Need some basic advice about broadband allowances.

cattie · 7 October 2004 at 6:17PM

OK, I probably sound a real dumb0 to a lot of people here, but I know nothing about broadband.

If I were to sign up for a capped service, does this mean you are limited to the actual amount of time you could spend on the internet, surfing in general?

I'm not sure if just general surfing contributes to your monthly allowance & as I have a disability & live alone I do often spend the whole day on the net. So my usage there is quite high.

I don't play any web games, but from time to time download some of the free games from RealAcarde to play when I'm offline.

I imagine an uncapped service gives the same freedom
my 24/7 dial up does, only much faster, but have no idea what the limitations of a capped service really are.

It's important for me to be able to access the web whenever I want to. ???

robnye · 7 October 2004 at 7:15PM

generally a 'capped' service, will be the amount of information you can download per month

whilst browsing the internet, every page you go to will download information onto your computer, this all adds up.

If you regularly clear out your initernet explorer temp files, this will mean you will hit your download limit very quickly.

comdw · 7 October 2004 at 8:16PM

Remember that these data limits usually include both upload and download, which can be relevant for some people who like to run servers (Web, FTP, SSH etc).

If you need to work out your current usage (both time connected and data transferred), you'll find the free 30-day trial of dumeter very useful:

http://www.dumeter.com/

gary38uk · 7 October 2004 at 9:42PM

why have a capped service?
there are pleanty of isps to chose from that do not have any caps.
and from £9.99)(ex vat) a month there is no reason not to have it.
http://www.efhbroadband.com/packages.asp

or metronet, a payg service, with very good feedback.
http://www.metronet.co.uk/

comdw · 8 October 2004 at 5:56PM

Both EFH and Metronet have activation fees where alot of the capped services don't and therefore they work out cheaper for 12 months.

Given the choice between the cheapest EFH deal and the latest Demon offer (uncapped 512K @ 19.99 a month with no activation + free USB modem), I think I'd go with Demon as EFH are virtually unknown.

EFH will be ~£20 cheaper for 12 months, but you get a free USB modem with demon which covers this.

For a low-user, I think the wanadoo £17.99 a month for 1meg broadband with a 2GB limit (also free activation) is pretty unbeatable.

cattie · 9 October 2004 at 12:28AM

Thanks for replies. That's at least clarifies that the demon offer is the best one for me on offer at the moment.

I had noticed that so many of the other providers that people have recommended were offering deals that sounded good untill you added on the cost of vat, activation, plus modem & filters. Oh & not forgetting the £1 per min helplines, which could cost a know-nothing like me an absolute fortune.

chateau42 · 9 October 2004 at 12:40AM

Got plusnet, 1Mb, £14.99/month, virus and spam protection, domain hosting etc, not too familiar with all technicalities, to be honest. Limited to 1Gb /month, but if I use more , just charged extra until I reach unlimited tariff, no more then. Seems fair to me, unless I am missing something. Like being on metered water but better. Am not an agent ::) Oh, must add, if you are not happy within a reasonable time, they will move you for free.

Have not moved. :-X

Need some basic advice about broadband allowances.

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