Freeserve mulls dial-up usage limit

[gem]

From The Register

Freeserve mulls dial-up usage limit
By Tim Richardson
Posted: 04/03/2003 at 10:34 GMT

Freeserve is mulling over following BT Openworld's lead and introduce usage caps for its flat-rate unmetered AnyTime service.

Currently, Freeserve has no monthly limit for its all-you-can-eat unmetered service. But according to sources, all that could change with execs considering whether to introduce a cap similar to BT Openworld's 150 hour a month limit for its unmetered dial-up product.

A spokeswoman for Freeserve said she was unaware of any such moves to impose a cap on its unmetered service.

However, increased losses at the UK arm of French ISP, Wanadoo, means that Freeserve is being forced to look at cutting costs.

In a statement yesterday Wanadoo said that it had "initiated a programme aimed at enhancing income performance to cut its losses".

Part of that comes from news Freeserve sneaked out late last week adding £1 a month to its AnyTime service. The price rise - bringing the cost of AnyTime to £14.99 a month - comes into force from March 25.

As well as trying to increase revenue, it's also trying to cut costs. Recently, it renegotiated key contracts with its network supplier, Energis, and customer service operators both of which Freeserve claims should help reduce costs.

Said Freeserve in a statement: "We greatly reduced network costs by renegotiating our contract with Energis; the benefits of which will be seen in 2003.

"We are also negotiating more efficient customer service contracts where we are paying less but offering a superior service." ®

[Paul]

it would be a shame if freeserve did that as i am effectivily connected all the time on BT highway as my computer redials and connects in 3 seconds to Anytime. since i can not get broad band out here in the sticks this is a close as i get to permantly on line.

i hope it stays just a rumour!

Paul

[silver]

looks like more than a rumour http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/29792.html

Freeserve is clamping down on 1,500 heavy Net users warning them that unless they curb their activities they could face usage limits - or even the chop.

The ISP has highlighted around 1,500 users of its unmetered AnyTime service who it claims are using the service more than 20 hours a day.

Those involved have set up their kit to redial automatically the ISP immediately after their call to Freeserve has been dropped.

Freeserve is contacting all those involved and asking them to cut their usage in half. ®

Sil

[Paul]

where did you find that snippet Silver?

cos i think i might be one of them

[Paul]

oohps!! top of the screen was missing when i read that bit.



i wonder if they monitor the users or the number dialled. as my system keeps changing its connection number, even on automatic dial up between drops.

i a wait my notice and summons to the head masters office

[silver]

I think they would be looking at have much your freeserve account is online, i.e. they ignore the connection number (ip address?).. every time you connect to freeserve and disconnect (or get disconnected) I suspect they log it so they can work out from that how much 'you' are online

Sil

[Paul]

oh dear!

i think they will get me

[Worldlife]

Freeserve is clamping down on 1,500 heavy Net users warning them that unless they curb their activities they could face usage limits - or even the chop.

The ISP has highlighted around 1,500 users of its unmetered AnyTime service who it claims are using the service more than 20 hours a day.

In my view this seems completely a completely reasonable attitude by Freeserve as heavy users like this have contributed to the demise of other unmetered ISP's.

Why are these heavy users on unmetered ISP's and not ASDL broadband?

What sort of activities do they undertake that requires connections of this duration? Should they be subsidised by the "average" user?

[gem]

Could it be that, like you, they cannot GET ADSL !

[Dantony]

What is the difference between ASDL and ADSL?

[Scoobs]

ADSL

Upload speeds: Up to 256Kbps
Download speeds: Up to 2Mb

ADSL stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. A broadband Internet connection is delivered using one half of your existing BT analogue phone line.

SDSL

Upload speeds: Up to 2Mb
Download speeds: Up to 2Mb

SDSL is the Acronym for Symmetric Digital Subscribers Line. Similar to ADSL, SDSL utilises digital subscriber line (DSL) technology that allows high speed digital transmission over copper telephone lines. Maximising the frequency capacities of copper, SDSL can tap into what can be massive amounts of unused capacity to carry high-speed data traffic at the same rate in two directions. This identical 'Up-stream' and 'Down-stream' data transfer speed means that information can be simultaneously received at the same speed that it is sent back, unlike ADSL which has faster download speeds but restricted upload.

[Dantony]

Please answer the question, not your interpretation of it.

[Dantony]

Refer to last messages from Worldlife and gem.

[Scoobs]

isee

[gem]

Originally posted by Dantony
What is the difference between ASDL and ADSL?

W/L should have said ADSL, he just got it wrong, that's all.

[Dantony]

Thanks, just as I suspected.

[Art_Garfunkel]

Should they be subsidised by the "average" user?

That's the line that the ISP's generally trot out themselves when they decide that profits should be higher then they are.

Personally I don't use it as much as 20 hours a day, but if I wanted to then I would, since my contract allows for that. If they want to introduce a new contract then that's their privilege, but in the meantime I use it as much or as little as I please.

It's a standard divide and conquer technique designed to shift the blame from them to a subset of their customers and it always works.

In fact they won't gain as much by limiting the small number of heavy users as they gain from a much larger number of medium heavy users getting worried and cutting down.

As for ADSL I know lots of people who can't get it. I think I could now, though there are complications in my case which put me off.

Also I would find the extra cost hard to pay. I might be able to scrape up the money for a full ADSL service, but I keep hearing how they are limiting usage on that now. I won't pay more for ADSL only to be told I have to go easy on it to avoid causing congestion and depriving others.

[Paul]

Thank you Art.

As I mentioned earlier, I can not get Broad band where I live. BT hasn’t even set a target number for us. So BT highway with un metered access is the closest we get in our small village to constant on line. We have many businesses in the local area that use the net including me for a 24 hour turn around.

The likes of Freeserve know that out here, there are many people who will use the service to the fullest extent possible. If they did not wish the service to be used that way it should have been made very clear at the start.
As my present contract with Freeserve is un metered and unlimited. I will continue to be on line until they inform me otherwise. Admittedly a lot of the actual data transfer in done during the day or late at night (with the occasional twice UD down load), as the peak times of 6-9.30pm prove to slow and prone to dropped connections. At other times the line is open but with little or no data on the move.

A recent email from Freeserve explained how they had just installed extra capacity and could cope with anything we could throw at them.

If by chance my line connection is over loaded because there are too many of us on the line at the same time, I get dropped and if I get dropped my comp instantly reconnects and tries till it finds an uncongested line. Every net user gets that option from win 98 onwards.


So please don’t preach on how, why or when people can use the net.

[Worldlife]

by Gem
W/L should have said ADSL, he just got it wrong, that's all.

Sorry, would have replied earlier but held down by sniper fire in General Chatty

Thanks Scooby for the techy information but I reckon the main problem is the left handed Pitman effect.

asdfa asdfa asdfa asdfa asdfa asdfa asdfa asdfa

OK here's for the new typing course practice and imposition

adsl adsl adsl adsl adsl adsl adsl adsl adsl adsl x 10 pastes

I agree in a perfect world a service provider offering 24/7 service would not discriminate against a user taking full advantage of that service. In reality they don't want too many people actually using the service continuously as that would affect profitability.

However they do want to publicise 24/7 to attract new subscribers that they feel would be profitable to them (those on line less than 8 hrs a day?)

If there are too many heavy users affecting profitability the choice for the ISP seems to be:-

Do nothing and allow reduced profit margins and risks to the viability of the unmetered service.

Introduce tiered unmetered subscription (a contradiction in terms maybe?)

Increase the subscription to medium users to subsidise the heavy users.

Discretely and deviously off load the heavy users !!!!!!

I'm not sure about the divide and conquer point - surely we must all want unmetered services and therefore try and understand the economics involved. If the heavy users were not causing significant additional charges to the ISP they would include them as a "loss leaders" They just have to take care about how many "loss leaders" they can afford to carry.

[Scoobs]

Psst WL 52 to go for you

[Worldlife]

10 more in the bed since you posted Scooby

[FlorenceSmith]

Posting on behalf of a friend, so I'm not sure if this is in the right place, but she is on Freeserve but it is taking her many many attempts to connect lately. 34 attempts the other day!!! Anyone else got this problem? Is there anything she can do about it?

Thanks

[Ian]

She could try using on of the alternative numbers as posted by Art here : http://www.the-scream.co.uk/forums/t8138.html

assuming they are on freeserve anytime. (not sure if the numbers are the same for the other packages)

[FlorenceSmith]

Thank you, will pass that on.