Webafrica - Threshold 6 Hour Misleading

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KinsZA

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I challenge the webafrica AUP to have misleading information.

Acceptable Use Policy

Our AUP is in place to protect users who aren’t abusing their uncapped accounts from those who are. It’s there to make sure abusers of our service do not receive the same quality uncapped service as those who stick to the rules. It’s clear, simple and fair. If you stick to it, you’ll get the most out of your Home Uncapped ADSL.

Why would your speeds decrease?
First, we will NEVER deprioritise users if we have spare capacity on our network, unlike other ISPs. In addition to this, you will only get slower speeds IF you don’t play by the rules. Even if your service is deprioritised, browsing remains awesome. Here’s how we determine who to deprioritise and when:

We use a 2 tiered rolling window system between 6am and 12am to ensure our network is optimised to keep your account running smoothly.

If you use more than a certain amount of Gigs in a 6 hour period, then your service will be deprioritised until those 6 hours are up. Your ADSL account will then be restored to normal priority.

Similarly, if you use more than a certain amount of Gigs in 7 day period, then your service will be deprioritised until that 7 day period is up. Your ADSL account will then be restored to normal priority.


Remember, these windows ONLY refer to usage between 6am and 12am.

Here’s where it gets interesting! All usage during Download Plus hours, that’s between 12am and 6am does NOT contribute to your overall usage. That’s right, you can completely max out your account between these hours, and it will NOT count towards your 6 hour and 7 day rolling windows. It’s a free for all! This is when you can really get the most out of downloads and updates.

For more details on our AUP, see our Knowledge Base article.
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The 6am-12am usage policy screams "Only usage during these times will count towards thresholds" HOWEVER

If I do 4 gigs between 10pm and 11:50pm I have gone over my time in my 6 hour allocated time thus breaking the threshold, however that 6 hour period will not end at 4am or 6am (not sure whether it works from where you broke the threshold or an allocated time but regardless it falls in download plus hours) I will either get my usage back at 10am or 11:50am. So in otherwords 12am-6am we will not count your download but we will also PAUSE your account regeneration of gigabytes.

To be honest I think that really sucks because it can be up to 10 hours before you get your internet back to normal if you've gone under a gig over your threshold.If my usage during 12am-6am is not counting towards my threshold then technically it should be exactly the same as not doing any usage for those hours.

Now I wont rant without providing opinions.

Suggestion:

1) Come 6am subtract the ammount of gigs that a person has done from their threshold, so if a persons done 3.9 gigs on 4mbit they then sit 800megs worth of usage, unthrottled. If they've done 2 gigs they sit on 0 come 6am.

2) Mention it in your AUP

Personally I think #2 is a sucky solution but at least people will be informed.
 
I honestly do not know what you are on about here. Besides not understanding your complaint, I am on WebAfrica uncapped an have not experienced any deprioritising even when I exceed my 6 hourly usage. I have not exceeded the 7 day usage windows and I have noticed that my downloads between 12 am and 6 am run fast as hell and do not count towards my usage thresholds.

So I really do not see what you are complaining about. I've been with Mweb and Afrihost and their shaping is way worse when it does kick in. So perhaps you are just expecting a little too much hey?? Nothing in this world is perfect mate.
 
AFAIK if you are over your threshold before midnight you're throttled until midnight, then freezone kicks in until 6/7am - unthrottled. then after 6/7am back to throttling for the rest of the 6 hour period which began before midnight. if i'm wrong WA pse correct me.
 
The AUP seems confusing:

If you use more than a certain amount of Gigs.
Click to expand...

It's like saying "I'm thinking of a figure in my mind".
 
IceDreama said:
I honestly do not know what you are on about here. Besides not understanding your complaint, I am on WebAfrica uncapped an have not experienced any deprioritising even when I exceed my 6 hourly usage. I have not exceeded the 7 day usage windows and I have noticed that my downloads between 12 am and 6 am run fast as hell and do not count towards my usage thresholds.

So I really do not see what you are complaining about. I've been with Mweb and Afrihost and their shaping is way worse when it does kick in. So perhaps you are just expecting a little too much hey?? Nothing in this world is perfect mate.
Click to expand...

You are lucky
 
I commented on this uncapped FUP of Webafrica before. There is way to much rules bound to this and if they ***** up there wont be anything done because by the time they get to it you will be uncapped again. The only true uncapped packages in the country is Openweb Gold and Mweb Uncapped, I use both and for my needs I prefer mweb over openweb gold.

If I see a package with all this strange FUP etc attached then it means to me that the company does not have sufficient backhaul for their service and shaping cutting of clients with the strangest rules.

I understand if you have a FUP that says you ant do more than 1TB a month etc but the Webafrica package is just a joke. If you dont use the webafrica account like you would use a capped account then you get blocked, why bother?


KinsZA said:
I challenge the webafrica AUP to have misleading information.



The 6am-12am usage policy screams "Only usage during these times will count towards thresholds" HOWEVER

If I do 4 gigs between 10pm and 11:50pm I have gone over my time in my 6 hour allocated time thus breaking the threshold, however that 6 hour period will not end at 4am or 6am (not sure whether it works from where you broke the threshold or an allocated time but regardless it falls in download plus hours) I will either get my usage back at 10am or 11:50am. So in otherwords 12am-6am we will not count your download but we will also PAUSE your account regeneration of gigabytes.

To be honest I think that really sucks because it can be up to 10 hours before you get your internet back to normal if you've gone under a gig over your threshold.If my usage during 12am-6am is not counting towards my threshold then technically it should be exactly the same as not doing any usage for those hours.

Now I wont rant without providing opinions.

Suggestion:

1) Come 6am subtract the ammount of gigs that a person has done from their threshold, so if a persons done 3.9 gigs on 4mbit they then sit 800megs worth of usage, unthrottled. If they've done 2 gigs they sit on 0 come 6am.

2) Mention it in your AUP

Personally I think #2 is a sucky solution but at least people will be informed.
Click to expand...
 
KinsZA said:
I challenge the webafrica AUP to have misleading information.



The 6am-12am usage policy screams "Only usage during these times will count towards thresholds" HOWEVER

If I do 4 gigs between 10pm and 11:50pm I have gone over my time in my 6 hour allocated time thus breaking the threshold, however that 6 hour period will not end at 4am or 6am (not sure whether it works from where you broke the threshold or an allocated time but regardless it falls in download plus hours) I will either get my usage back at 10am or 11:50am. So in otherwords 12am-6am we will not count your download but we will also PAUSE your account regeneration of gigabytes.

To be honest I think that really sucks because it can be up to 10 hours before you get your internet back to normal if you've gone under a gig over your threshold.If my usage during 12am-6am is not counting towards my threshold then technically it should be exactly the same as not doing any usage for those hours.

Now I wont rant without providing opinions.

Suggestion:

1) Come 6am subtract the ammount of gigs that a person has done from their threshold, so if a persons done 3.9 gigs on 4mbit they then sit 800megs worth of usage, unthrottled. If they've done 2 gigs they sit on 0 come 6am.

2) Mention it in your AUP

Personally I think #2 is a sucky solution but at least people will be informed.
Click to expand...

If you want proper uncapped then you must pay for it. Get Openweb GOLD and let that be that.
 
I have been encouraging people to leave WA and rather find themselves a proper isp. These guys have been going down the drain for a while now with poor products and even poorer customer service yet they refuse to properly address these issues.
 
maumau said:
AFAIK if you are over your threshold before midnight you're throttled until midnight, then freezone kicks in until 6/7am - unthrottled. then after 6/7am back to throttling for the rest of the 6 hour period which began before midnight. if i'm wrong WA pse correct me.
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I dont mind webafrica's fair usage but for the occasion I may go over the threshold at night I think that it should at least be specified that everything goes on pause overnight not just your increase of usage. If I was one who reached threshold easily (or woke up early on weekends) I would be rather ticked off about it.

Thats how I experiance it, I think that should actually be specified at least in the policy and think that to those who dont download from 12am-6am every night its unfair.

@IceDreamA
I honestly do not know what you are on about here. Besides not understanding your complaint, I am on WebAfrica uncapped an have not experienced any deprioritising even when I exceed my 6 hourly usage. I have not exceeded the 7 day usage windows and I have noticed that my downloads between 12 am and 6 am run fast as hell and do not count towards my usage thresholds.

So I really do not see what you are complaining about. I've been with Mweb and Afrihost and their shaping is way worse when it does kick in. So perhaps you are just expecting a little too much hey?? Nothing in this world is perfect mate.
Click to expand...

I've been with mweb, afrihost, openweb (gold), axis and I am perfectly happy with Webafrica, granted not so happy with the performance problems they are currently experiancing but they will fix that.

I believe Webafria's FUP wont suit everyone but it does suit me and the performance side effect of not letting people go mad 24/7 is evident. I for one get problems with streaming and the like when downloadplus kicks in but capacity is going to be upgraded and Webafrica is a superb ISP so I'm patient there.

Note whilst the downloadplus hours counting to threshold cooldown was my preferred action making it clear in usage policy is another, I wouldnt have included it if I found it "unacceptable"
 
Hey guys,

Have you gone through our Knowledge Base article?
http://kb.webafrica.co.za/article/AA-00833

If you reach your threshold before Download Plus hours, we won't throttle you - it's a free for all between 12am - 6am, regardless of how far over your threshold you are.
Our Product Manager is aware of the post though, just seen an email about this thread now. Will see if you can make an improvement here :)
 
Hello Jeff

I really dont recall the following from the FAQ.

At 6am we continue monitoring your usage from where you left off at 12am, before Download Plus hours. In other words, your Gig usage is not cleared during Download Plus, but is rather paused. So if you're sitting on 50 Gigs usage in your 6 hour threshold at 12am, your usage from 6am onwards will add to those 50 Gigs.
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If it was there from the beginning, I retract my original statement and offer my apologies to WA, if it has since been added then good stuff from WA... again.
 
maumau said:
AFAIK if you are over your threshold before midnight you're throttled until midnight, then freezone kicks in until 6/7am - unthrottled. then after 6/7am back to throttling for the rest of the 6 hour period which began before midnight. if i'm wrong WA pse correct me.
Click to expand...
himm.it is like Einstein's Math :-)
 
KinsZA said:
Hello Jeff

I really dont recall the following from the FAQ.



If it was there from the beginning, I retract my original statement and offer my apologies to WA, if it has since been added then good stuff from WA... again.
Click to expand...
This is reminiscent of Mweb where the AUP and product description changed every time we looked at it, though not for the better.
 
Well sometimes it does change for the better.

WA changed the uncapped D+ hours from 6am to 7am so 1 extra hour that doesnt count towards your threshold.

I personally find that the download+ hours are not running at full speed. I range from 120mb - 250mb in an hour. So it is not full speed during those hours.
 
Meh, I was waiting for the issues with this service to crop up, and now that they have, it seems I won't be moving from my Openweb Gold uncapped after all.
 
Graal said:
Meh, I was waiting for the issues with this service to crop up, and now that they have, it seems I won't be moving from my Openweb Gold uncapped after all.
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Yep, Jeff seems to have thrown in the towel on this one.
 
KinsZA said:
Hello Jeff

I really dont recall the following from the FAQ.



If it was there from the beginning, I retract my original statement and offer my apologies to WA, if it has since been added then good stuff from WA... again.
Click to expand...

From what I can understand, it has been updated to make it more clear.
 
WAJeff

I dont know if I interpretted your "free for all" phrase correctly or not but this is how I have seen it.

WAJeff said:
Hey guys,

Have you gone through our Knowledge Base article?
http://kb.webafrica.co.za/article/AA-00833

If you reach your threshold before Download Plus hours, we won't throttle you - it's a free for all between 12am - 6am, regardless of how far over your threshold you are.
Our Product Manager is aware of the post though, just seen an email about this thread now. Will see if you can make an improvement here :)
Click to expand...

I was just thinking over the if you're over your threshold or not part. So I stay in threshold to maintain a high priority so I dont get affected by network problems due to heavy usage which the out of threshold seems to be... in theory thats how it works according to that policy. But you mentioned here its a free for all no matter how far out of your threshold you are so I see that as basically the being in your threshold goes to hell and your performance can actually decrease due to increased load since you are now same priority as everyone else.

So with everyone being put on the same plate so to speak my being in threshold means nothing and if there is a performance impact on the network due to throttling/shaping/priorities affecting non p2p services its tough for me ?

Thats not in the policy.
 
Does it not come down to the fact that there will be less pressure on the network at those times??

Business function during the day and place heavy load on the network. At night, those business are not using the Internet nearly as much during office hours and early evening hours.

Is that not why there is a free for all during those hours and everyone is in the same boat? The throttling is there to basically not hamper those who have behaved during the day and to throttle those have exceeded their usage limits during the day.

That is my understanding of the policy and don't think it's very archaic. In the end, I haven't had any degradation of service during the day (when I have been at home during office hours) and get my full line speed all day.

Correct me if I'm wrong please
 
I have never had a problem during the day, only at night and then after midnight, weekdays not weekends.

I experiance problems from round about 7pm onwards, after midnight things would get even worse.
 
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