8.1 million people don’t know their limits

Millions of broadband users don’t know their download limits and, according to new research, the number is increasing. According to the study, compiled by YouGov, around 6.7 million people could be violating so-called “Fair Usage Policies” by unknowingly exceeding bandwidth allowances on Internet packages that have been marketed as providing “unlimited” downloads.

Of those asked, forty-seven per cent of broadband customers don’t know their contractual bandwidth limit – and that’s been extrapolated by uSwitch to equate to around 8.1 million people, which is up 7.5 million last year. Meanwhile, the 6.7 million going who are going overboard with their surfing habits is also up: from 6.2 million. And they’re in dangerous water; seventy percent of major broadband providers are “prepared to disconnect people that exceed limits – even when these are advertised as ‘unlimited.’”

uSwitch is campaigning for great transparency when it comes to “true” bandwidth limits. “The solution is easy, broadband companies should not be allowed to class their packages as unlimited if they are not,” says its spokesman, communications expert Jason Glynn. “Providers are confusing consumers to the extent that broadband users do not even know if they are approaching or exceeding a download limit. The ASA and Ofcom really need to take action and actually set strict guidelines on the advertising of broadband packages. These policies are confusing enough without customers having to worry if they are going to have their service terminated. Imagine the confusion amongst UK motorists if the speed limits on our roads were described in a similar way.”

And there certainly would be a lot of confusion, if motorists were faced with the kind of language internet service providers are using. Here’s some examples of the small print ISPs are hiding in their contracts for supposedly “unlimited” broadband connections:

Unlimited during all hours. If usage is deemed detrimental to others, a letter or email will be sent.

Extremely heavy users will have bandwidth restricted during peak hours. After 3 email warnings, bandwidth will be managed during peak hours.

Very heavy users may have their usage restricted at peak times.

uSwitch says that only three of the “major providers” are being transparent when it comes to their bandwidth caps: Sky, TalkTalk and AOL. And of these, it’s singled out Sky as being the only ISP that currently offers a genuine “unlimited” service. “While providers continue to promote broadband in this way, people really need to be savvy when choosing their package and pay close attention to the small print,” Mr. Glynn continues. “Sky really is the exception and for those consumers who don’t have the time or patience to read through small print, this supplier is the obvious choice.”

But of course, even in uSwitch’s own report, there’s the small print to consider. In the survey conducted by YouGov, only 10,757 adults were questioned for this year, down from 11,870 adults the year before. While that is a decent survey size, there’s a big leap from the thousands of people being asked to the assumption that over eight million are being affected.

According to the research, 47% of respondents did not know their download limit
a. Based on there being 17.3 million broadband connections (customers) in the UK.
b. 47% of 17.3 million = 8,131,000 million customers.

However, with only three out of ten ISPs choosing to publicise their official download limits, it is safe to assume this is a genuine problem. With the rise of video-on-demand services, even for mainstream broadband consumer it could become a lot more acute in the next couple of years. But even for them, it’s worth keeping that small print in mind.

Tags: AOL, Sky, TalkTalk, uSwitch