limits"?

When you first have products which state, '4Mbps connection with 10GB cap' and then your UNCAPPED revolution arrives, suddenly this account is renamed '4Mbps connection uncapped' - it means that the total amount of bandwidth you may download with this product has no artificial limit (handicap). Of course your line may be bad quality and server you're pulling from may be slow or link may be congested somewhere along the line - but the difference is that while in the first example you no longer can transfer data after using 10GB, in the second one your transfer continues not limited by this cap. The only variable which changes is total bandwidth allowance. In the first case it's 10GB in the latter case the allowance no longer exists and you are free to use the connection as much as you want.

It's like the speed limiters on fast cars. By law a car may not go faster than say 160km/h but the huge engine you have could pull you at 250km/h. If the limiter is active you will never go faster than 160, but if you disable it (ie. uncap the account) your sportscar will go as fast as is technically possible for that car, on such a surface, with so much wind drag etc. Of course the UNCAPPED or UNLIMITED does not suspend the laws of physics and stop time allowing you to pul 10TB on a 4Mbit line per month. That does not happen. What happens is that artificial restrictions on the total b/w are lifted.

 

[PeterCH]

He does have a point though.

Suppose in the Capped Account scenario the ISP is counting bytes as they cross your line and once they get to 10GB they stop the service (for the month).
In the latter case the ISP may or may not count the bytes, but even if they do, once you get to 10GB they don't stop your account. They don't stop your account no matter the amount moved.

One can argue that that is the lifting of the limit. The ISP has fulfilled his obligation and has turned his counter off or has disabled the OFF switch which the counter could trigger.

However, the ISP then
slows your connection down, in theory they are still giving you an UNCAPPED service. However, when they say "4Mbit UNCAPPED" and you pay extra for the 4Mbit, meanwhile in effect it really is 256kb/sec uncapped and you pay Telkom extra cash (than what a 384k line costs) they are being unfair about it.

So offer an UNCAPPED DSL plan at low speed or offer a 4Mbit DSL CAPPED PLAN since 4Mbit UNCAPPED is impossible - too expensive.

 

[Greenis]

I think they should just say how many gigs they can over each person without making a strain on the network, like say 50GB a person or even 70GB, which is a CRAP load and MORE than enough for most users.... Come Telkom add a zero to the end of ur bandwidth( EG: 3GB = 30GB) which would be AMAZING!

 

[Murmaider]

hahaha

I earn an unlimited salary... but there is a Fair Usage policy which says I can only have so much a month...