Broadband unlimited?

by Eric Cantona
at 18:21 on 10 Mar 2007

Aaaah the small print!!!! Bt states that if you are a heavy user, you may have your bandwidth restricted during peak times. I have just signed up and I openly admit I have been a very heavy user it my first month. Since BT are a communications company, I was expecting a communication to warn me about my downloading behaviour, yet instead, I seem to have been capped at not much better than a 56k dial up speed at all times. I complained, only to be sent cut and pasted template answers on how to remove spyware from some idiot on the other side of the planet. Why can't they simply email you to say 'calm down', instead of having me waste my time with their inept complaints department. They are currently running a line test to further waste money and rescource. All I ask for is honesty and COMMUNICATION!!! Report abuse

by Nozzle
at 00:54 on 11 Mar 2007

I've just moved from umpteen trouble-free years with NTL (aka Videotron > Nynex > Cable & Wireless > NTL > Virginmedia) to Orange, solely because NTL still can't provide broadband on their cable network to most of the largest Southern city (Southampton).

I chose the Orange "unlimited" package AND WHAT A MISTAKE I MADE! - The 8mb has a maximum of 2.5mb; the email address they insist on is about a foot long; the "support" service is rubbish (clueless Asians who can't be understood); the Livebox is incapable of receiving calls on the BT number it's connected to; the Livebox is also incapable on handling more than one phone!

I have now been told by Orange that I have to leave one phone on the Livebox's "Talk" (which can make "free" Orange calls but can't receive BT calls) and connect the house phones to the ADSL filter (BT) - (which can make expensive BT calls but can't make "free" calls) so the whole package is the opposite of what was promised and is virtually useless to us.

I am now investigating whether to go back to NTL (but with a broadband-capable BT line) or whether to use another provider who provide the services they promise on one REN4-capable line. Report abuse

by Nozzle
at 01:23 on 11 Mar 2007

I have just moved from umpteen trouble-free years with NTL (aka Videotron > Nynex > Cable & Wireless > NTL > Virginmedia) to Orange AND WHAT A MISTAKE I MADE !

The 8mb speed I have paid for is 2.5mb maximum; the Livebox is only capable of handling one phone instead of four; the Livebox can't receive calls from the BT line it's connected to; and I have just been told that I must leave one phone connected to the Livebox (to make "free" "Talk" calls - but I won't be able to receive calls on our 24 years old number any more) and connect the house phones to the ADSL filter - so the house phones will receive calls but making calls will be at BT's expensive rates (so there's no point in having the so-called "free" phone package anyway)!

I am now investigating whether to go back to NTL (but with a BT/Telewest package) or whether to find another provider who can provide a REN4 line that does what they promise. - BE WARNED! ! ! Report abuse

by slowspeed
at 20:04 on 22 Mar 2007

What are the allowances on Virgin Broadband?

Unlimited Downloads

Virgin Broadband offers unlimited usage on all our broadband packages, which is great if you like to download music and movies or just don't want to worry about monthly allowances or caps. However, if you download a lot, you need to know that we operate an Acceptable Use Policy where we'll contact you if your usage begins to affect the service for other customers.
we will see!

not sure who to believe nowadays as we all seem to be getting conned, these companies should have to stick to their terms for a set period as we do with their contracts. Report abuse

by rusty
at 11:36 on 1 Apr 2007

why cant broadband be like freesreve when they first bought out unlimited. how can a 30gb fair usage be put on when you can download that on 8mb in just a few days Report abuse

by VERMIN-CAT-NORWICH
at 18:29 on 9 May 2007

take a look at this site and you might understand…….what all the fuss is about….

http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/internet/traffic.html Report abuse

by Adam
at 02:27 on 6 Jan 2008

Nozzle I dont like the comment you made about asians, I also have a rubbish connection with orange and the customer service is rubbish true, but there is no need for racist slur. Customer service does not depend on your age, race or creed, rather it depends on the training, resources and personality of the person you are speaking to. Report abuse

by bogs
at 23:21 on 15 Jan 2008

Im really flooking peed off with Virgins so called fair use policy, they say they dont throttle your connection well oh yes they dam well do, if I download around a gig or so the connection throttles back so bad it time outs all the time and only reaches dial up speeds yes dial up, my 56k dial up modem is faster than my 8meg connection when throttled its a dam joke and its on me @ £20 month for this crap, ive asked for a mac code and im moving it, so Virgin can sod off !!!!!!!!! Report abuse

by Robert G
at 19:14 on 28 Jun 2008

I joined Virgin in November 07 and i signed up as they offered an unlimited service.
After 8 months of use i never once noticed my connection being throttled and was able to download at full speed all day and night but the other day i upgraded to the 4mb which is now 10mb and i have never had such a slow connection in my life!
When i do a speed test most of the time it comes back as 887 to 912 kbs due to ti being throttled.
I called virgin the other day and they said it was cos i was downloading too much so i stopped runing p2p software to see if my connection still got throttled and it did!
I only downloaded 15 mp3's today and by 4 o'clock my connection was crawling along like a slug so the traffic management is b/s they throttle you regardless of what you download in terms of gb's. Report abuse

by VirginSucks
at 16:07 on 1 Jul 2008

Same problem here, as soon as it hits 4pm bang! - 10-12kb download speed, most web pages time out, cant even read my emails. Phoned them up today and was told "Oh you seem to be on the throttle list".
On weekends i will download a few films (the reason i have broadband and my rapidshare account) i dont constantly download but im told its excessive to download 2gb of files on my 8MB Unlimted broadband. I am supposed to be getting a call back from a supervisor (Yeah Right..)
I had this problem months ago, i ran up to complain my speed was pathetic and they sent me to BT's speedtester website (which wouldnt load) so when i called back to see if hey had my results "Oh no sorry it doesnt look like you completed the test" , "No i couldnt cos you said to do the test when my broadband was playing up", after i called back it was fine again for a week, then they dropped me back down. (must have taken me off the throttle list temporarily)
Im gonna call again tomorrow and get my MAC code - Virgin broadband can ******! Report abuse

by AOLSucks
at 09:02 on 10 Jul 2008

Well I've joined AOL last year because they had a nice price with unlimited downloads, with a speed of 2MB. They changed their packages recently and the other day checking my plan it seems that I was now with a 2MB speed and 10GB donwload limit since January 2008. After talking to 3 different customer support members why I was advised of that change, managed to speak with a supervisor that was even worst. Didn't bother to apologize for their lack of communication just told me, that under Terms and Conditions states that AOL can put a limit at anytime without any notice under their Fair Usage Policy and the call ended there. Lucky for me I haven't been downloading much lately because going from unlimited to 10GB with the same price.... I'm definetely moving to a new provider, just need to figure out which one is best and read all the terms and conditions before making any decision.
Does anyone have O2? They have an unlimited package and even if they put a limit it will still be cheaper than what I currently pay with AOL. Report abuse

by Des P Rardo
at 19:06 on 5 Oct 2008

AOL service has gone down hill dramatically in the last month. I am a light user of Limewire, If I do try and search for any rare old tunes, I can find them OK, though any attempt to download end in little more than 1% coming down.

I have also noticed newsgroups are not updating; the posts can be 2 days old on the most frequently used groups.

I regard the term 'support' as being fraudulent in AOL's case. When my Internet speed dropped to dial-up speed, every person I spoke to gave me a different reason. Another told me they were having problems with thousands of people - "call back in 2 days as out engineers are working on it" he said. Another told me that I would have to connect to a different server. He emailed me 25 pages of useless information which I had to print out as he said "the system would have to be closed down!" It was nothing more than the manual for my router which I already have. It felt like they did anything to ged rid of me.

When I asked about Limewire, one tech told me "If we detect you using p2p, your connection is automatically reduced" and will remain low. Another claimed he had never heard of p2p software ever but told me that a supervisor would call me back within 30 minutes - no one ever did.

I am incapable of using p2p now and I resent having to deal with a company that fools around with my problems; they effectively "kicks them into the long grass" hoping I'll go away and die.

I would be happy to pay more for an honest company that:
a) Doesn’t filter or reduce my capacity to download (I can only get a miserable 512 kb here anyway)
b) Has a tech system where the staff member take 'ownership' of the problem until it's solved.

There are no cable services here - please can anyone offer the name of the mother of all ISP's? I desperately want to get as far away from AOL as it is possible to be. Thank you.

PS. Can I suggest that anyone dealing with AOL support records the call, and then uses the evidence to support any claim you have against the company. It is perfectly legal to record calls if you are involved in the conversation. You are not required to inform the other party if you are not a company yourself. It is not legal to record other people talking if you're presence is not known to them. Report abuse

by gmf
at 23:26 on 9 Oct 2008

I had been with them for more than 4years, just 13 months ago I signed up for broadband, never download anything until 2 months ago, I was downloading quite alot because I suppose to have UNLIMITED download. Now they capped the speed to non exsistence, take nearly 20 minutes to download a web page. I phoned up to complain, I was told I downloaded too much, and they won't do anything to change thing. Their fair usage is around 35-40Gb per month, why should I paid £14.99 for Unlimited download with them, while some providers charges around £5.00 - £7.00 per month for 40 Gb download, so I asked for my contract to be cancel, I was told to pay them £39.95 to cancel my contract , even though my contract is only for 12 months. The best bit is that Supanet told me that they don't want my type of customer ( heavy user). My opinion of Supanet is that they are nothing least than a con. Supanet, get a dictionary, find out what does the word "unlimited" means!!. Where is those watchdog organisation?, sleeping?. you got a problem here. Report abuse

by nathan
at 09:42 on 16 Mar 2009

I like BT. I think they have done me a good deal, but i haven't been connected yet. Report abuse

by Neddle
at 09:27 on 15 May 2009

Been with Bulldog (bought by Pipex, bought by Tiscali) for 4 years. My bank doesn't like paying them via standing order and randomly cancels payments, despite their being plenty of money in the account. Bulldog don't inform you before cutting you off and take 5 working days to reconnect. Also the final time they decided there was a problem with the line and couldn't give me a reconnection time scale, so I switched to BT. Ordered new phone line and broadband online. New phoneline went is as planned, but no BB. So I ring them and they tell me that the reason the BB order was cancelled (without telling me) was that the phone line wasn't good enough to accept BB... even though I had 3 years use out of it on 8Mb connection. Am awaiting BTBB to go live on Thursday next week and will review it. Can someone start a company like Pipex used to be? Where they have people who know what they're talking about and don't just spin you a series of lies to get you off the phone? I have now been without broadband for over 1 month. Ridiculous. Report abuse

by king ridiculous
at 10:34 on 16 May 2009

i have been with just about every major player in the market - and argued with all of them. Tthere is no such thing as unlimited - with each and every one i have been throttled - and at first no one of them admits to it: it's always a fault with your machine until you state "i build machines - so i know its not my machine - its the connection". Most average the usage out over a 3 month period and if you d/l on average over 30gb a month, your connection is screwed. It's rubbish - the advertising standards agency should step in and sort these crooks out. Unlimited is unlimited, fair or not - if you cant deliver it, then don't godamn advertise it.

I am with Orange and am throttled currently - got a letter one day telling me to reign in my capacity and throttled the next. yeah, a good 12 hours warning. Tossers.

bottom line is this: all the major players are investing heavily in online content - everything is online: music, video, news, games. I am lucky enough to own a couple of consoles - so if i download some demos, a few nights on BBC iPlayer, some podcasts on itunes, use my STEAM account regularly - my usage is screwed.

I wish these a**holes would sort it out. Report abuse

by 4RCH4N637 | registered | 1 post
at 18:40 on 29 Jul 2009

Ok, so whilst sharing accomodation it is a common problem to find that everyone you live with uses the internet for a variety of things (watching films/tv, streaming music, playing a number of online games).

As technology goes the common thing nowadays specially for a lot of people who play games is digital downloads, my math maybe wrong here but if you live in a household where 3-4 people play games and buy games on a regular basis, watch video and buy music and film downloads...

How is it possible for a company such as BT to claim to offer an Unlimited Broadband service? (yeah I know with a specific "Fair Usage" capacity)
The problem arises when they can not provide the maximum speeds they advertise, and not only that but they will cap your download rates if you for example "watch too much digital TV" that is simply not provided by them (NOT BT vision) or buy and download too many games?

As a simple example lets say a household was to buy 10 copies of various games that will take up on average 7GB space each, all this in a month. That would be around 70GB of downloads.

Add to this the fact that people will watch a variety of shows using the BBC's own Iplayer, but this household may have a number of HD televisions so, why watch standard definition programmes when you can just watch the HD content? O_o
So taking into account the BBC's own bandwidth meters we are told the speed necessary for this will be above 1mbps (so there is no constant chopiness) lets say you watch on average 4 maybe 5 hours of tv per day (this is just one tv... one person)

I think your downloads are getting pretty high by now...

But wait your household also has access to IPods/Itunes O_O An average of 10-20 albums per month (no feat, not for anyone who really likes their music)
On average each album has lets say 7-10 songs, each song encoded as a normal MP3 is an average of 5MB.
That is another 0.5-1GB average for one person per month.

We've not taken into account any browsing or online gaming bandwidth...

By the end of a month your downloads will be reaching around 100GB or more...

From BT's own fair usage policy pages:
http://bt.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/bt.cfg/php/enduser/cci/bt_adp.php?p_faqid=10495&cat_lvl1=346&p_cv=1.346&p_cats=346

According to ofcoms own report:
http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/4014-ofcom-finally-publishes-final-broadband-report.html

The broadband speeds offered by BT are much lower than expected and I am pretty confident a lot of people will pay for their so-called UNLIMITED package so they can get the maximum speed available and they can have the luxury of not worrying that they have a 10-20GB a month cap.

But then, even if you do pay for this extra service and complain to BT themselves that you are still not being provided with the right speed and your package should not cost you this much...
You will receive e-mails telling you to stop being naughty and using their bandwidth so much or else they will slow you down...

How is it possible for them to offer such a service when a user can easily go above 100GB in this case...? If their so-called unlimited downloads have got a very clear limit, why is it possible for them to advertise this service as unlimited? even if they add small print that basically tells you their Unlimited value is simply up to them to decide as and when they want to.

I would love to see some feedback on this, as at the moment it seems a hot-topic and I know a number of people being affected by it. Report abuse