What does "10GB monthly usage" mean?

[Kaleidoscope27]

I'm looking up internet options for my Nana who's getting online for the first time. She's got a BT phoneline so I suggested she stick with BT for ease of everything (please no comments on how good / bad BT broadband is. I'm looking for the easiest option for her right now.)

Anyway, the package she is likely to have states there is a "10GB monthly usage" on the Internet. I assume this is downloads right? Is this a lot? We've got Virgin and their's is unlimited so I've never thought about it. Or can someone point me in the direction of a website which can check my usage? (If mine's 10GB or less, her's definitely will be!)

Thanks

[Kaleidoscope27]

Edit: realised this comment now sounds like I'm talking to myself. There was a comment from another poster but they must've deleted it

Why would be it be easier for me? My initial thought was that because she's already got a phone contract with BT, she could add Internet to it for the time being. I also thought it might save her money if she got a phone / Internet contract with the same company. She doesn't want to pay to terminate her BT phone contract so this made sense at the time I spoke to her.

Anyway, I did request that comments weren't about whether BT is a bad provide or not, I wanted to understand clearly what "XGB usage per month" meant and whether 10GB was a lot or not.

Thanks for your concern (and for the website link, that was useful) but she hasn't made a final decision on whether to stick with BT for her Internet or not yet. I'll shop around with her. For the time being, I want to make sure I understand everything I need to in order to help her.

[Fire Fox]

You do not need a BT line, you need a landline full stop. I am with PlusNet for both phone and broadband - £17 a month for 10GB, evening and weekend calls. There is usually cashback available too. 10GB is absolutely tons, I am online all day and I usually only use around 3GB: if you are watching iPlayer, online gaming, downloading lots of podcasts you may hit the 10GB. I almost did this month as I got an iPhone, but as PlusNet also have unlimited overnight data you can always set iPlayer to download at night.

[Donnie]

Stay away from BT's overpriced and underpowered options if you can help it.

You don't have to terminate the BT phone. In fact you need the BT line.

Stick with BT for the telephone line, but don't even think about their Internet product when there is so much better available for so much less.

Pop her postcode in to the Broadband Availability Checker. If O2/BE LLU is available go for O2 or BE Broadband Value in conjunction with Quidco.

Even Be Value at £7.50 has a 40 GB limit and no extra charges. But O2 might be the better product for her as they have some fairly useful product convergence.

Quidco BeThere

Quidco O2

[shaven-monkey]

10 gig is approximately 2 and a half DVDs worth of data.
It's likely more than enough for your Nana unless she gets into downloading lots of iPlayer stuff or pirate games / videos.

[Donnie]

Originally Posted by Fire Fox

You do not need a BT line, you need a landline full stop. I am with PlusNet for both phone and broadband - £17 a month for 10GB, evening and weekend calls. There is usually cashback available too. 10GB is absolutely tons, I am online all day and I usually only use around 3GB: if you are watching iPlayer, online gaming, downloading lots of podcasts you may hit the 10GB. I almost did this month as I got an iPhone, but as PlusNet also have unlimited overnight data you can always set iPlayer to download at night.

Yes, but she wants to keep the BT line and anyway it's a good course of action to stick with BT for telephone services.

Yeah I can see her Gran setting the PC to download iPlayer overnight. Either way BT Internet is overpriced and if you do perchance go over 10GB in one month....
Don't dream that you would get better service with BT than you would with BE or O2.

Don't do it, she'll be lumbered with an overpriced service for at least eighteen months.

[Kaleidoscope27]

Originally Posted by shaven-monkey

10 gig is approximately 2 and a half DVDs worth of data.
It's likely more than enough for your Nana unless she gets into downloading lots of iPlayer stuff or pirate games / videos.

Which I can't see happening so that should be cool. Thanks.

Donnie, thanks for that link. It seems O2 it the cheapest broadband option and I really wasn't happy when I saw that BT contracts were for 18months. I spoke to her yesterday (Sunday) about it and I'm seeing her later this week so I'm just scouting for information really at the moment then we'll sit down and go through it all and see what she wants.

Please don't let the thread escalate into "which BB provide is better"! I'm sure there's plenty of threads about that already. I was only asking about download limits

[shaven-monkey]

The BE option is only available to upgraded exchanges, so when you place an order you'll find out if she's covered or not.
If not covered by BE and she has sky TV, they do a package deal (which I can't actually recommend or warn against having never used it)

[ManAtHome]

You could download Netmeter (first google hit http://download.cnet.com/Net-Meter/3...-10435551.html )and check your usage for a day or two, but like Fire Fox my normal usage is in the 2-3GB range (working from home and surfing). Stuff like watching telly will rack it up, but you could always sneak in and disable Flash...

I have O2 - good deal at a fiver a month as I also have contract mobile BB with them. You can get it for £7.50 a month if "Gran" (aka anyone in the family) has an O2 PAYG phone (you need to top-up the phone up a tenner a quarter, so can "spread the karma" if you do this anyway).

[deklan99]

To answer your question, usage relates to both uploads and downloads.
This is as good as any for estimates - http://www.broadband.org/usage_calculator.html , uploads will be far less.

[Fire Fox]

Originally Posted by Donnie

Yeah I can see her Gran setting the PC to download iPlayer overnight. Either way BT Internet is overpriced and if you do perchance go over 10GB in one month....

She might as grannies tend to go to be early and awake at the crack of dawn, PlusNet's overnight doesn't finish until 8am. I don't know what BT charges, but PlusNet is £2 for an extra 2GB.

Am I losing the plot? My early post saying you don't need a BT line was directed at (I think your) post which said you need a landline. However that post is now below mine ... ????

[jb66]

Just go with o2/be for peace of mind, no worries about limits.

[Donnie]

Originally Posted by Kaleidoscope27

Please don't let the thread escalate into "which BB provide is better"! I'm sure there's plenty of threads about that already. I was only asking about download limits

It was you who wrote

She's got a BT phoneline so I suggested she stick with BT for ease of everything. I also thought it might save her money if she got a phone / Internet contract with the same company.

It would be remiss of me not to correct your horribly misplaced assumption.

If you were doing the right thing by your "Nana" and looking for the "easiest and cheapest option" you wouldn't be continuing to look for information about the 10GB limit.

So that is why I have ignored all questions about it.

Look for something better. Don't get stuck on a single erroneous idea.

Her surfing patterns can change substantially over eighteen months and if she does get into things like BBC iPlayer you will have possibly lumbered her with BT overlimit charges.

So, don't be obtuse. Forget about BT Internet's 10GB limit and move on.

[Donnie]

Originally Posted by Fire Fox

She might as grannies tend to go to be early and awake at the crack of dawn, PlusNet's overnight doesn't finish until 8am. I don't know what BT charges, but PlusNet is £2 for an extra 2GB.

Am I losing the plot? My early post saying you don't need a BT line was directed at (I think your) post which said you need a landline. However that post is now below mine ... ????

Not having a BT line can complicate things further. Some numbers will have unexpected charges, short dial numbers won't work and if you want to change Internet provider, you'll be stuck.

[mark987]

unless if she gets into torrent downloading or stuff like that it will be fine..but even when you watch youtube or other online videos it still counts as downloads if you are not aware of that..

hope this helped..

[Donnie]

My girlfriend, who "didn't want broadband", started off with a 5GB limit, went from there to 20GB and then began to exceed that. Moved her to 50GB and then to 'Unlimited'.

Just because someone is a Grandmother doesn't mean she is old and 'doddery'. You get her 10GB and you may be limiting her experiences..