It could be worse: data caps around the world
By Matthew Lasar <http://arstechnica.com/author/matthew-lasar/>
Ars Technica
April 4, 2011
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20049836-52.html
Here at Ars we spend a lot of time writing about data caps---those
ceilings on how much broadband data you can use before your ISP taps you
on the shoulder and tells you it's time to pay more. Depending on where
you live, these can range from "inconvenient" to "ruinous." For
instance, consider the Middle East's Kingdom of Bahrain.
"My capacity refreshes on the 1st of each month and is depleted by the
12th," writes <http://i.imgur.com/3p4Xl.jpg> one Internet user there.
"At that point my connection falls to 256Kbps (or if I choose, can
maintain the same speed for 1 BD [US$2.65]) a GB."
"So while Canada's situation does suck," he adds, "I wish I was there
instead of here."
As we note below, Canadian ISPs definitely cap data use. That country's
Canadian Radio-Telecommunications Commission seems to think this is a
reasonable approach. In fact, the CRTC is currently running a proceeding
on how to "discipline" Internet usage in Canada
<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/metered-internet-in-canada-isnt-quite-dead.ars>.
Companies like Netflix are "putting a great stress on the Internet and
there's no incentive for companies to invest in maintaining the
Internet," the Commission's head Konrad von Finckenstein warned in early
February.
That got us wondering as to how the crusade to whip broadband
subscribers into proper behavioral patterns is going in other parts of
the world. So here's a quick snapshot of the landline residential
broadband data cap situation in the United States, Canada, the United
Kingdom, and Australia. We'll extend this inquiry to wireless and other
parts of the globe over the coming months.
The United States
*AT&T.* 150GB data caps will kick in for AT&T DSL customers
<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/03/is-atts-new-150gb-dsl-data-cap-justified.ars>
as of May 2. First time over, you get a disciplinary message. Second
time, "AT&T will send you a notice advising you that the next time you
exceed your allowance---the third time---you will be billed $10 for each
50 GB of data over your allowance."
*Comcast. *The ISP announced its 250GB data cap limit
<http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/08/its-official-comcast-starts-250gb-bandwidth-caps-october-1.ars>
in August of 2008. As with Comcast, the first time over, you get a call
from the company. "If you exceed 250GB again within six months of the
first contact, your service will be subject to termination and you will
not be eligible for either residential or commercial internet service
for twelve (12) months," Comcast's FAQ page
<http://customer.comcast.com/Pages/FAQViewer.aspx?seoid=Frequently-Asked-Questions-about-Excessive-Use#exceeding>
explains.
*Time Warner Cable. *TWC abandoned
<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/04/even-when-not-explicit-isp-data-caps-remain.ars>
its disastrous experiment
<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/04/time-warner-cable-to-press-stop-questioning-our-caps.ars>
with 100GB for $75/month in 2009. But the company still has an
"acceptable use policy <http://help.twcable.com/html/twc_misp_aup.html>"
that lets it reel in anything it experiences as "abuse" of its network,
"including the use of excessive bandwidth." It has no hard caps, however.
*Canada*
*Rogers Communications.* Cable ISP Rogers Communications
<http://www.hispeed.rogers.com/bband/content/keepingpace/faq.html>
offers the following "generous" monthly usage allowances.
* Ultra Lite - 2 GB
* Lite - 15 GB
* Express - 60 GB
* Extreme - 80 GB
* Extreme Plus - 125 GB
* Ultimate - 175 GB
If you exceed these limits, you'll be charged from CAN$.50 to CAN$5.00 a
gigabyte, depending on which plan you're on, with a maximum extra charge
of $50 a month. Rogers lowered some of its data cap ceilings last July
<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/07/canada-welcomes-netflix-with-lower-broadband-data-caps.ars>,
just as Netflix streaming entered the Canadian market.
*Bell Canada.* Bell Canada's Essential Plus
<http://www.bell.ca/shopping/en_CA_ON.Bell-Internet-Essential-Plus/DSLTIEPlusNCOONNewMass.details>
plan (CAN$24.95 a month) offers download speeds of "up to" 2 Mbps with a
data limit of 2GB of bandwidth per month. Bell's top speed Fibe 25 Plan
<http://www.bell.ca/shopping/en_CA_ON.Bell-Internet-Fibe-25/DSLTIMONNewMassNCOMX25.details>
(25Mbps) sets the cap at 75GB. In the middle there's Fibe 6
<http://www.bell.ca/shopping/en_CA_ON.Bell-Internet-Fibe-6/DSLTIPONNewMassNCOPF10FTN.details>
(6 Mbps), with a ceiling of 25GB per month.
*TekSavvy.* Canada is in the middle of a long argument
<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/03/how-metered-billing-became-a-political-issue-in-canada.ars>
over whether to apply usage-based billing rules to smaller, competitive
ISPs that connect with Bell Canada and Rogers for network access. At the
beginning of this year the Canadian Radio-Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) was poised to impose metered billing on indie ISPs, with a 15
percent discount.
As a consequence, Ontario-based TekSavvy
<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/01/canada-gets-first-bitter-dose-of-metered-internet-billing.ars>
announced that it would impose 25GB a month data caps on subscribers,
down from 200GB. But outrage over the CRTC's move forced the government
to back down. It was in the context of this uproar that von
Finckenstein's "disciplinary" remark emerged.
At present, TekSavvy offers residential DSL
<http://teksavvy.com/en/res-internet.asp> for CAN$31.95/Month at "up to"
5Mbps with a 300GB a month data cap, or with no data cap for CAN$8 more.
Subscribers can also buy a cheaper plan with no cap at a slower
throughput rate.
United Kingdom
*BT.* Right now, BT advertises
<http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10495/c/346> the
following data caps.
BT Total Broadband Option 1 10GB
BT Total Broadband Option 2 40GB
BT Total Broadband Option 3 Unlimited*
BT Infinity Option 1 40GB
BT Infinity Option 2 Unlimited*
But BT says
<http://arstechnica.com/telecom/news/2011/03/bt-to-uk-fiber-subscribers-no-more-usage-caps.ars>
the telco plans to remove these limits at some point in the future.
"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," declared
<http://www.uswitch.com/news/communications/bt-scraps-fair-use-and-allows-downloads-without-restrictions-800453877/>
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."
Although Option 3 and Infinity Option 2 are advertised as unlimited,
reports
<http://www.broadbandanalyst.co.uk/bt-broadband/bt-takes-speed-restrictions-unlimited-broadband-packages/>
say they slow down when subscriber usage strays past 300GB. And the
asterisks next to those plans lead to a caveat that they are "Subject to
Network Management."
"Customers who are classified as very heavy users will experience
significantly reduced speed at peak times," BT warns, "(typically
5pm-midnight every day but these times may change depending on the
demand on the network) for a period of 30 days, or for as long as very
heavy use continues. This applies to customers on all Options."
*Virgin Media.* Virgin Media's "up to" 10Mbps fibre broadband
<http://shop.virginmedia.com/broadband/up-to-10mb.html> is actually
pretty close to that---about 9.66Mbps, according to Ofcom
<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/03/uk-up-to-cable-and-fiber-speeds-much-more-accurate-than-adsl.ars>.
And it comes with "unlimited downloads," boasts the company.
We think you deserve more. So no matter which of our fibre optic
broadband packages you chose, you get unlimited^1 downloads. That
means you can download as much music, as many films and as many
photos as you want without having to worry about going over any kind
of limit.
Ars readers are no doubt staring at the "1" next to "unlimited." It
points to Virgin's acceptable use
<http://shop.virginmedia.com/help/acceptable-use.html> and traffic
management <http://shop.virginmedia.com/help/traffic-management.html>
policies. The acceptable use language bars activities that are
"illegal," "unlawful," or "inconveniecing [sic] other internet users."
The traffic management policy notes that "at peak times we also slow
down the speed of file sharing traffic---that's services like Limewire,
Gnutella, BitTorrent and Newsgroup (Usenet) traffic. You will, of
course, still be able to use these services, but downloads and uploads
will take longer during these peak periods."
In other words, Virgin's unlimited downloads are subject to disciplinary
limitations, albeit without data caps.
Australia
*Telstra BigPond.* Telstra's BigPond broadband plans
<http://go.bigpond.com/broadband/?cid=ZBP_access_4_highspeedbb_280710>
come with caps, but when consumers reach their limit, they're not
charged extra cash. Rather, as in Bahrain, BigPond slows them down. And
we're talking about serious brakes here. After 2GB, the Turbo 2GB
Liberty plan throttles from 1500Kbps (ADSL) or 8Mbps(Cable) to 64Kbps.
Ditto for the 30Mbps Cable plan.
Those packages cost AUS$9.95 and AUS$19.95, respectively. For AUS$49.95
you can buy the BigPond Elite 50GM Liberty plan, which comes with a 50GB
cap. For AUS$20 more, the 200GB Liberty tier comes with a larger caps
and a "generous" 256Kbps speed after hitting your threshold.
*Optus*. Optus' high speed Internet plans have caps too, but subscribers
are "disciplined" in a somewhat different manner. For example, the 30GB
plan allows you to consume 10GB during "peak" times and 20GB during off
peak hours, which Optus defines as so:
Peak data is for use between 12pm-12am AEST/ADST. Off Peak data is
for use between 12am-12pm AEST/ADST If you exceed your off peak data
allowance, usage will be counted towards peak data allowance.
Once subscribers reach these limits, the ISP drops their speed to around
8Mbps to 64Kbps. For the 120GB plan plug 50GB peak and 70GB off peak
into that scenario. For 500GB it's 250/250 for AUS$69.99.
*iinet.* Australia's second largest telco ISP, iinet
<http://www.iinet.net.au/broadband/plans.html#peak>, offers a similar
approach. "If you exceed your quota, we just shape
<http://www.iinet.net.au/broadband/plans.html#shaping> your download
speeds for the remainder of your billing month," iinet assures consumers.
So the ADSL1 Home1 plan offers 1500/256Kpbs upload and download speeds
with a 5GB peak and 5GB off-peak data cap for AUS$34.95. If consumers go
beyond that, their throughput rate is shaped down to 256/128Kbps, or
256/256 for other plans. Some plans include throttling discipline that
goes as low as 65Kbps.
"At the end of your monthly cycle, the normal speeds of your plan will
resume and your quota will be reset," iiNet promises
<https://iihelp.iinet.net.au/All_about_quota_and_shaping>. "We never
charge excess fees on plans that include shaping. If the customer wants
the service to remove the shaping before the quota reset, they must
upgrade their plan."
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