Internet trading standards
The Internet Connection Providers have a reputation of non-compliance with trading standards, and not meeting their stated terms and conditions. Typical tricks are to reduce the actual data rate if it is seen to be used, so that "unlimited" contracts are effectively limited by the increased time required, blocking connections deemed to be less important at certain times of the day, or supplying "HDTV" at half the frame rate.My ISP arranges bulk commercial contracts for customers, and for the last few years my connection has been through an "unlimited" o2 LLU. My modem has indicated a maximum attainable rate of around 15Mbps total (up + down) so my contract specifies 12Mbps. My downloads are mainly scheduled overnight, and have consistently matched the indicated speeds. Sky recently purchased o2 with the stated intention of maintaining existing contracts, but my actual connection rate has been switched down to 11Mbps, while my modem still reports the normal maximum attainable rate.
Chris Bell ● 4642d2 Comments