mobile broadband

UK Group Criticizes ISPs Claims of Unlimited Broadband

A recent study conducted by uSwitch, the online site offering price comparisons on different services and products, finds a disparity between what customers think about their monthly usage allowance and what their ISP shows.

Since more and more people are now spending around 2 hours on the Internet to watch TV shows and films, play games, etc, it is very easy to reach the limit of one's allotment.

A survey shows that 8 million consumers don't know what their monthly allotment is; this is almost half of the customers. This puts them to a risk that of having their service limited, suspended or terminated by their ISP.

The general policy states that the company is entitled to limit the customer's broadband service for excessive usage. When you reach the limit, you will notice a reduction in speed but you can go using the service until you are cut off. This will bring about extra costs that you have not been previously warned about. Some mobile broadband providers do it differently, when the limit is reached, you will not be billed more for extra usage but the service may be slowed down.

According to uSwitch, 2 million customers have been warned for approaching their download limit, and 2% of them have already been penalized for that. The term Unlimited Broadband should not be used unless it really means unlimited service (as it is with Sky).