Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 16 of 18

Thread: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

  1. #1
    HEXUS.admin
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Posts
    31,709
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    2,073 times in 719 posts

    Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) says broadband ads must be clearer from October.
    Read more.

  2. #2
    Gentoo Ricer
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Galway
    Posts
    11,048
    Thanks
    1,016
    Thanked
    944 times in 704 posts
    • aidanjt's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Strix Z370-G
      • CPU:
      • Intel i7-8700K
      • Memory:
      • 2x8GB Corsiar LPX 3000C15
      • Storage:
      • 500GB Samsung 960 EVO
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0
      • PSU:
      • EVGA G3 750W
      • Case:
      • Fractal Design Define C Mini
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • Asus MG279Q
      • Internet:
      • 240mbps Virgin Cable

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Still nothing about the limited 'unlimited' data allowances. That's the biggest brazenly misleading part of ads these days.
    Quote Originally Posted by Agent View Post
    ...every time Creative bring out a new card range their advertising makes it sound like they have discovered a way to insert a thousand Chuck Norris super dwarfs in your ears...

  3. #3
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Posts
    83
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    1 time in 1 post

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Honestly - this is nothing but good news - hate how they charge £2.99 broadband when the line rental is £18.99 lol - just tell us the actual overall price!

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    1,495
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked
    143 times in 119 posts
    • BobF64's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8Z77-V Pro
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i7-3770K
      • Memory:
      • 16GB Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800
      • Storage:
      • Multiple HDD and SSD drives
      • Graphics card(s):
      • ASUS DUAL-GTX1060-06G
      • PSU:
      • 750W Silverstone Strider Gold Evolution
      • Case:
      • Silverstone Fortress FT02
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 x64 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • HP ZR24w

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Never has been anything that is actually 'unlimited', because it can never be unlimited.

    Taking 80Mbps fibre, going at lets say about 8MB/s, 24x7 for 30 days would give you a maximum of just under 20TB a month, definitely a finite amount.

    Terms like 'unmetered', 'uncapped' or 'unrestricted' would be better, as they are at least a bit more accurate.

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    2,207
    Thanks
    15
    Thanked
    114 times in 102 posts

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Agree about the unlimited term for ones with restrictions but it's nice to see OFCOM doing something useful for once.... oh this is the advertising standards committee, no wonder something's getting done.

    Now if they can just do something about Mobile phones 'advertising' 99% coverage and 4G at the same time and get them to show their actual real world coverage I'd be really impressed

  6. #6
    Anthropomorphic Personification shaithis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The Last Aerie
    Posts
    10,857
    Thanks
    645
    Thanked
    872 times in 736 posts
    • shaithis's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8Z77 WS
      • CPU:
      • i7 3770k @ 4.5GHz
      • Memory:
      • 32GB HyperX 1866
      • Storage:
      • Lots!
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire Fury X
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX850
      • Case:
      • Corsair 600T (White)
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • 2 x Dell 3007
      • Internet:
      • Zen 80Mb Fibre

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Quote Originally Posted by BobF64 View Post
    Never has been anything that is actually 'unlimited', because it can never be unlimited.

    Taking 80Mbps fibre, going at lets say about 8MB/s, 24x7 for 30 days would give you a maximum of just under 20TB a month, definitely a finite amount.

    Terms like 'unmetered', 'uncapped' or 'unrestricted' would be better, as they are at least a bit more accurate.
    Unlimited to almost everyone means "all you can eat" and I would argue, does mean unlimited. There is a difference (at least IMO) between unlimited and infinite.
    Main PC: Asus Rampage IV Extreme / 3960X@4.5GHz / Antec H1200 Pro / 32GB DDR3-1866 Quad Channel / Sapphire Fury X / Areca 1680 / 850W EVGA SuperNOVA Gold 2 / Corsair 600T / 2x Dell 3007 / 4 x 250GB SSD + 2 x 80GB SSD / 4 x 1TB HDD (RAID 10) / Windows 10 Pro, Yosemite & Ubuntu
    HTPC: AsRock Z77 Pro 4 / 3770K@4.2GHz / 24GB / GTX 1080 / SST-LC20 / Antec TP-550 / Hisense 65k5510 4K TV / HTC Vive / 2 x 240GB SSD + 12TB HDD Space / Race Seat / Logitech G29 / Win 10 Pro
    HTPC2: Asus AM1I-A / 5150 / 4GB / Corsair Force 3 240GB / Silverstone SST-ML05B + ST30SF / Samsung UE60H6200 TV / Windows 10 Pro
    Spare/Loaner: Gigabyte EX58-UD5 / i950 / 12GB / HD7870 / Corsair 300R / Silverpower 700W modular
    NAS 1: HP N40L / 12GB ECC RAM / 2 x 3TB Arrays || NAS 2: Dell PowerEdge T110 II / 24GB ECC RAM / 2 x 3TB Hybrid arrays || Network:Buffalo WZR-1166DHP w/DD-WRT + HP ProCurve 1800-24G
    Laptop: Dell Precision 5510 Printer: HP CP1515n || Phone: Huawei P30 || Other: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Pro 10.1 CM14 / Playstation 4 + G29 + 2TB Hybrid drive

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Kingdom of Fife (Scotland)
    Posts
    4,991
    Thanks
    393
    Thanked
    220 times in 190 posts
    • crossy's system
      • Motherboard:
      • ASUS Sabertooth X99
      • CPU:
      • Intel 5830k / Noctua NH-D15
      • Memory:
      • 32GB Crucial Ballistix DDR4
      • Storage:
      • 500GB Samsung 850Pro NVMe, 1TB Samsung 850EVO SSD, 1TB Seagate SSHD, 2TB WD Green, 8TB Seagate
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Asus Strix GTX970OC
      • PSU:
      • Corsair AX750 (modular)
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster HAF932 (with wheels)
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro 64bit, Ubuntu 16.04LTS
      • Monitor(s):
      • LG Flattron W2361V
      • Internet:
      • VirginMedia 200Mb

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Quote Originally Posted by shaithis View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by BobF64 View Post
    Never has been anything that is actually 'unlimited', because it can never be unlimited.

    Taking 80Mbps fibre, going at lets say about 8MB/s, 24x7 for 30 days would give you a maximum of just under 20TB a month, definitely a finite amount.

    Terms like 'unmetered', 'uncapped' or 'unrestricted' would be better, as they are at least a bit more accurate.
    Unlimited to almost everyone means "all you can eat" and I would argue, does mean unlimited. There is a difference (at least IMO) between unlimited and infinite.
    Aren't you actually agreeing? Bob's point was that if you ran your connection at 100% for the entire month then you'll end up with a "limit". However, I'd argue that his connection was still "unlimited" if the ISP doesn't throttle or put one of those "we put on this limit but you'll never reach it" settings.

    Given I'm in the middle of switching providers though, I definitely agree with Dan Howdie's comment (in the article), we are still being "nickled and dimed" and it seems that you need the services of a tax lawyer and a spreadsheet to figure out what you're actually going to be charged.

    Career status: still enjoying my new career in DevOps, but it's keeping me busy...

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    2,385
    Thanks
    181
    Thanked
    304 times in 221 posts

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Stating unlimited isnt truly unlimited because of your hard overhead of how much you can actually download your internet connection bandwidth over the time you have it live for is facetious at best.

    Unlimited is exactly what it says on the tin, you will not be restricted on how much you can download per month with your line speed.

    What I hate and others similarly do are soft limits like "you've reached 60GB, you're being disconnected/shaped" when you have an "unlimited".
    Last edited by Tabbykatze; 05-05-2016 at 12:26 AM.

  9. #9
    The late but legendary peterb - Onward and Upward peterb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Looking down & checking on swearing
    Posts
    19,378
    Thanks
    2,892
    Thanked
    3,403 times in 2,693 posts

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Quote Originally Posted by Tabbykatze View Post
    Stating unlimited isnt truly unlimited because of your hard overhead of how much you can actually download your internet connection bandwidth over the time you have it live for is fascicious at best.

    Unlimited is exactly what it says on the tin, you will not be restricted on how much you can download per month with your line speed.

    What I hate and others similarly do are soft limits like "you've reached 60GB, you're being disconnected/shaped" when you have an "unlimited".
    Not facetious at all. There is a finite amount of data you can down load in a given time at a given speed, and that will be variable because there will be times when you don't get that throughput. Perhaps "no imposed cap" might be more appropriate.

    But effectively, as someone said earlier, it means "all you can eat" but that doesn't mean infinite bandwidth, so there will be limits based on the laws of physics.
    (\__/)
    (='.'=)
    (")_(")

    Been helped or just 'Like' a post? Use the Thanks button!
    My broadband speed - 750 Meganibbles/minute

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    1,495
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked
    143 times in 119 posts
    • BobF64's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8Z77-V Pro
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i7-3770K
      • Memory:
      • 16GB Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800
      • Storage:
      • Multiple HDD and SSD drives
      • Graphics card(s):
      • ASUS DUAL-GTX1060-06G
      • PSU:
      • 750W Silverstone Strider Gold Evolution
      • Case:
      • Silverstone Fortress FT02
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 x64 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • HP ZR24w

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Tbh, I just dislike the misuse of words in advertising and marketing BS.

    The actual problem with unlimited is hidden caps that they apply randomly to "heavy users".

    If an ISP says "unlimited" and then cuts you off or rate limits you after 100GB in a month, but this isnt mentioned in the T&C or in ANY adverts, thats not being greedy nor is it being facetious, its the ISP having a hard limit that is well below any actual physical limit imposed by the line speed.

  11. #11
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    2,385
    Thanks
    181
    Thanked
    304 times in 221 posts

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Quote Originally Posted by BobF64 View Post
    Tbh, I just dislike the misuse of words in advertising and marketing BS.

    The actual problem with unlimited is hidden caps that they apply randomly to "heavy users".

    If an ISP says "unlimited" and then cuts you off or rate limits you after 100GB in a month, but this isnt mentioned in the T&C or in ANY adverts, thats not being greedy nor is it being facetious, its the ISP having a hard limit that is well below any actual physical limit imposed by the line speed.
    Those limits are soft limits and those are the ones that are completely ridiculous with "unlimited downloads!*" = *we are lying through our teeth and we will screw you over.

    @peterb, I understand the laws of physics and the point being made but under the precept of "unlimited within the framework of your connection type and speed" is what I see as "unlimited". Agreeably I prefer the " all you can eat" moniker which three networks uses. I am on a contract which is all you can eat for both data and hotspotting and I'm debating whether to ever renegotiate because newer contracts are imposing restrictions on tethering. There is no asterisk but there is an abuse of faith clause that if you "misuse" it and are regularly over a massive amount for a mobile phone (60/100GB I think) consistently for a few months then later when you hit that number again you will be throttled to 2.3mbps. So it's a flexible soft limit.

    As Bill Hicks said, marketing and advertising are Satan's Little Helpers and are the ruiners of all things good xD

  12. #12
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    1,495
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked
    143 times in 119 posts
    • BobF64's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P8Z77-V Pro
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i7-3770K
      • Memory:
      • 16GB Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800
      • Storage:
      • Multiple HDD and SSD drives
      • Graphics card(s):
      • ASUS DUAL-GTX1060-06G
      • PSU:
      • 750W Silverstone Strider Gold Evolution
      • Case:
      • Silverstone Fortress FT02
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 x64 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • HP ZR24w

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Quote Originally Posted by Tabbykatze View Post
    Those limits are soft limits and those are the ones that are completely ridiculous with "unlimited downloads!*" = *we are lying through our teeth and we will screw you over.
    Exactly, although not necessarily lying or trying to screw any one over, just not being clear and upfront about anything.

    It comes down to statistics, and you can see that every time an ISP "punishes" heavy users, phrases like "this will not affect the majority of our users" and "it only affects a small number of excessive users" spring to mind.

    If there are soft limits, they should be clearly stated, which would make them hard limits.

  13. #13
    Senior Member Macman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Glasgow
    Posts
    1,528
    Thanks
    195
    Thanked
    97 times in 80 posts
    • Macman's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Z170 Pro Gaming
      • CPU:
      • i9 9900K
      • Memory:
      • 32GB
      • Storage:
      • 5TB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Nvidia GeForce RTX2080Ti
      • PSU:
      • Corsair 650VS
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 11
      • Monitor(s):
      • 27" Asus Predator

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    My broadband is shambolic as of late. I get buffering at least 3 or 4 times everytime I'm on Netflix, at first I put it down to Netflix servers. But started to notice it each time I was on Netflix, played my mate online (PS4) had lag issues.

    Not happy with the speeds I'm getting considering what I am paying for.

    Be sending an email to BT I think..

  14. #14
    Raging Bull DeludedGuy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    London
    Posts
    2,594
    Thanks
    112
    Thanked
    76 times in 55 posts
    • DeludedGuy's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte H87M-HD3
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 4440
      • Memory:
      • 8GB DDR3 1800mhz
      • Storage:
      • 250GB Samsung 840 SSD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gigabyte R9 270 OC 2GB
      • PSU:
      • BeQuiet Pure Power L8 600w
      • Case:
      • Silverstone TJ08-E
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7
      • Monitor(s):
      • 24" Dell U2414H
      • Internet:
      • 75Mb BT Infinity

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    BT are putting their line rental prices up again, three times in 13 months now...just a joke....honestly....we are just held to ransom...

  15. #15
    mush-mushroom b0redom's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Middlesex
    Posts
    3,494
    Thanks
    195
    Thanked
    383 times in 292 posts
    • b0redom's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Some iMac thingy
      • CPU:
      • 3.4Ghz Quad Core i7
      • Memory:
      • 24GB
      • Storage:
      • 3TB Fusion Drive
      • Graphics card(s):
      • nViidia GTX 680MX
      • PSU:
      • Some iMac thingy
      • Case:
      • Late 2012 pointlessly thin iMac enclosure
      • Operating System:
      • OSX 10.8 / Win 7 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell 2713H
      • Internet:
      • Be+

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Quote Originally Posted by DeludedGuy View Post
    BT are putting their line rental prices up again, three times in 13 months now...just a joke....honestly....we are just held to ransom...
    Not really, you can get line rental AND broadband through the same supplier. I am with Zen.

  16. #16
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    2,385
    Thanks
    181
    Thanked
    304 times in 221 posts

    Re: Tougher approach to broadband service price claims on the way

    Quote Originally Posted by b0redom View Post
    Not really, you can get line rental AND broadband through the same supplier. I am with Zen.
    Plus depending on which package you go for you get a bundle of Static IPs too!

    Edit: Looks like they're back to giving away free statics to all packages!

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •