anyone had issues with o2's fair usage policy?

taffy415

I'm wondering how much of an issue it is because they've had rave reviews about their broadband but on some forums I have read that they contact customers to tell them they are downloading too much (worrying as I hate feeling I'm being monitored by my own isp not had that yet!) without specifying what too much is in their eyes. Supposedly it is meant to be unlimited broadband but from what i have seen apparently its not so unlimited.

Nostromo

O2 LLU is fine and unlimited up till now.
It's the 02 Access product that is rubbish and has FUP.

taffy415

what is LLU? I've been on that samknows website and it states i'm ok for 02 in my area is it a package they do or is it the local network infrastructure?

mk-donald

All the o2 products have the SAME Fair Use Policy, but as Nostromo has indicated:

1) the LLU packages ie the 3 that show up as Standard/Premium/Pro = historically no problems with capacity/speed/throughput/usage (as a general rule, there are always temporary exceptions) - ie any one users usage doesn't affect other users adversely in any ongoing/meaningful way. The "LLU" means that Telefonica UK (Be & o2 brands) have their own kit at the exchange, connected to their own national/international data network.

2) the resold BTw ADSLmax based "Access" = overly popular and sometimes overly used, and since last autumn with Traffic Management (50kbps from memory) and in the last 2 months plenty of reports of overly "heavy" users (ie ones whose usage is impacting other users adversely) even being telephoned to ask them to lay off or else requiring them to cease and leave (albeit without any penalty, ie not having to fulfil their minimum 12m contract commitment).
eg see this recent thread over on the o2 ThinkBroadband forum
http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/o2/3828665-usage-call.html#Post3828665

Unfortunately a lot of "reports about o2 Home Broadband" by angry "I was promised unlimited and it isn't" users do NOT make clear that they are/were subscribers to the o2 Access package who HAVE been let down by the clear over-promise/under-deliver performance of their subscription.

That said NO domestic ISP can promise TRULY unlimited usage, and I doubt if (m)any commercial/business ISPs offer it either (for more than a few months until they go bust anyway, as backhaul, ie data moving capacity COSTS). That said to date the o2 (and their sister Be branded) LLU based home broadband subs have been remarkably pain free for users, and remarkably cheap too.

With today's increased £backs you can get o2 Premium for a contract commitment first YEAR for a net cost of only £20-£50 - that's for the YEAR, not month - see my other postings for links/calculations!

MKD
a 2.5yr o2 Std subscriber.

macman

taffy415 wrote: »

what is LLU? I've been on that samknows website and it states i'm ok for 02 in my area is it a package they do or is it the local network infrastructure?

Local Loop Unbundled. On samknows it list all the LLU providers under the column 'LLU Operator Presence'. If 02 is shown there for your exchange then you can get the LLU service, which is unlimited subject to FUP (as is every unlimited service offered by any ISP).

RaiderHammer

mk-donald wrote: »

All the o2 products have the SAME Fair Use Policy, but as Nostromo has indicated:

1) the LLU packages ie the 3 that show up as Standard/Premium/Pro = historically no problems with capacity/speed/throughput/usage (as a general rule, there are always temporary exceptions) - ie any one users usage doesn't affect other users adversely in any ongoing/meaningful way. The "LLU" means that Telefonica UK (Be & o2 brands) have their own kit at the exchange, connected to their own national/international data network.

2) the resold BTw ADSLmax based "Access" = overly popular and sometimes overly used, and since last autumn with Traffic Management (50kbps from memory) and in the last 2 months plenty of reports of overly "heavy" users (ie ones whose usage is impacting other users adversely) even being telephoned to ask them to lay off or else requiring them to cease and leave (albeit without any penalty, ie not having to fulfil their minimum 12m contract commitment).
eg see this recent thread over on the o2 ThinkBroadband forum
http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/o2/3828665-usage-call.html#Post3828665

Unfortunately a lot of "reports about o2 Home Broadband" by angry "I was promised unlimited and it isn't" users do NOT make clear that they are/were subscribers to the o2 Access package who HAVE been let down by the clear over-promise/under-deliver performance of their subscription.

That said NO domestic ISP can promise TRULY unlimited usage, and I doubt if (m)any commercial/business ISPs offer it either (for more than a few months until they go bust anyway, as backhaul, ie data moving capacity COSTS). That said to date the o2 (and their sister Be branded) LLU based home broadband subs have been remarkably pain free for users, and remarkably cheap too.

With today's increased £backs you can get o2 Premium for a contract commitment first YEAR for a net cost of only £20-£50 - that's for the YEAR, not month - see my other postings for links/calculations!

MKD
a 2.5yr o2 Std subscriber.

Anyone know where I can find a cash back deal for O2 broadband please?

kwikbreaks

RaiderHammer wrote: »

Anyone know where I can find a cash back deal for O2 broadband please?

http://www.topcashback.co.uk/o2_broadband/

http://www.quidco.com/o2-home-broadband/

£50 - £90 depending on package

Mark8147

I cant for the life of me find anywhere that even says vaguely how much I can download with the Home premium package before triggering the fair usage policy. As I work from home and during busy periods at work my usage can hit around 100GB a month and the last thing I want is to have my account throttled or even terminated.
I read that this can depend on whether my local exchange is LLU enabled for O2, which it is, and if so I should have no problems but would like some confirmation before signing up and possibly risking not being able to do my job because of some vague fair usage policy.

mk-donald

Mark8147 wrote: »

I cant for the life of me find anywhere that even says vaguely how much I can download with the Home premium package before triggering the fair usage policy. As I work from home and during busy periods at work my usage can hit around 100GB a month and the last thing I want is to have my account throttled or even terminated.
I read that this can depend on whether my local exchange is LLU enabled for O2, which it is, and if so I should have no problems but would like some confirmation before signing up and possibly risking not being able to do my job because of some vague fair usage policy.

Their FUP simply says you cant affect other uses without getting a warning and then kicked off if you dont abate your usage.

To date out of the half-million or so subscribers, most of whom must be on LLU, I don't recall a single one that has popped up on ThinkBroadband o2 forum to say they have been given any warning.

eg One guy the other day even reported he had been getting through about 900GB as he had inadvertently set up a backup loop that was up & down loading his own data and hadn't heard anything from o2; and another of the forum cogniscenti commented they knew users getting though terrabytes a month without trouble - not that us users really want people like that around

Certainly to date the o2 LLU packages (Std/Prem/Pro) would require you be some sort of usage total looney to get their warning. However if you are planning to use the service for business purposes you do need to read the T&Cs to be sure your usage fits their T&Cs - eg a SoHo type business.

(For those looking for links - eg not just the cashback sites but how they calculations pan out see the net costs spreadsheet folder in my o2 analyses at
http://cid-99aa6cf1226facfe.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/o2%20Broadband%20-v-%20Be%20There%20Broadband
)

BTW: The situation for o2 ACCESS subscriber (non-LLU) is different as there high usage DOES impact the other o2 Access subscribers a LOT; and latterly o2 HAVE been warning people getting through perhaps 40GB/month (though some say 20GB, some 10GB).

MKD
a 2.5yr o2 Std subscriber.

RaiderHammer

kwikbreaks wrote: »

http://www.topcashback.co.uk/o2_broadband/

http://www.quidco.com/o2-home-broadband/

£50 - £90 depending on package

Thanks, but no current vouchuers on these sites at the moment. Already checked them out.

macman

RaiderHammer wrote: »

Thanks, but no current vouchuers on these sites at the moment. Already checked them out.

What do you mean by vouchers? You asked about cashbacks and both sites currently offer 02 cashbacks.