Plusnet Pro 20GB usage allowance too low

[#1]

If you're working from home then you might be interested in some of our Business packages where Options 2 and 3 feature much higher usage allowances prioritised data transfer across common business protocols such as VPN, FTP and HTTP browsing but not P2P or HTTP downloading.

[#2]

We don't work from home every day, but every now and then we do. At home our priority is gaming, which is why we went for the Pro package (due to the high priority of all traffic) so we're not looking to switch packages. The Pro package is perfect, aside from the low monthly cap.

[#3]

Hi Dom,
In that case we would not recommend a business package for gaming purposes really as you may not get the best experience gaming-wise.
We're certainly taking in all this feedback about the pro package. I'm not sure as to the exact decision as to why the usage allocation was set at 20gb, I think an assumption may have been made that customers using the package mainly for gaming would not benefit from a higher allowance.

[#4]

Well I can see why you'd think that, but then again, you have to think about the type of people that are likely to want a gaming-oriented package, and the types of other activities they might also perform.
I'm just gonna say it - we're a bunch of geeks. Anyone who's into games/internet/computers enough to pick an ISP package based on latency is a blatant nerd, and is going to be using the net for everything pretty much - games, online TV, web development, the works. It'd be great if the monthly cap made allowances for these nerdy tendancies!

[#5]

Thanks Adam
Pleased to see the feedback is getting through.
I will be slightly annoyed if the package gets updated now after I moved away but it will be a welcome change. I have not ruled out the possibility of moving back to PlusNet one day.
Personally I think if you can increase the peak allowance to something like 40-50GB for not more than £29.99 I think you may get a good interest in that product.
Keep up the good work
Michael

[#6]

I will be totally honest, I have not noticed any difference on this "priority" service over Post Office - and my exchange is grossly over subscribed - all I have now is a 20GB cap that did not exist on Post Office, and I have gone over it even with *VERY* modest usage during "peak" times.
Some suggestions for PlusNet...
Instead of just cutting the user off or charging them more money - cap their speed to just enough to browse, get email etc.. This is what every other ISP does, even the cheaper ones, and the ones that offer comparable "priority" services.
8am-12am is hardly "peak" time and a 10pm finish is a lot more sensible. I seem to remember that it wasn't that long ago that some of the really high spec providers allowed you to choose from a range of peak hours, and non of the peak periods were 16 hours long! C'mon peak means where the most usage is, and I don't think that PlusNet can *honestly* say that usage hits a plateau at 8am and stays there until midnight.
In response to Adam Walker... I haven't done much (any) online gaming - as being playing single player stuff lately, but still just being signed in to PSN for a couple of hours a day has me hitting 3% of my usage as gaming (Not signed into steam for months, or Xbox live for weeks) - so someone who is playing a lot of online gaming will be hitting 20GB rather easily I think.

[#7]

That limit did strike me as being curiously low - The "Extra" package gives 60GB bandwidth, and the more expensive 'Pro' package gives a third of that when it's designed at gamers...
The Extra package states that with 60GB allowance you can "Play over 80 hours of online games"... So with a Pro package for gamers that need low-latency, that's 80/3 = ~26 hours - a rediculously low limit, giving just over 50 minutes a day's gaming
And that's leaving NO room for anything else - Like other posters said, the kind of people that'll use that package are gonna be streaming videos, watching YouTube, etc
Edit: As for the speed being faster - yes, that is a factor, but does it -really- matter if their allotted bandwidth is used within 2 days or a month? Surely it's the same cost-wise for PN. Speeds for other customers could be affected, but your traffic shaping system seems to work perfectly right now... Maybe if the price for the 'Pro' was a bit higher it could be viable, but 20GB for the top package is very, very low IMHO

[#8]

You nit the nail on the head Brain... 20GB is not enough for a regular gamer even if all they do is regular gaming.

[#9]

Quote from: BrianE

The Extra package states that with 60GB allowance you can "Play over 80 hours of online games"... So with a Pro package for gamers that need low-latency, that's 80/3 = ~26 hours - a rediculously low limit, giving just over 50 minutes a day's gaming

My take on PN example of what you can do with 60GB is not or but and all the examples, unless you believe an hour of gaming use 0.75GB. I'm not a gamer but 0.75GB seem too high to me as this mean that 2Mbps is the minimum connection rate.

Quote

*  Surf as much as you like     * Send and receive 6,000 emails     * Download 6,000 songs     * Download 20hrs of iPlayer content in High Definition     * Watch 30 hours of video on YouTube     * Play over 80 hours of online games

[#10]

Quote from: COD

PS   Can you do anything about your forum trolls?

I do not have good opinions of trolls, but if you are referring to jelv, I think you are way off beam. I have been here long enough from personal experience to know that his answers are very helpful.
I respectfully suggest that you reserve judgments on members until you have been with us a while more.
Even with the foregoing: welcome.  

[#11]

My mistake - It does seem to be and rather than or.
But my point still holds true: On a package designed for gamers, they're still only getting:

• One iPlayer HD programme every ~5 days (6.6 hours over 30 days)


• 20 minutes of YouTube each day (I know plenty of gamers that practically live on YouTube)


• 2 Modern Warfare 2 matches per day (25 minutes each)

And from rough calculations on the 60GB figures (I don't know what PN have used as average sizes), all of that (+ the emails / songs) comes to around the 60GB
No matter what way you look at it, it's still a low limit

[#12]

I'm on a grandfathered product, Premier 1 which gives a hard cap of 20Gb but really the cap is 13Gb after which it's impossible to even watch SD youtube videos peak rate.  I play *lots* of games, I also download lots of stuff, stream online TV, in fact a couple of months ago I managed to hit 100Gb usage for the first time.  13Gb is less than 20Gb yet I still manage, even when downloading patches, Linux ISO's, software, games, playing MMO's to stay around the 13Gb mark at the end of the month.
I would say that 20Gb is a perfectly adequate amount for the product you are using, what I would say is something that was brought up, the peak hours are out of whack.  Instead of 8am-midnight if you switch that to say, noon-midnight you get an extra 4 hours/day.

[#13]

Im another one who says 20GB is adequate for gamer's, Stop trying to squeeze more, If your not happy move to Plusnet extra, 20GB is for gaming, and gaming only!!

[#14]

If you want traffic that's profiled in Gold or Titanium, 24/7 then you need the "Pro Plus" product.
It includes *unlimited* bandwidth, is suitable to do everything you want to do.  It's only £20/month, plus £79/month for "additional usage" in 5GB blocks (capped at £99/month).
Sounds like what you want?  Or do you want to have your cake AND eat it?
B.

[#15]

Concerning the Peak Hours duration - Plusnet provide live traffic figures on their website here.
Whilst browsing/streaming does start to drop off after 10:30PM the huge increase in un-metered P2P at midnight will be apparent, and if this occurred earlier would impact on late evening interactive users. Similarly in the morning interactive usage builds up after 9AM.
In my opinion Plusnet have got the balance between Peak (metered) and Off-Peak (un-metered) about right.