Broadband providers come under fire for (un)Fair Usage Policies

With more than 40% of the UK now signed up to broadband, high speed services with unlimited downloads are becoming increasingly popular.

However, customers keen to use their ‘unlimited’ broadband to download lots of video and music content have been left stunned as suppliers cut down on their bandwidth (speed of broadband) or cut them off completely. Because of small print regarding ‘Fair Usage Policies’, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are able to restrict bandwidth, especially during peak times, if customers are deemed to have used their ‘unlimited’ broadband excessively.

Broadband suppliers claim that Fair Usage Policies are only likely to affect those using ‘file sharing’ or ‘peer-to-peer’ software. However, many users sign up to fast, ‘unlimited’ broadband specifically to download large files, often via this type of facility.

Karen Darby from SimplySwitch.com, the price comparison and switching service, comments: "Broadband suppliers should not be allowed to call their package ‘unlimited’, if, in fact, they are able to restrict usage. Even if relatively few broadband customers come up against this ‘usage threshold’, it’s amazing to think that suppliers have been mis-representing their product in this way. What makes this even more confusing is that broadband suppliers have failed to specify what ‘unfair usage’ actually means.

“Downloadable content is becoming readily availble from mainstream broadcasters such as Channel 4 and BBC. Following the launch of services such as 4oD (Channel 4 on Demand), more and more people will be downloading entire films and television programmes to their PCs. Most would expect their unlimited broadband package to cover them adequately. This, however, is not necessarily the case.”

“As demand for high quality downloads increases, ISP’s will find it harder and harder to cope. We may soon find ourselves in a situation where demand outstrips broadband providers’ ability to deliver a reliable high-speed connection. Unless something is done, the ‘information super-highway’ could soon transform itself into something more closely resembling the M25.”