Limited broadband available*: *subject to unfair usage policy

uSwitch.com lifts the lid on the broadband companies claiming to offer an ‘unlimited’ service and launches a broadband barometer for consumers to understand their download limits.

According to a new survey by uSwitch.com, over a quarter of a million people switch broadband every month, but, due to the vast array of new deals, it’s easy to choose the wrong package. Broadband prices vary by up to £360 a year, so it is crucial to pick the right provider. The arrival of new ‘on-demand’ TV services and web content will place over 9 million broadband users at risk of having their service limited, suspended or even terminated by their provider, because they wrongly believe that their broadband connection has no download limit. To help prevent people finding themselves in this situation, uSwitch.com has launched a broadband ‘Usage Barometer’ that analyses individual usage to help people find the right broadband package for their needs.

According to Ofcom, 71% of broadband customers believe that they have an unlimited broadband connection. Yet a new study by uSwitch.com of the leading broadband companies shows the alarming reality: despite all claiming to offer their customers an ‘unlimited’ broadband service, each one would be prepared to restrict, suspend or terminate the service of customers who used their service ‘to excess’. Worse still, some companies said that they would be prepared to do so without prior notice to their customers.

Steve Weller, Head of Communications Services at independent price comparison and switching service uSwitch.com, comments: “Quite simply, broadband companies should not be allowed to advertise an unlimited broadband service when, in reality, a limit exists. Even if the limit is high, as is the case with the majority of the services we have studied, the fact remains that it still exists and we are alarmed that 9 million broadband users seem unaware of this. It appears that we are being, in the best case, dazzled, or in the worst case, misled by the glamorous, expensive advertising campaigns that we are currently seeing on our TV’s. It could be argued that consumers are being led down the garden path and are being let down by the terms and conditions that lie hidden beneath the glitz.”

These terms and conditions refer to the ‘Fair Usage Policy’ held by broadband companies, enabling them to describe their service as ‘unlimited’. While the policy differs from provider to provider, it generally states that the company has the right to limit a customer’s broadband service when usage is ‘excessive’. However, few companies actually define the term ‘excessive’, making it virtually impossible for a customer to know the exact point they will go over the limit. With the rise of new TV on-demand services and websites, many customers could be downloading content in blissful ignorance that they are nearing the limit that is acceptable to their broadband provider.

Weller continues: “We are now entering a new era for broadband in which customers are increasingly using their service to watch TV. The plethora of TV ‘on-demand’ services now available, such as 4oD, BBC and shortly ITV’s free broadband TV service, make downloading TV via broadband – or IPTV – a very attractive and cost-effective form of entertainment. But downloading TV involves much larger files which will significantly push up broadband usage: a 45 minute TV programme such as Lost, for example, would use up around 350Mb while a two hour movie would use up to 900Mb. This soon adds up over a month and we expect customer downloads levels to rocket this year.”

Can this really beclassed as ‘unlimited’ broadband?

AOL– ‘excessive online behaviour mayresult in termination of customer accounts withoutnotice’

Be –‘customers generating excessive webtraffic may have their service terminated’

BT –‘very heavy users may have theirbandwidth ‘restricted’ during peak time’

Orange–‘customers exceeding fair usage policymay have their service terminated’

Pipex –‘if unacceptable usage patterns persist, the customer’s account may terminated’

Sky –‘extremely heavy users may have theiraccounts may terminated’

Tiscali –‘extremely heavy users will havetheir bandwidth ‘managed’ during peak hours’

Toucan –‘unlimited downloads’…but restrictedto 1Gb during peak hours

Virgin Media –‘usage not at a reasonable level maylead to disconnection of service’

According to the uSwitch.com findings, AOL suggests that downloading 60 movies per month could be ‘excessive’, while BT suggests 40-60 Gb of downloads could place customers in this danger zone. Alarmingly Toucan, despite advertising ‘unlimited downloads’, revealed that downloads are limited to just 1Gb per customer during peak hours, making the ‘unlimited’ part of the deal only valid between 11pm – 6pm, when many customers are likely to be asleep or at work.

Weller continues:“If these policies are to be classed as ‘fair’, broadband companies need to clearly define these limits and explain to customers what will happen when they are exceeded. In the last year, we’ve seen the ASA ban the Carphone Warehouse from advertising ‘Free Broadband Forever’ and more recently rap the knuckles of Be for suggesting that all customers can experience speeds of 24Mbs. However, this is an industry-wide issue and we have highlighted our concerns to both the ASA and Ofcom.”

uSwitch.com is calling for:

Standardisation of broadband Fair Usage Policies, quantifying ‘excessive’ usage and defining the policy for restricting or terminating the service of customers that go over this limit

The term ‘Unlimited’ to be banned in broadband advertising, unless it genuinely has no limits or restrictions

Compulsory warnings before service is disconnected, such as alerts on customers’ bills

Weller continues: “The good news is that, at the moment, this is only of critical concern to the minority of broadband users. Our research shows that the average broadbander spends 15 hours a week online, mostly surfing the web and emailing. Neither of these activities require a particularly high download limit, so in most cases a capped broadband service, that places a clear limit on broadband usage, is perfectly adequate and as well as being cheaper than the ‘unlimited’ services. However, customers selecting a low broadband cap still need to be ultra-aware of how they use their broadband. If they go over their limit they too risk additional charges, expensive or uncompetitive upgrades or once again, disconnection.”

uSwitch.com has launched a ‘Usage Barometer’ on its website to help broadband users understand the level of download limit or ‘cap’ that they require. They can identify how they spend their time online via a series of sliding bars. They will then be told whether they are a ‘light’, ‘mid’ or ‘heavy’ user and will be advised of the download level they will require for their broadband service. Users can then click through to see a list of the best deals tailored to their usage level.

Weller concludes: “Our advice to consumers is to enjoy what’s out there but make sure that their broadband is set up to cope with the demands they are placing on it at present and also in the future.”