I got the same letter this morning too. We've got 6 people using the connection so without a monitor it's going to be really hard to keep usage below whatever unspecified limit they have. Here is the relevent part of the fair use policy:
Quote:
Am I likely to be affected by the Fair Use Policy?
If you don't use file sharing software or download large files from the Internet it's unlikely you'll ever be affected by this policy. If you do, all we ask is that you do so considerately, perhaps by downloading outside the peak hours of 6pm to 11pm.
What will happen if my use is very high?
If you only occasionally have very high usage, we're unlikely to be concerned unless it becomes a regular occurrence. If this does happen then we'll get in touch to help you find ways to reduce your usage.
If your usage continues to be very high, we'll get in touch again. Ultimately, if your usage still remains excessive despite our attempts to help you reduce it, we may have to suspend your service and possibly close your account.
We don't want to do that, and with your support and goodwill we'll work with you to see if we can avoid this happening.
Personally I only ever used said "file sharing software" overnight i.e. in the period they suggested, but i'm not sure they even care about that. Plus i don't see how this is a "regular occurrence" when they only state an average over 1-2 months, and threatening to teminate our account and cutting our connection speed isn't really the sort of "help" I would have liked.
Downloading overnight won't help. I have just spoken to UK Customer Support who catagorically state that peak hours are from 6pm to 6am - other providers are evenings only - but not Orange. Aren't they great? Be glad when my MAC code arrives...
How the hell can the peak hours be between 6pm and 6am I honestly think they are just making things up as they are going along. As ive mentioned before in previous posts i had my line capped in october for about a month it was capped 24/7 and since then it has been capped between 6pm and midnite thats near enough four months now. So anyone in a similar situation i would advise you to jump ship because even if you stay below the download limit (i say that and there isn't actually one so in fact they are false advertising telling lies like a lot of other isps) your line will remain capped.
Downloading overnight won't help. I have just spoken to UK Customer Support who catagorically state that peak hours are from 6pm to 6am - other providers are evenings only - but not Orange. Aren't they great? Be glad when my MAC code arrives...
You should've asked them to confirm that in writing (or at least by email via pdf) so that they can't back down on that shameful admission because it certainly contradicts their own advice as stated in the post you quoted.
As far as I know the capping is supposed to be only 6pm until midnight.
Supposed being the operative word there. I was definitely capped 24 hours a day for the first Three days of capping, as were at least two other contributors to this site, but after having a good old moan to the man who said capping was 6pm - 6am, am now only capped between about 5pm and midnight. They were going to keep this on 'for a few months' to see if the slapped wrist made me stick to emails and googling, which is why I left.
I too was caught up in the FUP saga, I recieved a letter in October 07 regarding downloading a massive 43gb! Oh no, and in November got capped to 512K. Damn! 24/7 capping for a week then 6pm to 11pm at 512K for 3 months. The minimum term is 3 months then you get reviewed. And worse still the new customer service numbers aren't free any more from the 2nd line!. There's nothing like a 2 hour rant to Orange at their expense.
Orange is cheap for a 40GB download limit. 40GB is loads if you dont download too many films or watch 4OD. 8MB, free fone calls for £24.00 per month, just don't abuse it. I do 20GB a month max now. Using Tautology bandwith monitor, kids get 5GB each. I get 10GB.
I spent hours doing speed tests and complaining but you have to remember its just the bloody internet, not life or death and if you want to download more than pay for it through another service!. I have suggested to Orange they just charge £3.00 per GB over the 40GB, imaging a £100 internet bill, back to renting DVDs
Orange is not all bad. I never get disconnected, its cheap and I get 6MB downloads, just remember not to abuse it!
Well I'm surprised Orange didn't jump at your suggestion! BT charge 60p per GB over their 40GB limit (used to be 30p) - which by the way is Option 2 - medium user. Considering Orange's 40GB limit is on the 'unlimited' package I think they're really taking the p***!
AOL, BT, o2 (now Sky), Be, Sky and all of the other large providers have ways to cope with heavy downloaders. BT and AOL 'shape' p2p traffic, others limit peak download speeds for p2p, but not one of the other so called unlimited packages has such a stingy limit and outcomes for going over the limit as Orange. Sky has a 100GB limit for a similar price to Orange and Be's is unstated, but thought to be even higher from users experiences
So you've now got 10GB a month. What's that? About 1 HD film, a couple of TV shows and normal browsing. And I bet your kids are chuffed with the new regime. Live in the dark ages if you want, but moving has to be a better bet, doesn't it?
Trouble is none of them will be unlimited whilst paying BT £1 per gb. They all rely on some people just using a few meg a month. If you are an unprofitable customer, they will show you the door.
Upside is Orange has been too reliable for me and I have cut my phone calls bill to zero using the second line!. I don't get disconnections for weeks and always pull down 6.3 meg unless I'm capped
I don't need any HD films, and my ipod is full. You pays your munny and you takes your choice. Sooner or later all isps will be cracking down hard, the internet is getting stuffed by people gobbling up the bandwidth on torrents and what have you.
all ISP's have the same FUP it must be a sales pitch when its unlimted its unlimted till they feel like
i got bb unlimted for a £5 a month cuz i have a mobile contract with them I thought it would be best for me cua i like to do a lot of downloadin and it came with a wireless Router
i got a letter just like that a few days ago saying that in dec-jan that i downloaded 66gig and they will cap my speed and moniter it for the time being.
well i have a pc,laptop and a PS3 I download from the psn store most times it is updated the game demos themselves can go up to over 1gig and the updates for the game can range from 1Mb to 500Mb and the vids can take up to 200+Mb and thats not taking into account the online gaming witch I always do.I like to do a lot downloadin on the pc and don't forget you are downloadin the sec you go on a website and i've been using the bbc iplayer and youtube to watch video online and i play games aswell but they like some apps have to update with what can be large files and my bro has a laptop and does the same as me to a point. all 3 are sometime connected at the same time
unlimited to me means unlimited if i had my download limit caped (say 30 gig) i'll be goin over in a couple of weeks
Joined: 13 Aug 2006Posts: 1689Location: Marylebone Central London
theageofreason wrote:
Well I'm surprised Orange didn't jump at your suggestion! BT charge 60p per GB over their 40GB limit (used to be 30p) - which by the way is Option 2 - medium user. Considering Orange's 40GB limit is on the 'unlimited' package I think they're really taking the p***!
AOL, BT, o2 (now Sky), Be, Sky and all of the other large providers have ways to cope with heavy downloaders. BT and AOL 'shape' p2p traffic, others limit peak download speeds for p2p, but not one of the other so called unlimited packages has such a stingy limit and outcomes for going over the limit as Orange. Sky has a 100GB limit for a similar price to Orange and Be's is unstated, but thought to be even higher from users experiences
At the moment Bethere is truly unlimited and they have stated on the members forum it will stay like that for the foreseable future, they do have a FUP but have never used it.
_________________ ex Freeserve/Wanadoo/Orange Blog
Since receiving the same letter my speed has not just been dropping but disconnecting altogether like every 5 mins during their peak times (which seems to be through the night, oddly enough) then it reconnects again a couple of minutes later. It's very annoying. Does this happen to others or just me?
We've got some great news for you. You'll remember that about 3 months ago we wrote to you about reducing the speed at peak times on your broadband line, as your usage meant you hadn't been sticking to our Fair Usage Policy.
Well, we've been monitoring your usage since then, and we can see that you have reduced it significantly. So we're really pleased to tell you that your line will be restored back to its original speed at peak times, within 7 days of you receiving this letter.
We only ask that you remember to please keep your usage to a reasonable level, as this really does affect the service we can provide our other customers.
If your usage creeps back up and again breaches the Fair Usage Policy, then we'll have to reduce your speed once more, without giving you any notice. If that happens, then the speed reduction will be permanent.
Thanks for reducing your activity, and we hope you continue to enjoy Orange broadband.
Customer Support
And in the spirit of "Mock the Week"'s "what the politician's really saying" improv segment:
Quote:
We've got some great news for you.
"Only kidding, that would be giving you an online usage monitor, having a firm and clear FUP or scrapping it altogether!"
Quote:
You'll remember...
"You'd hardly have forgotten..."
Quote:
So we're really pleased to tell you that your line will be restored
"We're gutted to tell you that we're restoring your speed since we'd rather kick you off in exchange for 30 people who only read one email per week."
Quote:
this really does affect the service we can provide our other customers
"Yeah, we know it's at least as much to do with our lousy service and business model."
Quote:
If your usage creeps back up and again breaches the Fair Usage Policy, then we'll have to reduce your speed once more, without giving you any notice. If that happens, then the speed reduction will be permanent.
If we manage to catch you out again, we'll be only too happy to reduce your speed permanently whilst still charging you for a speed you'll never get again! "
So that'll make 11 or 12 weeks with reduced speed on my line.
I'm overjoyed. Ok, so it's good to be getting back to the speed I was at but they could avoid this happening by the simple use of a monitor on the Member Centre (and of course, making the FUP 100% transparent in the first place).
In the meantime, can anyone recommend a free net usage meter that can show internet usage separately from LAN (local network) usage? NetMeter is all very well but if I'm transferring gigabites of info over my home network, it throws my results out so badly that I've no idea how much internet traffic I'm getting. I don't mind if the meter shows LAN traffic or not, just as long as it would be shown separately from WAN traffic. Any help there would be appreciated.
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I honestly think they are just making things up as they are going along. As ive mentioned before in previous posts i had my line capped in october for about a month it was capped 24/7 and since then it has been capped between 6pm and midnite thats near enough four months now. So anyone in a similar situation i would advise you to jump ship because even if you stay below the download limit (i say that and there isn't actually one so in fact they are false advertising telling lies like a lot of other isps) your line will remain capped.
"
Ok, so it's good to be getting back to the speed I was at but they could avoid this happening by the simple use of a monitor on the Member Centre (and of course, making the FUP 100% transparent in the first place).
I don't mind if the meter shows LAN traffic or not, just as long as it would be shown separately from WAN traffic. Any help there would be appreciated. 
