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Usage

Hi there everyone, I'm new on here. Just got a quick question. We have a 40gb monthly usage with out broadband provider. My son plays on his xbox online, my partner also plays online games on the pc, I download stuff for my Sims 2 games etc, my daughter also downloads free trial games from different websites. Do you think we will be anywhere near the usage limit at all? My son is on his xbox maybe 2-3 hours a day. More at weekend??
 
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Usually through your ISP's support pages, there's typically some form of "Members" section or control panel. Which ISP are you with? Failing that you could always download a free data usage monitor and have it watch your consumption in the background.

However 40GB should be enough to accomodate your current activity, multiplayer gaming doesn't actually consume a lot of information, it's only the direct downloads you'll have to watch -game trials and or demos etc.
 
Game demos can be quite large, some up to 2 or 3GB. :crap:
 
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Net meter that jaf recommends is free , pretty accurate and quite comprehensive .I have used it for a while .
 
Net meter that jaf recommends is free , pretty accurate and quite comprehensive .I have used it for a while .

But will only count the usage on the actual machine it is installed on. If the router supports SNMP then the OP could install the free version of PRTG from www.paessler.com on a PC and meter at the router, so long as the PC stays on continually.

Alternatively, he could use an ISP with an on line meter!
 
personally l wouldnt trust ISPs online metres... take Fast4 theres talk of it grossly over estimating users bandwidth.. maybe not by much but by the end of the month it adds up..
 
personally l wouldnt trust ISPs online metres... take Fast4 theres talk of it grossly over estimating users bandwidth.. maybe not by much but by the end of the month it adds up..

fair point timeless - but I'll bet that, a bit like BT and their own speedtester, most ISPs probable won't take any heed of what other bandwidth monitors say has been used.....

....reckon that "home-based" bandwidth monitors can only be used as a guide to traffic used - there's always likely to be traffic generated before they are loaded.
 
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indeed but it still seems overkill.. in Fast4s case it seems even worse.. they say they dont stop you downloading as much as you want but then they introduce a 24/7 peak time whats the point of their limitations and calling them "peak times" when they dont seem to have an off-peak, hell yeah you can get the FUP reset, but at the expense of your phone bill...
 
I know.

That makes it important that users use tools like the one suggested to get a handle on what they think they're downloading / uploading - so they can challenge their ISP if they feel they're being hard done by.

Just thought I had to introduce a cautionary note on what the real value / potential drawbacks of these tools might be.
 
they have the exact same drawbacks as the tools ISP end, l remember being told by the now deceased Fast24 (who l was with a while back before them going bust) told me l used like a TB in a month once, somehow their records got mixed up and they ended up sending me a apoligy letter, seemed there was a glitch in the system which affected me.. and l didnt need to have a bandwidth monitor for that since l wasnt home the month that this happened... l DONT trust isps monitors altho l do monitor my own bandwidth and take it as an approx value and all l can say is even tho l am a heavy user with my current connection there is no way l could even reach the bandwidth consumption l used to.. whats more an ISP like Fast4 should be shut down..

if it wasnt for the contract l had with the supplier at the time l would have left first chance l had, l know exactly how it felt.. disconnections daily.. err actually it was hourly if not once every 20mins... this lasted for weeks, then there was the port blocking and restrictions, l wasnt a Fast4 customer but they disrupted my service.. lm supprised that they still have customers, however what l would resent is a 24/7 peak time, l limit myself between my current ISPs peak time, in fact lm careful about it even tho there is no way l could ever get into the top 5%, but at least they dont base a limitation on bandwidth by capping you and then tell you to phone if you want it removed.. l have better things to do with my time like actually work and support members of the communities l run, with a fast4/eurisp connection l couldnt even do that towards the end... cuz they blocked my port25... had to re-route everything through port 80 which cost me allot of time.
 
whats more an ISP like Fast4 should be shut down..

a bit harsh timeless - and a little off topic - however we are all entitled to our own valid opinions - and from memory your use of EurISP when Fast4 were "under the cosh" last year gave you serious problems.....

...what l would resent is a 24/7 peak time...

interestingly that's turning out to be something that I really like about what Fast4 have done.

As I've said elsewhere, at the moment 60GB a month feels like "unlimited" to me - I've no idea what other people can do that generates that amount of traffic. So the fact that I don't need to worry about peak/off-peak is great.

As a separate thought - what gives ISPs the right to determine what hours are peak and off-peak - surely it's like everything "one man's peak is another man's off-peak".

I'm surprised that more members here don't complain about this distinction - the "always on, always available" tag-line used for broadband should surely mean the same level of service 24/7. I'me sure we'd all complain if we had to regulate our gas or electricity or water use based on someone's defintion of "peak" or "off-peak" hours.
 
a bit harsh timeless - and a little off topic - however we are all entitled to our own valid opinions - and from memory your use of EurISP when Fast4 were "under the cosh" last year gave you serious problems.....

actually l dont think my wording was harsh enough, l spent months and much money on phone calls to be told time and time again l was not being restricted and that the disconnections were fixed.. Fast4 use Eurisps network to offer their services, the fact my connection mirrored the problems faced by Fast4 means they have too much network access... and the fact l never got a response from eurisp regarding any limitations proved.. it was only towards the end when l was continually emailing the CEO that l was asked to leave on AUP grounds, l still never saw the AUP mention port usage but it gave me a good reason to leave and get away from any network that Fast4 had access to...

some of us warned them about removing their old bandwidth restriction of 500gig a month, but did they listen? no they said they were unlimited and they wouldnt introduce any limits ever... so what is the 60gig cap and we will slow you down? a far cry from 500gig... now l repeat I WAS a Eurisp customer, I WASNT a fast4 customer but I WAS being restricted by the same restrictions you were being restricted by, l have a right to be angry about it, in fact the whole fact no one not even the CEO knew about restrictions and continually told me so means that the whole fiasco was fast4 related, and for days, weeks, and months l was suffering because of it.. l for one was glad to see the back of the network fast4 was sharing however l will be even more glad to see them have a lawsuit against them and pay back all the money they fleeced out of their customers who were attracted by the "no long contracts" thing before they changed their T&Cs, in fact l would love to see something done about the lies they continually told.. but sadly like Ofcom nothing will be done about the important things because they are only interested in things that give them future gain.



interestingly that's turning out to be something that I really like about what Fast4 have done.
me l call it ripping off customers how many are getting restricted who were actually careful and only did their downloading out of peak times? they were careful enough but they still get penalised!! l call that wrong, they made an effort but it gets one nowhere.

As I've said elsewhere, at the moment 60GB a month feels like "unlimited" to me - I've no idea what other people can do that generates that amount of traffic. So the fact that I don't need to worry about peak/off-peak is great.
definitions
1. Having no restrictions or controls: an unlimited travel ticket.
2. Having or seeming to have no boundaries; infinite: an unlimited horizon.
3. Without qualification or exception; absolute: unlimited self-confidence.

lve always resented the word unlimited in ISPs, l dont expect it but 60GB isnt unlimited its a limit then restriction regardless of when one only downloads out of peak time, lm more unlimited now, lm kind in the fact l only download outside of 4pm and midnight l wouldnt have before but now l get unlimited because l dont have a "limit" on how much l download
 
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