Many risk fines exceeding broadband download limits

As more people plan to use their broadband service to watch more TV online this Christmas period, many are at an increased risk of incurring a penalty fine for excessive downloading.

Research by Broadbandchoices.co.uk suggests that over 30% of broadband users plan to watch more TV online this Christmas period but as many broadband packages come with a download limit and/or a ‘fair usage policy’ they risk having their connection speed throttled or getting a fine.

The download limits restrict the physical amount of downloading a person can do using their broadband connection and the fair usage policies tend to penalise users for downloading at the certain times of the day. When these terms are exceeded, ISPs can choose to penalise the offender by imposing a punitive fine or “throttling” (restricting) their connection speed.

Michael Phillips, product director at Broadbandchoices.co.uk, commented “The use of online TV services is clearly only going to increase in the future, so it is crucial that consumers understand that even if a broadband package says it is ‘unlimited’ it is still highly likely that it will have some form of fair usage policy attached. Once broadband users have exceeded their download limit or fair usage terms, they will not be able to plead ignorance to avoid the consequences.”

Some ISPs are more generous with their allowances and are designed for heavier downloaders.

Providers such as Be Broadband or O2 Broadband fall into this category.

O2 for example currently offer their Pro broadband deal – a 12 month deal with unlimited download limit, speed up to 20Mb, with a monthly charge of £17.13 for O2 mobile customers or £22.02 per month for non-O2 customers. Costs exclude line rental which would cost £11.25 from BT. Get more details on the O2 website.

Depending on what is available in your area, Virgin Media offer their Broadband XXL + Phone M package for broadband and home phone, with up to 50Mb speed and a monthly charge (excluding line rental) of £28, plus a connection fee of £55. There is also a great Virgin Media broadband offer running until end Jan – Free for the first 2 months, £28 thereafter.

With an ever increasing list of programmes made available online through services such as BBC iPlayer, TV fans needn’t miss a moment of their favourite festive features. The key is to watch the programmes with enough broadband capacity available to you.

Broadbandchoices.co.uk suggest the following tips for online TV downloading:

• Pick the right ISP – as mentioned some, such as O2 Broadband, are more generous with their allowances.

• Download at night – Traffic shaping, which slows down a broadband connection, is applied by many providers during peak hours during the evening. Therefore broadband users who download at night – usually from midnight onwards – should find their music and movie files download a lot quicker. Some packages like PlusNet’s Pro plan, offer free overnight downloading, so it won’t come out of your monthly usage allowance.

• Track your broadband usage – If you have a set download limit, or you’re concerned about exceeding your fair usage allowance, then installing a free Broadband Download Monitor is a great way of tracking your downloads and you can even set alarms to alert you as you near your limit.