UK ISP BTOpenworld is to introduce a fair usage policy from 1st May 2003 after a small group of (40) customers failed to heed the first two warnings about bandwidth hogging:

In an email to customers BT Openworld explained that punters will still be able to use as much bandwidth as they need.

"However, if the bandwidth becomes crowded, customers who have used large amounts [of bandwidth] in the past will temporarily be subject to lower speeds. This is, in essence, levelling the playing field so that we can offer everyone a reliable quality of service," it said.

Anyone exceeding BT Openworld's quotas (up to two gigabytes a week uploading and downloading) for a month will be contacted by the ISP to "discuss ways to change their usage patterns".

BTO is also planning to introduce a generic usage cap for all heavy users during peak hours, although exact details were not given. The move was not unexpected, yet they should have made the limits clear BEFORE warnings were ever issued.

Sadly broadband satellite ISPs are not services designed for heavy usage, they're hugely expensive to maintain and not a patch on the likes of ADSL etc. More @ The Register.