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'Virgin Radio - 'Usage Caps and Online Radio Don't Mix'
We asked Virgin Radio for their stance on capping. They added the following section
to their website in March 2003:-
"My ISP is capping my usage. Can I still listen?
Here's the maths. Our standard Windows Media streams are just 20k - so, if you listen non-stop for 24 hours, you'll shift a total of 15 Mb: easily within the 1 gig limit that one UK ISP has put in place.
However, if you listen to our RealAudio broadband feed for 24 hours, currently 128k, then you'll use up your entire 1 gig of bandwidth. (Not that you'll listen 24 hours a day, of course.)
Most people listen to us online for around six hours a week, so our advice is that it shouldn't make a major difference to the way you use your internet connection - but, if you're worried, you ought to move your ISP to one that doesn't have a usage cap. While we understand ISPs wishing to make a good service for all of its customers, don't believe usage caps and online radio stations mix well."
'AOL'
Jonathan Lambeth, Head of Corporate Media Relations, AOL (UK) Ltd. told us in
April 2003-
"In an ideal world we believe that unmetered and always
on should mean what they imply. The best experience online comes from having
an uncapped connection, otherwise it creates confusion and complexity for
the customer. That said, it is never possible to rule it out entirely. The
Internet moves so fast that new phenomena - such as Napster a few years
back for example - can force you to take unusual measures.
That caveat aside, however, we will work very hard not to bring in capping
on either narrowband or broadband and certainly have no plans to cap any
services. As you say, our whole aim is to promote content and all the
benefits of broadband, which do not mix so well with a capped service."
'Claranet Self-Install Solo'
We posed the follwing question to Claranet in March 2003.
"I'm interested in getting ADSL broadband. Can you tell me if you
operate a download limit (similar to NTL's 1GB per day), or are thinking
of introducing one?"
Their spokesman replied:
"We do not have a download restriction and we have no plans of ever
introducing such restriction on our broadband services. A move such as this
would defeat the object of having a broadband connection."
BT says 'Move by ntl has proved massively unpopular'
Duncan Ingram, Managing Director of BT Openworld, in March 2003 said:
"The move by ntl to cap the amount of bandwidth subscribers can use has proved massively unpopular and BT has no plans to go down the same route. In terms of capping downloads we have no current plans to do that. We are managing our network very well"
Unfortunately by July 2004 BT had imposed caps on all broadband products.
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