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My ISP warns me not to use too much bandwidth?!?

A

AMDed

Junior Member
Last Friday, I got a message from my DSL ISP, and their supervisor seriously warned me not to use too much bandwidth -- he said that, if I continue to use internet this way within several days, my connection will be reduced from 640k to 128k.

I really have no clue: there is no rule about what the upper limit of data I can download is at all. I argued with him and he seemed very persistent: I CANNOT do the streaming with high speed at 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

BTW, I normally downloaded lots of mp3 and movie files from all over the world, roughly 3G per day. I believe that this is the purpose of the broadband. And I paid all my bills.

Anybody had similar experience? Anybody can teach me how to file a complain?
 
That really sucks. Do you live in the US?? This sort of practice is very common down here in Australia. In fact I'd say that all broadband providers will warn / charge you if you go over their "stated" or "hidden" limit.
 
Actually this sort of thing is very common... but I mostly hear it from users using cable modems instead of DSL... with cable modem, the heavy users are using up too much bandwidth, thus slowing down other users on the same node... But unless u are really affecting other ppl, most ISP wont give out warnings and wont care...

Maybe u should read your service plan more carefully to see if they have restrictions for maximum download/upload... I know all broadband providers here (Vancouver BC) have restrictions clearly stated...
 
If the service agreement mentions nothing about bandwidth allowances, and it specifically notes a speed that you will be provided then they cannot do what they have threatened to do.

If however, the contract says 2GB per month, or something to that extent, they have every right to institute bandwidth throttling. However, they cannot limit your potential speed if in fact the contract specifies a particular number (ie 640/256).

It sounds to me like you are legally in the right, otherwise they wouldn't have called you. If it were a professional establishment that had bandwidth concerns they would most likely have BW allowances in your service agreement.

If I were you I probably wouldn't fight it... I'd just find another ISP. A company that operates with those sort of practices typically will not last very long in this market.
 
Well, even if there is no specific volume limitation there generally is a statement like this -

"We have the right to discontinue your service or impose limitations"

Basically a catch all that give the provider grounds for any action they may take.
 
I would look at the Terms of Service that you agreed to. The ISP's I've worked for would never do something like that. If they're over subsribing their network, that's their fault. If you're paying for a 640k pvc than that's what you should be getting. Be ready to switch though, as it doesn't sound like customer service is their area of expertise.
 
Thanks for the replies. I didn't sign anything and actually there is no such an agreement on their web; they did not send me any letter to me. The only limitation as I know is the connection speed: download 640k/upload 256k.

It is a small local ISP and its name is goldengate whose web site is www.goldengate.net. Anybody has some idea which department/agency of the state or federal government, where I can file my complain, regulates this internet services?
 
Hey there AMDed.

That really sucks that they're throttling you down when you aren't even downloading all that much. You may want to try and switch to a larger ISP. My DSL provider is Bellsouth (my telco), and I download (according to ZA) ~5GB/day. I have never been warned or asked to lower my usage. My DSL line is 256K/1.5MB btw.

 
Wow, I feel bad for you AMDed. I mean, if you're paying for it, you might as well be able to download to your heart's content. Your ISP should've structured their backbone better in order to accomodate the bandwith of the users. IMHO, I think you should download away, regardless of whether they're going to limit your bandwith. If they wanted to keep you at a certain speed, they should've stated that when you signed up with them.

P.S. But on the other hand, I don't want your bandwith to be limited, so I guess I would suggest that you cool down a little bit. 640K isn't really all that much bandwith, but it's a heck of a lot better than 128K. Good luck on resolving your problem.
 


<< I didn't sign anything and actually there is no such an agreement on their web; they did not send me any letter to me >>


I would recommend printing out a copy of the current terms of service and reading them carefully. If there is no indication of this throttling, mail yourself 3 copies in 3 seperate envelopes. Make sure the envelopes are sealed in such a way that they can not be opened without it being obvious that they were opened. Then, if you ever have to go to court, take the envelopes with you and offer them as evidence of the terms of service at a specified date. My father had a friend who did something similar for I can't recall what. But in court, the post office date stamp was considered legally valid proof of the date of the enclosed documents, since they were in a tamper evident envelope. Hopefully it will never get to anything like this, but better to have the info ready and not need it than not have it when you need it.

RagManX
 
It appears they are reselling qwest's dsl. Just contact qwest and switch your isp portion over since you already have their megabits plan, ie you are teminating to thier dslam. You won't need to change your dsl router or anything.

So make the switch and save some hassle.
 
best try to get along with your isp, particularly if you didn't sign anything - i'm thinking they can just cut you off if you don't have a signed agreement.
 
my school has limited bandwith on most of the p2p services like winmx and morpheus. is there a way that i can get around? if so pm me thanks.
 
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