Fair Use Policy?

Philippines
May 8, 2012 6:25am CST
Hey, are you familiar with this term - Fair Use Policy, and what it really means? I'm on a special internet plan on one of the local networks. I downloaded a few games and then I got a notification that my internet usage has gone over the limit, thus I could no longer continue using until the next day. How come I can't download as much as I want to, when I'm paying for the unlimited service. So, it's not unlimited, afterall.
1 person likes this
5 responses
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
18 May 12
"Unlimited" is never actually 'unlimited'! What it means is that you can download/upload as much as you like provided that you do it over a reasonable period of time. Many ISPs have this "Fair Use" clause which is there to protect them against people who could seriously slow down the connection (or make it unavailable) for other users. Very few of them actually specify what constitutes "Fair Use" but there is a limit on how much data you are expected to download/upload in any given time period (it is often a daily limit). ISPs vary in how they implement this policy. Some will just reduce the speed of the connection (if you are on a nominal 10Mbps connection, you will drop to 2Mbps, for example). Mine (Virgin Media) will disconnect me from time to time and I then have to reset the modem and the wireless router (which, in my case, are separate) by switching off, waiting for a minute and switching on again. Others will not actually disconnect you but will send you a warning notice, though allowing you to continue browsing on a limited bandwidth.
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
18 May 12
You could, at least, try doing what I do: 1) Power off the modem by switching off at the wall or pulling out the power supply cord (usually a low voltage coaxial plug). 2) If you have a separate router, pull the plug on that too. 3) Wait two minutes to allow the server at the other end to drop the connection 4) Plug the power back into the modem and wait until the lights stop flashing and just the Power, Sync and Ready lights are on and steady. 5) If you have a separate router, power that on and wait till the 'ready' light shows. If you are lucky, your ISP will have established a new connection and you can carry on.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
18 May 12
In my case, its a USB Dongle. So, the easy 1-2-3 steps i did were: 1)Uninstall/reintall the software. 2)Insert in to another USB port. 3)Try to catch a better signal at another location. I tried all, but not sucessful. I called up the provider but they want me to wait 3-5 days for them to check on the problem. I doubt if they'd even remember to call back or email me.
• Philippines
18 May 12
That's a great way of explaining it, owlwings. Thanks for the information. I think with my ISP, they cut me off if I go over the download/upload limit and service is restored the following day.
@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
8 May 12
Ah, A lot of local networks are currently doing this now. This is because there are a lot of people who uses the internet extensively on any given day. Their usage takes up a lot of bandwidth, and thus other internet subscribers have lower chance to get into the system with the same speed, etc. say, you subscribed to an internet with a monthly bill of 900 pesos (unlimited) and you were given the fair use policy of about 10GB, it meant that on any given day, your data usage should not reach 10GB. this will be refreshed the next day. so the next day your internet service is reset to 0 and you can use again.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
9 May 12
So, what if my purpose for getting the service is to really have that much uploading and downloading? Doesn't that mean, it's useless for me to pay for the service, anyway.
@jshekhar (1562)
• India
8 May 12
Hello friend, The "Unlimited" service really does mean that you can download as much as you can. However, once you reach a download limit, say 50 GB for a month, your original speed would be downgraded to may be half or one third of the original speed. For example, we have a 10 Mbps unlimited download plan with a download limit of 30 GB. Once we cross that 30 GB limit, our speed reduces to 2 Mbps. We are still able to download as much as we want to, but the speed is slow.
• Philippines
9 May 12
With my connection, it really gets suspended, once I reach a certain download/upload limit. It sucks. I couldn't even access myLot anymore. Is accessing a website considered downloading,too?
@alberello (4752)
• Italy
8 May 12
Well, this is a question that I can not give an exact answer. I can only say in general terms to "to approach to the real answer." You probably have a unlimited subscription to the Internet. Now here in my country (Italy) it happens that, despite you have unlimited, 10Gb passed, the system slows down the data in both input and output. This could therefore affect the downloading of some applications. I responded according to my personal hypothesis. Does not mean that correspond to the reality.
• India
8 May 12
Most of the company tells the same. Tell us that they can provide unlimited calls or internet but when it cames to reality it turns unfair. This turned out as an common pratices by the copmany. They make use of us and make their pockets bigger and bigger