ADSL usage: Are we being ripped off?

[Marq]

Today I downloaded a few things - a few pics and one or two (ok four) you tube videos.

This afternoon I get an sms that says your usage is below your set level - time to top up and get get some more juice. So I go and have a look at what the account says. It says I used over 500 megs today. So I review what the norm is and what I downloaded and come up with an answer of about 150 megs.

Now I am wondering how this all works - everytime I download a 10meg file, I get hit with a 50-meg bill. The usage seems to set on an exponential rate.

Who else gets this warm feeling that we being ripped off out there?

[Dave A]

What speed ADSL do you have? It's not easy to suck 500 meg in a day!

I had something similar years ago and I'd had very normal usage. Somehow someone else was tapping into my account. Changing my password on the user account solved the problem.

A 10 meg file will take more bandwidth to download than just the 10 meg, but not that much more!

[kernel32]

On some ISP's (the SAIX ones I think) you can actually see the ADSL port number that used the connection. If you see more than one, your account is being used by someone else. Like Dave said, change your password just to be safe. I would also change the password on the router because someone might have access to that. You should also contact your ISP to notify them of the problem, they could possibly assist you in finding out whats going on.

[Marq]

I run at 512 and only have a problem when I download a larger than average amount of data.

There is no one else hooked in and the passwords are changed on a regular basis. I run a wireless network in the house so its monitored all the time and we are aware of who is on the system. All our software update settings are switched off. That was a previous problem - windows updating and running in the background sucking you dry.

I was wondering if the isp is able to manipulate the usage as it goes higher - like I said it seems to increase on an exponential rate.

[IanF]

Marq
If you are with telkom, I am, then in the beginning of the month they screw up their stats and then seem to come right in about a week. But they let you go over your quota and then cut you back to local only for a the last few days.

[kernel32]

... cut you back to local only for a the last few days.

The past 2 months I've had my account capped (to local only), then re enabled the last two days of the month. Anyone else experiencing this?

[Dave A]

On the few occasions I've checked, I've had problems with our Telkom ISP usage stats report. Normally it shows no usage, then I check again an hour later and it then has data which is roughly in line with my expectations. It has never affected our usage, either locally or international, as far as I can tell.

Marq, it's hard to see you pull 500 meg in a day with 512 ADSL. Something's cooking.

[Marq]

I'm with WebAfrica on their prepaid package which allows me to buy 1 or more gigs at a time. They let me know when I am low and I refuel. You can set your own limits on usage and control it, so any big usage going out if you say set the number low can be stopped.

One can roll the unused portion into the next month so I do not have a cap as such or a monthly usage. This system seems far more flexible than the fixed monthly option and there is more control. Price is not that much more. I have not experienced any local/international problems. The stats seem to stay constant once posted on the control panel.

I just wondered if they were able to tweak the usage now and again to force an extra gig purchase during the month. Who would know?

[Ryan S]

Were being ripped off anyway. Most countries don't have a cap limit, their connection speed is 10 - 50 times faster then ours and on average it costs 1/10th of the price. In china (I think its china) for an uncapped adsl line that has a transfer rate on 100mbs (100 times the average adsl line in SA) it costs the equivalent of R35 p/m. At that speed they would burn through a 3gig cap in comething like 4 minutes!! looking forward to that!

[Dave A]

One of the new twists emerging in developed markets is the idea that popular content providors such as the BBC should be paying a surcharge towards the high bandwidth consumption they are "encouraging" with big file content such as streaming video and the like.

The argument from content providors is that they are providing "salt" and it is the ISP that is selling the "water" - and making the money from that.

The ISPs on the other hand are saying they are not getting enough money in to cover the infrastructure development needs to keep pace.