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The NTL 1GB per day cap has been in effect for a while now. I heard about it pretty much as soon as it came about but figured I'd wait til they tell me to stop before changing my downloading habits. I've only had DU Meter for about a month now, but in that time I have downloaded less than a gig only 4 times. However I have not heard a whisper from NTL. I'm just wondering if anyone has heard anything from them yet?
It's been all quiet on the NTL front here (which is strange as we've also had a relable service for a couple of months too), even with the excessive downloads I have been doing.
I've not even heard anymore from them about my uploads which they got is a twist about just before christmas
Same here ive heard nothing either, but i said when it was first anounced on this forum, that it was a load of crap, its just time management so they can prove there is a need for faster bandwidth than the 1meg they have got at the moment.
its 11am here now and ive already downloaded 2 gig today and ive got another 2gig+ coming in the next 6 hours so thats my fortnightly quota in 1 day lol.
Have you now noticed that they have increased the price also.
They are upgrading the 128 to 140 or 160 i think, not sure, but at a cost of an extra £3 hmmmm
i bet that those who are on the 12month contract already for the 128 service will find that NTL have done it again by sneaking in the price increase and not tell them about it.
[im on bt Openworld 512 adsl (no cap) they have since dropped the price, but we are still on the contract for 12 months and cant benefit from the lower prices. it seems companys are allowed to sneak in things that make you paymore/get less , but cant do anything that effects them, "cos its illegal" BS!!!]
this also means that you are now able to DL more than 1gig on the lowest tier. which before YOU COULD leave ur 128 connection on all the time DLing stuff and not go over the 1gig cap. now with the extra speed you cant!!!
THINK ABOUT IT - they are now trying to get people to upgrade to the higher tiers by making them think that they need the faster speed since they are reaching their limit of 1gig, it just means they will reach the limit faster.
NTL are supposed to be having bandwidth problems cos they cant keep up with the demmand, or soon to be lack of. they cant keep up with the people using the net so much, so they introduce a cap to target the "over users" of the service.
If your having network slowdown, yes i agree you might want to introduce a cap, BUT you dont then go upgrading the other areas of the company, like allowing those on the 128 service a 2 week taster of the 600k service. you are taking bandwidth from those who have paid for it and giving it away free to those who havent paid for it.
Xan
Change Service is my Recomendation, A 1Gb Cap is stupid, whats the point of having broadband? pretty much defeats the object.
im on BT Broadband ADSL not openworld
hav i gt a 1gig cap and is ther neway to log how much i download say over a month period?
@dapadipz
Contuary to NTL's PR people BT Broadband (the shite version of Openworld packed with things you dont need like spam filter etc) The REAL cap is 3gigs. It says 1gig in the book to "advise" you on your surfing habits, but they dont mind you going over that, since with 512 the MAXIMUM you could ever possibly download is 3 - 5 gigs, so that cap is fair.
Tho NTL and thier 1000 service can DL a MAX of 10 - 12 gigs, cap of 1gig NO THANKYOU, do the maths.
as to the log of UL and DL, check around on google or something, there are plenty of progs which will do this for you.
Xanex
I am on 128k so your sayin that they might be upgadrein it and u will have to pay £3 more. I think I am ok I do not download a lot of big things eg movies but I am might be go up 2 600k with ntl.Quote:
Have you now noticed that they have increased the price also.
They are upgrading the 128 to 140 or 160 i think, not sure, but at a cost of an extra £3 hmmmm
i bet that those who are on the 12month contract already for the 128 service will find that NTL have done it again by sneaking in the price increase and not tell them about it.
i use bt broadband aswell and ive had no probs with it; ntl from what i hear take it up d batty
btw bt broadband is far better than bt openworld as i get no shit from them and my average dl rate is 70k on a 1/2 meg account-w00t
Like a couple of ppl here i'm on the 128 service with NTL and its ok,i get my movies etc eventully leaving it on 24/7 mind until ive d/loaded my 700mb films.
I was thinking of upgrading but im not too sure now.
Sneeky fookers NTL are i got a letter thru the other day about the 3 quid price increase...bit late tho as i'd already read about this on the web <_<
seems like an afterthought to me,cos the customer service has allways been shite.
I have heard,not sure how true it is but as there changing the terms of my/your contract by the price increase that i/you can cancel the 12month contract.
Shame my part of Manchester aint got NTL, 1mb sounds cool...though I read BT are experimenting with a 1mb connection for later this year...and I'm amazed anyone can d/l over 1Gb in a day...aren't you a bit selective on what you d/l?? ;)
i wonder wot blueyonders limit is :blink: im sure ive broken it :lol:
Your max dl rate is 64k not 70k, sry just had to point that out. and to have an average of that is neigh on impossible.Quote:
Originally posted by ROEZER@6 April 2003 - 15:02
btw bt broadband is far better than bt openworld as i get no shit from them and my average dl rate is 70k on a 1/2 meg account-w00t
And yea Broadband is better than openworld if you dont mind the cap and the extra shit they throw in. (ooh reaks of sarcasm)
Openworld is the NO-Frills package, no webspace, no email (tho i think u get one im not sure i aint read up on it yet)
Broadband: Its basically is the same service but with added extras, the tech staff are the same etc + a cap.
You obviously dont dl alot do you, 1 gig is nothing in todays world, almost 2 cd's worth of data, you can dl 1 gig in about 3-4 hours on the half meg services (512) . If you want a cap of 1 gig stick to 128k services its cheaper.Quote:
I'm amazed anyone can d/l over 1Gb in a day...aren't you a bit selective on what you d/l
Also online gamming takes up alot of the cap aswell, its the 2nd biggest user of bandwidth next to p2p, so whats next, targetting heavy online game users? i think sony will have things to say about that and other companys that do online only games.
Xan
How much is 1GB?
Ive heard it equal to 2 films a day.
nah its 1 and a really small bit of another movie depending on the quality :D
explain?Quote:
Originally posted by bronco@6 April 2003 - 20:10
How much is 1GB?
Ive heard it equal to 2 films a day.
cdrs are 700 megs big, without over burning or getting a 99 min disc.
1 gig is 1024 megs, => 1400megs for 2 films - 1.4 gigs
On the 512k (half meg services) you can dl 3- 5 gigs in any 24 hour period.
from the dont pay ntl site *note they dont have 512 so my guess for ammount of gigs for 512 is that, a guess
As an NTL Broadband customer, here is what you now get
Service Tier Download Limit
Per Day Time Allowed Online
Using the service at it's advertised rate (Approx) Previous Data allowance
When the service was "Unlimited" Cost Per month
128kbps 1GB 24 hours per day Approx 1GB £14.99
600kbps 1GB 5 hours per day Approx 5-6GB £24.99
1024kbps 1GB 2 1/2 hours per day Approx 8-10GB £34.99
This says it all really
NTL had called their 1Mbps (1024kbps) service at it's launch, the "Ferrari" of the internet
You don't buy a Ferrari just to nip down to the shops in it.
If you have paid "extra" for 1Mbps it's because 600kbps is not good enough and you certainly don't want 128kbps performance!
A 1Mbps connection (that NTL charges £35 a month for) is capable of downloading approx 8-10GB a day, By restricting it to 1GB they are effectively making it so that customers can only use their connection for less than 3 hours a day or at less than 128kbps (This is lower than a lot of TV streams that run at 300kbps or 500 kbps)
It matches a lot of internet radio stations that run at 128kbps or 1GB a day.
So NTL are expecting customers to pay broadband prices for a "midband" or "narrowband" service
There are plenty of legitimate reasons for using amore than 1GB a day like video streaming and software updates.
There are pay services that use high bandwidth connections to watch movies (500-700kbps) and sports events, but under these new NTL terms customers will have to go and do something else other than use their internet connection.
And if it's aimed at a "family" well a lot of "families" have more than one PC, so even more bandwidth is needed, hence why the hell they are on broadband!
And who is to know where this will end?
500MB cap??
Then I might as well be on dial up!
In Japan and Sweden you can get 10-12Mbps broadband for £10-£27pm!
By NTL's rational you would only be able to use it for a few minutes a day before they cut you off!!!
Telewest, the UK's other main cable operator has no such user limits and is even thinking about starting a 2Mbps service, so 1GB in about 1 1/2 hours
Telewest's press centre have told me that they have no download restrictions and no plans to introduce any!
I might as well get ISDN!! or go back to 56kbps
Xanex
I DID HAVE A LETTER SENT WITH A rundown of the capping service :angry: not a warning mind, had no probs of them yet, but capping is stupid espescially for those on 1 mb broadband, im on 600k, yes price has or is going up from may 1st for 128k from £14.99 to £17.99 month with increase to 150mb, big deal i wonder if thwere is a rise coming across the range soon. i hear TELEWEST is rolling out 2 mb broadband soon so might change over them if capping is a prob, NTL users the only way is to voice your disgust at the capping a friend who works tells me the more complaints the more they consider dropping it, i mean i took on broadband as unlimited so it should mean that they said it equates to 2 film d/loads a day or 50,000 pictures :lol:
Yeah, heavy online gamer I am. That didnt occur to me before, thanks for pointing that out XanexQuote:
Originally posted by Xanex@6 April 2003 - 20:07
Also online gamming takes up alot of the cap aswell, its the 2nd biggest user of bandwidth next to p2p, so whats next, targetting heavy online game users?
There are so many reasons for using ur bandwidth to the limit. Here are but a few....
Online Gamming (constitutes more than 1/3 of the internet traffic)
Tv and movie streams (services that have been paid for on gold services eg wmp have the option to subscribe to these things)
Internet Radio (leave it on all the time and ur going to reach 1 gig sooner or later)
Remote access to University or college network to do work etc
More than one pc in the house hold, mini networks
shall i go on im sure i can find some more, these just popped into my head just now
Xanex
I think they increased their 128 to 150 as you put it is to make it so all tiers can now dl more than 1 gig, so they can see which people are "abusing" the service. They are forcing people into a hole.
Think about it for a bit and u might see what i see
Xan
God im on fire, sry for triple post but this is a new thing i just thought of dont want to edit a post:
10,000 pictures they reckon = 1gig, of that what of those are pictures that u actually want. Popups and banner ads and builtin ads on webpages count aswell and some are quite large. or if a site uses funky flash thingys. what next going back to text interfaces just to read your email.Quote:
NTL users the only way is to voice your disgust at the capping a friend who works tells me the more complaints the more they consider dropping it, i mean i took on broadband as unlimited so it should mean that they said it equates to 2 film d/loads a day or 50,000 pictures
Xanex I "enjoyed" your post before, discussing "mid-band" "narrow-band", which is basically what UK "broadband" really is. What saddens me is that the companies taking the initiative to offer better value services are either limited geographically, or aren't willing to risk the investment necessary.The demand is so obviously there, I feel the government should really give more support.After all they struck gold selling those 3G licences to the mobile co.s!
Have you seen the www.hydro.co.uk/broadband? Scottish Hydro-Electric trialling bb services over electricity power lines. Users pay £25 a month to surf at speeds of 2Mbps.Nothing more promising than that eh?
Over power lines? wow i'll have to look into that! seems cool
price is good too, wonder what its called, cant be the new xdsl ive heard about can it? wonder what technology it uses, oooh the physics behind it are puzzling
Yeah sorry for the lousy url, aint seen any info on the technology on that site.Which is what I was curious about too...int it a bit late to be an Aprils fool j/k?? <_<Quote:
Originally posted by Xanex@6 April 2003 - 20:41
Over power lines? wow i'll have to look into that! seems cool
price is good too, wonder what its called, cant be the new xdsl ive heard about can it? wonder what technology it uses, oooh the physics behind it are puzzling
any one know the download/upload limit on blueyonder??
In Glasgow the cap isnt up and running yet but with the retards that work with ntl it will be a fuck up if they try it
NTL are losing shitloads of money so why would they do this.
Simple bandwidth costs lots of money for service providers.
And with your run of the mill cable broadband internet service your sharring your bandwidth with your whole neibourhood.
So if everone in your hood was downloading a couple of gigs each day the connection would be slowed down in the whole block.
Therefor the sudden appearance of restricted downloads and uploads.
Thats the benefit of dsl you dont share your connection, its like a phone line.
I don t know what type of service you guys use ,but ive had similar restrictions placed on my uploads and downloads.
Luckily for myself my isp provided me with an external modem
(I live in British Columbia, Canada)
And my downloads are something like 50gigs roughly, uploads like 9 or 10 gigs, and my limit is 2-3 gigs downloads and about 1 gig upload :per month
I also got nagging phone calls to reduce my downloads or my service would be suspended ,iI tried but its too dam hard to do only 2 or 3 gigs a month.
But one day i got a call from Shaw (my internet provider) about the subject,
and to my suprise the cutomer service rep sounded to be about my age(21 to 30).
He asked what i downloaded i said "mostly movies "he then proceeded to tell me that if i unpluged the power supply for my external modem every once and a while that it erasses the download history at the
company.
That was a few months ago now i dont get calls from the isp any longer.
And i probablly download more than ever before.
hopefully you guys can use the info ,because i hate typing long ass posts
Ok i heard about this sometime ago there is a petition somewhere on the net with about 58,000 sigs. After I emailed NTL about it so here are the emails.
!Read below for the online petition!
My email - [email protected] - If you dont want to read now, email me and I will forward the emails to you!
----------------What I Sent----------------
Fri, 28 Feb 2003 17:50:58
Hi, I would like to know, what caps are in place for your cable
internet
services?
Why there are caps?
Why do I pay for unlimited internet access but cannot get unlimited
access because of capping? Is it you or BT that has placed these
restriction?
Simple questions, simple answers please. No politician answers.
Thanks,
Dave Coles
Post Code CF** ***
------------What I Got------------------
Email No.1
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thanks for your e-mail. This is an automated acknowledgement to confirm receipt and advise that investigation of the issue raised in your email has commenced.
Listed below are a number of websites that might help answer your question.
First of all, why not visit our comprehensive help section at http://www.ntlworld.com/help
To see if we are currently experiencing any server problems please visit our status page at http://www.ntl-isp.ntl.com/lookup/default.asp
or call our status line free on 0800 052 4315.
If you subscribe to our ntlworld TV-Internet service or our Digital Plus service then you can find help and advice by pressing the HELP button on your remote control or keyboard.
Please be assured that we treat your enquiry with maximum priority and
will be in touch as soon as possible.
Best Regards,
ntl:home customer services
--------------------------------------------
Email No.2
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hi,
Thank you for your e-mail. Apart from the speed limits of your tier of service (i.e. 128kb, 600kb or 1Mb) there is an acceptable use level of 1 gigabyte of data downloaded per day. This is to prevent a minority of users from using the service so much that is causes detriment to other customers. The ntl user policy has always stated that it is not acceptable to use the service in a way that causes a reduction in service to others, the new rules simply put a quantitative value to what is acceptable or normal use. BT also has a similar 1 gigabyte per day transfer limit on its wholesale broadband product and always has.
More information is available at:
http://www.ntlworld.com/legals/user-policy.htm
and more specifically:
http://www.ntlworld.com/service_update.html
I hope this answers your questions. If not, please don't hesitate to contact us again.
Foeh
ntl:home Technical Support
On Fri, 28 Feb 2003 17:50:58 -0000 you wrote:
>Hi, I would like to know, what caps are in place for your cable
internet
>services?
>Why there are caps?
>Why do I pay for unlimited internet access but cannot get unlimited
>access because of capping? Is it you or BT that has placed these
>restriction?
>
>Simple questions, simple answers please. No politician answers.
>
>Thanks,
>Dave Coles
>Post Code CF** ***
>
>[Inline text/html]
----------------------------
Email No.3
++++++++++++++++
Hi
Thanks for your email
I presume that you are talking about the 1GB cap
I shall attach an email to you with common question and answers for you to read through
Hope this answers your queries
Richard
Cable Modem Technical Support
Q. I understand that you’re calling customers to demand they reduce their usage. Why and what’s your policy towards people who use the services extensively?
A. ntl: home's broadband network is a shared network. There is a tiny minority of exceptionally heavy users whose continuous or prolonged data downloading may cause network congestion and affect the enjoyment of others. ntl has published 1 gigabyte of data downloaded per day as a guideline to give customers guidance on what constitutes normal network usage and to help customers avoid inadvertently causing network congestion. Over the next 60 days, ntl will contact customers and ask them to moderate their usage of their broadband internet service only if they exceed these guidelines on 3 or more days in any 14 day period.
Q. What activities could result in exceeding the daily download limit?
A. Downloading very large video files or audio files continuously from newsgroups or file-sharing services like Kazaa, is the most common cause of very high data usage.
Q. What does 1 gigabyte offer?
A. As a rough guide, 1 gigabyte of data per day is approximately:
100 large software programs
200 music tracks
650 short videos
10,000 pictures
20,000 web pages
And should not impact gaming applications at all
For a more specific guide, there are a number of freeware applications that approximately monitor data download. We will be looking to distribute and ntl-approved monitor shortly. In the meantime, however, customers need not be too concerned: NTL will be in touch and able to provide advice if you regularly exceed the limit for your speed of service.
Q. Why are you starting to call customers now - are you running out of bandwidth?
A. It’s a responsible action to take in order to maintain the overall performance for the vast majority of our customers. Customers who use the services more heavily than a normal home user will potentially reduce the performance of the network for other customers at peak times – and in the long term, they’ll drive up prices for all users, which we’d prefer to avoid. We’re very proud of our internet services – they regularly win awards for performance and reliability – and we have no wish to allow misuse by a minority to affect the overall performance for the majority
Q. Have you noticed the products slowing down/performing badly?
A. No – and by taking preventative action we don’t expect to. We monitor our network and product performance very carefully. We’re very proud of our internet services – they regularly win awards for performance and reliability – and we won’t allow the misuse by the minority to affect the product enjoyment for the vast majority.
Q. How many customers are affected?
A. It’s a small minority.
Q. Surely a small minority can’t affect your network performance so badly. Is your network capacity so limited?
A. This is an issue that all internet service providers have to face – we’re not alone. And in fact, we have one of the most modern networks in the world, but our services are intended for normal recreational or educational use by individuals and families and our pricing - and network architecture - have been designed accordingly.
Q. Can you really change the terms and conditions of an annual contract mid-term?
A. We’re not. This is a clarification of the existing terms of our Acceptable Use Policy, which states that you must not use the Services in any way that is unlawful or illegal or in a way that affects the enjoyment of other users of the Services.
Q. Surely you’re doing this because you don’t want to invest more capex to maintain/upgrade the network?
A. Not at all.
Q. Aren’t you just trying to squeeze more cash from your customers?
A. No. We’re very proud of our Internet services – they regularly win awards for performance and reliability – and we have no wish to allow misuse by a minority to affect the overall performance for the majority.
Q. If a customer wants to move to another supplier will you cancel their contract?
A. No – customers are only entitled to exit their contracts in the event of a change to their terms & conditions. This is a change to the Acceptable Use Policy only. The policy can be viewed at http://www.ntlworld.com/legals/user-policy.htm
Q. Isn’t this short-sighted – as you could lose triple-play customers?
A. No. It’s a small number and we hope that most of those customers affected will simply change their usage pattern.
Q. Are these customers likely to be WIFI customers who are sharing access?
A. It’s a possibility that some are but it’s likely to be a very small number of customers.
Q. Is this a clamp down on Internet porn usage/users of illegal copyrighted material such as films?
A. We’re calling about their usage levels not what they’re using the bandwidth for. We don’t actively monitor what customers choose to download.
Since Friday
Q. Hasn’t this new set of ‘guidelines’ changed since Friday’s original new text?
A. The objective remains the same. ntl: home's broadband network is a shared network. There is a tiny minority of exceptionally heavy users whose continuous or prolonged data downloading may cause network congestion and affect the enjoyment of others. ntl has therefore published guidelines on daily data downloading. We will contact customers and ask them to moderate their usage of their broadband Internet service only if they exceed these guidelines on 3 or more days in any 14 day period.
However, we have taken on board the views of customers and we are reviewing whether it would be possible to allow subscribers to our 1mb service to have a higher data limit.
Q. This is a complete climb-down. Were you so shocked by the response?
A. We knew that a small number of heavy users would be vocal – but that doesn’t stop us from doing what’s right for the vast majority of customers. Our objective remains intact. But we’re also willing to listen to our customers. That’s why we’ve increased the guideline usage for our 1Mb customers.
Q. Why did you plan to do this so secretly?
A. We didn’t. Our aim has always been to make contact individually each customer whose usage might affect the majority. The AUP is as public as it gets.
Q. How flexible will ntl be about these new limits?
A. We will be very flexible. Our objective is only to limit very frequent or persistent heavy network use that can impact other customers. Therefore we will ONLY contact customers who exceed the daily data limit for three or more days in any consecutive 14-day period. If you occasionally exceed your data limit, it will not be a problem. Remember our goal is to give freedom and easy usage to our customers. This rule ensures that you have peace of mind and that we are able to reduce the unfair prolonged usage by a small number.
Q. When and how will the limits be applied?
A. Starting from now, ntl will monitor network usage and contact customers who regularly exceed the data download limit for their speed of service by letter or phone over next 60 days
Q. Will customers be disconnected if they ignore the guidelines?
A. No. Our customers are important to us. We will simply advise customers how to moderate their bandwidth usage. Our research has shown that consumers will be happy with this approach.
Q. Can higher speed broadband customers have a higher daily download limit?
A. In response to the strong customer enquiry we got on this point, we will be investigating whether we can provide variable limits based on service speed. We expect to have an answer soon. It should be noted, however, that some customers confused our 1 GigaByte limit with their KiloBit speeds. 1 GigaByte is equivalent to 8 GigaBits. Also, in practical terms the slower speeds of the overall Internet often cause average speeds to be lower than the maximum speed allowed. Thus users could have several more actual hours of downloads than would be indicated by strictly dividing the limit by the speed.
Q. Is there a plan for very ‘power users’ who exceed the given limits?
A. We are considering a range of new services especially for customers who want or need to download large amounts of data – but which will avoid impacting other, ordinary customers. We will work with a forum of users to design these services.
Q. Tell me more about the ‘power user forum’ mentioned earlier.
A. ntl is compiling a list of customers who are ‘power users’ who are willing to provide feedback on suggested new products and services for heavy users. To join the list of ‘power users’, simply email our Internet Director, Bill Goodland at [email protected].
Other questions
Q. Why do you advertise an ‘unlimited’ service, and yet now seek to limit its use?
A. Our unmetered dial-up Internet service has the trade name ‘Unlimited’, because you can use it whenever you like for a single flat fee. There is no daily download limit on our dial-up Internet products. Our broadband service is no longer called unlimited. Our broadband service has always carried an Acceptable Use Policy.
Q. Does a daily download limit constrain the amount of time I spend online?
A. No, not necessarily. You could surf the web all day and download very little data. The average broadband internet customer downloads less than 100 megabytes (0.1 gigabyte) of data per day.
On Fri, 28 Feb 2003 17:48:27 -0000 you wrote:
>Hi, I would like to know, what caps are in place for your cable
internet
>services?
>Why there are caps?
>Why do I pay for unlimited internet access but cannot get unlimited
>access because of capping? Is it you or BT that has placed these
>restrictions?
>
>Simple questions, simple answers. No politician answers please.
>
>Post Code CF** ***
>
>Thanks,
> David Coles
>
>[Inline text/html]
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So there you go! The usual prepared crap from NTL.
I run my own network I created in my house running 4 PCs with KazaaLite++ 24/7, online games, video confrencing etc etc. Im pretty sure i have gone 10x over the 1 gig cap.
And I have found the NTl Petition so here it is please sign it! http://www.PetitionOnline.com/NTL/ or Remove NTL Caps Now
Thanks for reading. Sorry for the beginning format, It was just to get your attention!
NTL's limit has basically nothing to do with what their network can sustain (although there ARE some limitations at their internet gateway -- which all the local connections have to pass through).
What it boils down to is they think it's an easy way for them to reduce costs AND increase profits.
If you had to pay an additional 0.1 pounds per every extra GB/day you downloaded (in a 14-day period) -- then they could make more money off the 'bandwidth hogs' so long as NTL could support that kind of useage.