Comments on: Why BT’s not the biggest broadband choker

By: Ron

Ron — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:45:35 +0000

Caps and throttles are different . Think of a cap as the bucket to collect the water. Think of a throttle as the size of tap to allow the water to flow into the bucket. You can still have a cap and a throttle. or one of each. Cap of say 50gb is monthly, whereas max video streaming bandwidth may still be set at 258kb/s AT ALL TIMES.
Download overnite if you have to .. not ideal .. except for the ISP’s.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:02:38 +0000

I’m with plusnet and they do limit your download speeds. They choke newsgroups down to 10k/s and download speeds are limited but not quite that bad (yet!). Unless the situation improves, I shall be moving my broadband account elsewhere.

I find it hard to believe that there’s no legal requirement to mention exactly what “traffic management measures” are used in the terms and conditions. All they legally have to say is that broadband speeds maybe limited at peak times.

Plusnets should read “Broadband speeds WILL be limited after 6:00pm and you can forget about the 8mb connection!”

By: Andy Cox

Andy Cox — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:41:03 +0000

@ Barry

I understand that the BBC has dumped their P2P model and shows are now downloaded directly from their own servers. Therefore the 128Kbits/sec restriction you quote does not apply. Before signing up to PLusNet’s Unlimited service last month I checked the small print which claims that Video Streaming and VOIP services are not subject to caps. So far I don’t seem to be having problems with streaming.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:55:07 +0000

I’m in the business of network optimization, including bandwidth shaping, so I see that there certainly are times when its required to maintain the quality of service. Ultimately, if it’s clearly stated in a contract, there shouldn’t be any problem. However, this isn’t always the case.

I also don’t necessarily like the practice of automatically slowing traffic at certain times, regardless of whether or not the network really is congested. Most of our users only activate shaping when the network reaches a certain level of congestion (say, for example, at 90 percent or so heavy users will be slowed until overall use drops back down), but if that level isn’t reached, no one is affected.

The main thing is for ISPs to be upfront with their customers, but they also shouldn’t enact shaping policies just to further maximize their profit. If the bandwidth is there, customers should have access to it.

By: Robert Stephen Perkins

Robert Stephen Perkins — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:02:53 +0000

Unfortunately at the time I was not able to stop my girlfriend signing up with PlusNet. The speeds we got were so bad that a BT engineer had to come out. They changed the incoming box and the connection improved but the speeds were still rubbish. We were told that it is because we are a distance from the exchange. I now read that PlusNet throttle and it explains a lot.

We just gave up on iplayer even downloading the BBC News website takes time and forget watching a quick YouTube clip! I had to download the latest Vista SP 2 to at work (with my bosses permission) because otherwise we would have had to leave the laptop at home on all night and then some at 340 odd mb. With this information I am going to see if we can leave early on the grounds that no where was this advertised and we are paying for a service we are not getting.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:39:34 +0000

@ Avanti Computers Northwood
your sound the the alter ego of BT THEY been causing people broadband problems and telling them where to go for years as well

By: Avanti Computers Northwood

Avanti Computers Northwood — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:45:53 +0000

I have been solving peoples broadband problems for years now, and advising them where to go.
There’s a very simple rule, if you stick to it, you won’t be disappointed, ignore it, and be it on signup, or when you encounter your first problem, you will regret it.

In such a cmopetitive market…YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

Pay less, be it on ’stand alone’ broadband, or ‘combination’ packages that spend less on the Bband component, and you encounter problems/’features’ like throttling.

Just take INDEPENDANT advice from people like PC Pro.

By: Alan

Alan — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:15:32 +0000

Plusnet when I joined them 5 years ago were a young and prospering company who provided their customers with as much as they could not living their lives by their profit margins, then BT took them over a couple years back……….enough said I think.