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Giffgaff to ban customers from buying unlimited data bundles. |
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#76 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 10,276
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That's the abolition of net neutrality, the prospect of having different tiers based on charging a premium for some services or denying access to them. That won't go down well with advocates for Internet freedom.
I would rather loose net neutrality to be able to use my smartphone when out and about in the city as for many HD streaming may be putting a strain on the networks making everyday average usage difficult. Quite a dilemma and not one that networks will find an easy solution to, apart from pricing of course! |
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#77 |
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Join Date: Jan 2003
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Hard to offer that when video is embedded in many websites like Facebook etc, however there may be some justification for charging a premium for the use of dedicated streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime video with additional cost for HD. That may be a solution that will be deployed by some carriers in the future to prevent excessive use of video on mobiles. That said, data pricing offers the same opportunity so I expect that to be the favoured strategy to encourage responsible use.
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That's the abolition of net neutrality, the prospect of having different tiers based on charging a premium for some services or denying access to them. That won't go down well with advocates for Internet freedom.
mobile providers it's the other way around. net neutrality is an issue on which i would definitely change provider. |
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#78 |
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Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Glasgow
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net neutrality is an issue on which i would definitely change provider.
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#79 |
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 3,918
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Quote:
That's the abolition of net neutrality, the prospect of having different tiers based on charging a premium for some services or denying access to them. That won't go down well with advocates for Internet freedom.
The ideal situation would be to charge per bit and charge for speed. Abolish all you can eat plans and arbitrary limits like 500mb or 10gb. That way those bandwidth hoggers who stream video would pay a fair price. The Three 321 plan is on the right lines but still to expensive. Data at 1p per 4mb would be about right with a premium for streaming speeds. Abolish contracts as well where the price includes the phone |
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#80 |
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Join Date: Jan 2003
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Some networks already have different policies for peer to peer traffic and streaming video (compression) but I can appreciate they have to try to deliver as much as possible to as many as possible efficiently to make a profit.
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#81 |
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: the wild world web
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So if you are paying only £5 a month for 500mb, who would willingly pay £500 a month for 50GB of movies?
Anyway, the more likely outcome of non neutrality is likely £10 or £15 per month for that small 500MB and a massive increases across the board for other data plans. |
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#82 |
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Join Date: May 2014
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I've been keeping an eye on the giffgaff forum for the last few days and it would seem that this new policy of theirs is now in full swing with warning emails being sent out and some customers already banned from buying any more unlimited bundles.
If the claims are to be believed then people are getting banned from unlimited data for using as little as 35GB a month so just over 1GB a day which leaves me to wonder with the World Cup just started and everyone and their dog streaming matches on their phones,how many punters are giffgaff going to have left by the quarter final stage? |
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#83 |
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: a land filled with trolls
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Well, if you're following England then I guess your data usage over the next 30 days will be less than most.
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#84 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 43,524
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Quote:
I've been keeping an eye on the giffgaff forum for the last few days and it would seem that this new policy of theirs is now in full swing with warning emails being sent out and some customers already banned from buying any more unlimited bundles.
If the claims are to be believed then people are getting banned from unlimited data for using as little as 35GB a month so just over 1GB a day which leaves me to wonder with the World Cup just started and everyone and their dog streaming matches on their phones,how many punters are giffgaff going to have left by the quarter final stage? as for how many customers giffgaff will have left by the quarter finals stage. i expect they'd lose almost non, as most people will be watching the football on tv. but presumably if the tiny percentage of users that are using 35GB do f/o giffgaff and the rest of it's customers will be laughing. |
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#85 |
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 620
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did you really think you'd be able to get 35GB for £12 a month? really?
I'm on Three paying £12.90 for unlimited data and their "unlimited" is 1000GB a month. |
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#86 |
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Join Date: Jul 2002
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did you really think you'd be able to get 35GB for £12 a month? really?
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#87 |
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Join Date: Jan 2003
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What a stupid thing to say. It says unlimited, 35GB isn't a huge amount of a supposedly "unlimited" goodybag. Why wouldn't you think you can get 35GB?
I'm on Three paying £12.90 for unlimited data and their "unlimited" is 1000GB a month. |
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#88 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 10,276
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Bear in mind that 3/4G networks can only really support an average use of around 5GB per month with their present bandwidth. If that is exceeded data delivery becomes difficult for all customers and to ensure everyone gets a fair share traffic management has to be deployed. This happens a lot now in populated areas where significant numbers are using mobile broadband and tethering as fixed line alternatives. When price regulates consumption there is less chance of congestion as customers are more careful about how they use the limited bandwidth the networks have.
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#89 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 43,524
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Bear in mind that 3/4G networks can only really support an average use of around 5GB per month with their present bandwidth. If that is exceeded data delivery becomes difficult for all customers and to ensure everyone gets a fair share traffic management has to be deployed. This happens a lot now in populated areas where significant numbers are using mobile broadband and tethering as fixed line alternatives. When price regulates consumption there is less chance of congestion as customers are more careful about how they use the limited bandwidth the networks have.
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#90 |
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 720
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did you really think you'd be able to get 35GB for £12 a month? really?
With modern smartphone use, and what we can now do on mobile with the speeds available, then 1GB a day really is not that much at all. |
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#91 |
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Join Date: Oct 2002
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giffgaff are in a worse position than others really. because with no highstreet presence etc their user base is going to be more 'technical,' nerds basically. and they are going to have higher data requirements on average than other networks. they can't subsidise the high users so easily.
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#92 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
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If the service is sold as unlimited, then yes.
With modern smartphone use, and what we can now do on mobile with the speeds available, then 1GB a day really is not that much at all. so by any metric you care to use it is actually a lot. |
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#93 |
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 6,342
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Nothing is "a lot" if you are told your usage is unlimited. Nothing bugs me more than than these bait and switch tactics from companies claiming unlimited use. If I buy unlimited I expect just that, how they have been allowed to get away with it for so long is astonishing.
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#94 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
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Nothing is "a lot" if you are told your usage is unlimited. Nothing bugs me more than than these bait and switch tactics from companies claiming unlimited use. If I buy unlimited I expect just that, how they have been allowed to get away with it for so long is astonishing.
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The word ‘Unlimited’
‘if it says unlimited it should be unlimited’ – comes up all the time. And I think it’s over simplistic. Your Mum doesn’t know what a Gigabyte is. Neither do 90% of mobile customers. This is different from minutes and texts. You could tell them their plan included 1 Kilobyte or 1 Petabyte and it wouldn’t mean anything to most people. This is not just some users, it’s the majority. What they want to know is that they can, generally surf, Youtube etc and not run up a bill. That is why they go for an Unlimited plan. The ASA understands this and that is why they repeatedly make the rulings that they do. The people demanding ‘if it says unlimited it should be unlimited’ are generally people who have good knowledge and use a lot of data, 100GB, some people have mentioned 350GB. The realistic cost of this data, if you were say running a tv station and wanted to upload video in the field is around £8/GB, if you’re buying a Petabyte at a time. The only reason you are able to use £800 -£2800 worth of data is because you are sat in the loophole of ‘Unlimited.’ They have to let you so that they can sell an Unlimited tariff to your mum. If we insist that ‘if it says unlimited it should be unlimited’ you don’t get ‘Unlimited’ data, the word ‘Unlimited’ disappears. If you want a limit of 10GB you’ll have to pay an extra £40 a month for it, every month. And if you use nearly all of it come renewal time they’ll not be interested in giving you a good deal. And your mum, who no longer has the comfort of knowing she can’t use the internet indefinitely without fear of running up a bill and has no idea what her 1GB limit actually means uses the internet a lot less. Nobody wins. What is needed is a compromise. An ‘Unlimited - *’ * - if your usage exceeds the 95th percentile of our customer base, currently around 3GB per month your connection speed may be reduced. You will not be charged any extra. The cognoscenti can read it and not buy it if they don’t want to and your mum is happy too. Data is not free. |
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#95 |
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Join Date: Nov 2008
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so by any metric you care to use it is actually a lot.
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#96 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 43,524
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I wouldn't say streaming one film (or based on current events a football match) is a lot, and that can easily use over 1GB in just a couple of hours.
it's like saying you don't think my 12" is large. |
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#97 |
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it's like saying you don't think my 12" is large.
My issue with giff gaff is they don't explain their fair use properly. All other networks have a fairly clear fair use such as Lyca and Virgin. Giff gaff's policy is so vague I could be cut off for something I've done whilst not even realizing it counts as abuse. If giff gaff are going to say unlimited and cut people off for using too.much then that's wrong. But if they actually define a soft cap it hard cap then I'd say its fair as they are being open about the limits. |
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#98 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 6,342
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Because the regulator thinks you are wrong? fundamentally disagrees with your position?
The whole case about your mum not knowing what a mb means is exactly why some people choose unlimited to avoid this confusion, only to be very sadly mistaken. This whole nonsense about cost per/mb etc is a red herring, if you can't offer unlimited don't claim you are. I understood ofcom had the view in their response to CAP and BCAP Quote:
In relation to the use of the term “unlimited” in broadband advertising, we The ASA in their "guidance" sayrecommend the following: • The use of the term unlimited is only permitted where the service in question has no usage caps through a ‘fair usage policy’ or similar. Quote:
“Unlimited” claims are likely to be acceptable for telecommunications services that are Now if you don't know what as mb is as claimed you are even less likely to know what an average usage is. just nonsense and should be stopped.
subject to provider-imposed limitations if: • They do not restrict or limit a service in a manner contrary to the average consumer’s expectations of an “unlimited” service • The legitimate user incurs no additional charge or suspension of service as a consequence of exceeding any usage threshold associated with a fair usage or traffic management policy • Claims that have the same or similar meaning, for instance, “Limitless” or “All you can use”, will be assessed by the ASA on a case-by-case basis. |
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#99 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
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Now if you don't know what as mb is as claimed you are even less likely to know what an average usage is.
I ask again. what would be the advantage and to whom? |
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#100 |
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 14,541
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I sit on the fence on this issue I'm afraid, on one hand "as little as 35GB a month" is an oxymoron, that is an immense amount of data to use on a mobile phone, especially as tethering is not allowed.
On the other side of the argument, don't advertise unlimited then if you're going to ban people for using too much. TELL people what your fair use policy is, don't leave it up to guesswork and interpretation as to what people are allowed. I think Three should stop unlimited data as it is clearly being abused to the detriment of the main customer base who get affected by the tiny 1% who rape the connection for every gigabyte it's worth 24/7 and use simply stupid unsustainable amounts. I think even Three should put in a 50Gig limit or something, although we worked out Three had many times more capacity overhead due to the user to spectrum ratio and the number of masts. |
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