Plusnet Pro 20GB usage allowance too low

[#1]

And dont forget Plusnet Pro used to be 15GB download/upload and now is 20GB download/upload.

[#2]

@spraxyt - I'm not so sure that the hours couldn't be tweaked a bit.  Peak rate should be the hours when the system is used the most, from 8am-5pm it could be argued that Business users are the big users whilst from 5pm-10pm~ would be home users and midnight till 8am is going to be the P2P'ers and Binary Usenet users.
I do agree a problem would form for business users if home users could hammer the system during business hours, I don't know, it gets complicated when you start to think about it too much.  Yes, 20Gb is more than enough, especially on a "full throttle" service, and Plusnet has to protect the business users connections from home users so I'm not really sure how Plusnet could alter the service without harming another part of their business, even though I think they should, so yeah, I argued with myself and now I'm no longer talking to myself because I was mean to me and said bad things?

[#3]

Quote from: Steve

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!!

I'd have to disagree there - I know you're more experienced with PN, but paying £16.49 a month just to game a little faster (what you're saying is that you're ONLY supposed to game for that price, excluding just about everything else) is still out of balance...
Even looking at it on the surface level:
£11.49 / month for 60GB bandwidth, somewhat capped speeds at peak times
£16.49 / month for a third of that bandwidth, uncapped speeds
... doesn't look right
PlusNet is the only provider I know that gives you less bandwidth for paying more

Quote from: David

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 presume by 'patches' you mean OS updates - Mine come to roughly around 0.5GB a month.
Linux ISOs - I download a fair few, too, and at 4.4GB for a full Debian DVD, ~1.5GB for an openSUSE release, and ~600-800mb for most other distros, that means you can only download around 10 per month if you want to use all your bandwidth
Most software is < 20mb, so that won't really make a dent - Except things like iTunes updates, which can often be ~100MB a pop
Games - The average Steam game (from my experience) weighs in at around 1GB, with some like Modern Warfare 2 spanning up to 6-8GB
MMOs won't really make a dent, either
How you manage to stay within your allotted bandwidth without seriously restricting your usage is beyond me, to be honest  

Quote from: David

Yes, 20Gb is more than enough, especially on a "full throttle" service

20GB just isn't enough for people that use their connections daily, and for more than just checking their email - When I was with Virgin Media, I averaged around 100GB a month bandwidth, and that's without downloading many files [actually downloading, not browsing / using data] - I hoard files, and my entire download folder for the past year comes to 47.8GB
As for the fact it's "full throttle" - That hardly makes a difference to the bandwidth you should get! Even with my speed restrictions I could still use up my entire 60GB bandwidth within a day or two, or for the services that don't have caps, just as fast as someone on the Pro package. The speed at which allotted bandwidth can be used up should make NO difference to the amount of bandwidth; especially when the "speed(s) at which" they can be used up are so relatively close, if not identical with certain services
I appreciate what everyone's saying, but taking everything into consideration it's still oddly very low, and the extra speed shouldn't really make a difference. That first reason is the sole reason I'm not using it myself... If a more reasonable limit (for the customer) was imposed, I'd certainly not be the only one paying more for the privilege
^ Why is that(&this?) striked out?
jim:green fixed - the reason was that you used square brackets around the "s" after "speed" which tells it that the text following is to be struck out. I have changed to round brackets mod:end

[#4]

Quote from: BrianE

Quote from: Steve 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!! I'd have to disagree there - I know you're more experienced with PN, but paying £16.49 a month just to game a little faster (what you're saying is that you're ONLY supposed to game for that price, excluding just about everything else) is still out of balance... Even looking at it on the surface level: £11.49 / month for 60GB bandwidth,somewhat capped speeds at peak times ? £16.49 / month for a third of that bandwidth, uncapped speeds Quote from: David Yes, 20Gb is more than enough, especially on a "full throttle" service 20GB just isn't enough for people that use their connections daily, and for more than just checking their email - When I was with Virgin Media, I averaged around 100GB a month bandwidth, and that's without downloading many files [actually downloading, not browsing / using data] - I hoard files, and my entire download folder for the past year comes to 47.8GB

If 20GB is not adequate for your gaming i suggest you consider a different package, Plusnet Extra provides more bandwidth and gaming is still a priority on it, It really is that simple, What people want is unlimited download with no traffic priority and in the real world thats never going to happen with any ISP.

[#5]

Quote from: BrianE

£11.49 / month for 60GB bandwidth, somewhat capped speeds at peak times £16.49 / month for a third of that bandwidth, uncapped speeds

Well, it's £11.49 for capped speeds from 8am-midnight, put it this way, the throttling applied on the 60Gb package is so bad my package will out perform ADSL2+ at "peak, peak times".  I also pay £22 a month for my 13Gb.
By software, goodness, today I've downloaded Nokia QT (1Gb) Nokia QT VM (lets say 2 and a bit gig) and yesterday I streamed hours worth of content, I often get the warning "you have downloaded 11Gb this month!" which is to me a massive warning "cut back usage" which I do, I restrict what I do during my peak hours so I don't get up to 13Gb which would make my internet unusable.
I don't think there are many (if any) ISP's that offer an unrestricted service 24/7 that use the BT network (LLU should be different), but like I said, my product gets in effect 13Gb/month and costs more, it's a  package I cannot take onto ADSL2+ when my exchange converts, so I won't be switching to ADSL2+ because I do not want to be throttled like the 60Gb package is throttled, I would be more than happy if Plusnet actually gave me the full 20Gb I should have, but they don't, at 17Gb it's worse than dialup, cept on dialup you can probably watch youtube vids.  If you go take a look at kitz, you can find out the throttling and decide, do you want to be able to download 1Gb in 1 hour, or 1Gb in 4 hours.  On your package you can download 1Gb at line speed 27/4, people on the 60Gb package can download 1Gb but depending on the time of day, it may be quicker to walk to the server with a USB stick, that is why you pay more, because you get more, you get the speed that the 60Gb package doesn't get, heck, you get speeds I don't get on a more expensive product.

[#6]

Quote from: BrianE

..... 20GB just isn't enough for people that use their connections daily, and for more than just checking their email - When I was with Virgin Media, I averaged around 100GB a month bandwidth, and that's without downloading many files [actually downloading, not browsing / using data] - I hoard files, and my entire download folder for the past year comes to 47.8GB ....

Interesting you should say that. I have one PC set up as a dedicated gamer server running 24/7. The wifes PC is used daily and for alot for online gaming, as well as internet research, etc. My own PC is used daily online, but mainly is browsing, website maintenance and software downloads, with occassional gaming. So far I have not exceeded the 20Gb monthly allowance!!

[#7]

Quote from: BrianE

20GB just isn't enough for people that use their connections daily, and for more than just checking their email

I spend about 12 - 14 hours a day using my computer nearly all of it using the internet connection. I have a a VPN connection open to the office using remote desktop and some vnc access to other machines. I check and read messages regularly on 6 different forums and read and watch news stories on the BBC website and some videos on other sites - and I also do check my mail.
So I do use my connection daily and for more than just checking email, but my average monthly usage is around 8GB.
I don't pretend my requirements/usage are typical and neither are yours. Plusnet have made a product offering on what they see as a sound commercial and marketing basis. It's up to you to chose whether to take up that offer or to take your custom elsewhere. The product obviously suits a lot of people as otherwise Plusnet wouldn't get a lot of people signing up for it.
BTW, to totally counter what you are saying, I can't immediately find it but there was a topic that ran for many, many months with a number of users asking for a Pro Lite product - same priorities, smaller allowance, cheaper price.

[#8]

Quote from: matthardwick

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.

I would agree with this, however I started a thread asking about the priorities earlier in the year. The one thing I forgot to ask (which could probably be answered with a bit of common sense) is whether or not our "priority" traffic has priority over other Plusnet customers, or over all other customers, regardless of what ISP they're on.
The answer is likely to be that our traffic has priority over other Plusnet customers only, which makes the whole "super high priority" claim a bit of a marketing ploy. Which is a shame, but when you think about it, how would Plusnet guarantee their Pro Package customers had priority over TalkTalk customers, for example?

Quote from: matthardwick

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

Although I'm against the low 20Gb cap, I have to disagree here. I have two WoW players in my house, both of whom play every day between 5pm and 3am(!) and I myself play Star Trek Online a couple of times a week, and our gaming usage never exceeds around 5% of total bandwidth usage.

Quote from: Steve

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!!

You seem to be forgetting that just because some people play games online, that doesn't mean that gaming is the ONLY thing they use the internet for. As I've said before, the type of people who play games online are MOST likely to be the sort of people that need the biggest allowance, as they'll often work from home via the internet, stream online TV shows, regularly download updates for programs and games, and everything else you can think of.
I think it's slightly unfair that just because some people want to use their connection for gaming, that they're told they have to have a very low monthly limit, despite paying the most money per month, and being the sort of person that would actually need the highest cap.

Quote from: David

and Plusnet has to protect the business users connections from home users...

What about the people who work from home? As I've said in a previous post (or in another thread somewhere) two of the three people in my household are web developers, and work from home on and off. If home users have to be capped during the day to ensure business users get a decent speed, what about the business users who are AT home?

[#9]

Quote

What about the people who work from home?

They should be on a suitable package shouldn't they - possibly one of the business packages.  Especially if they're operating from home as from memory, it's against the T&C to run a commercial business over a resi package.
If it's the odd occasion, then there is no problem.  I have very little issue whenever I need to connect remotely.

[#10]

Quote from: geofftswin

Quote What about the people who work from home? They should be on a suitable package shouldn't they - possibly one of the business packages.  Especially if they're operating from home as from memory, it's against the T&C to run a commercial business over a resi package. If it's the odd occasion, then there is no problem.  I have very little issue whenever I need to connect remotely.

It is the odd occasion... but it's always the odd occasion between 8am and (around) 6pm, when it's considered peak time and the traffic is paid for. And working from home doesn't mean that the line is used exclusively for working, in the same way that getting a package aimed at gaming doesn't mean it'll only be used for gaming.
At the end of the day, a home package will be used for everything, with certain users using their connection for a larger variety of things than others. So when you pay for the highest-priced package you should expect to get the highest service, including the highest monthly limits, highest traffic priority, etc. 20Gb just doesn't cut the mustard. Everything else is fine as far as I can see (including support, I might add) but the monthly limit is just too low.

[#11]

As I pointed out, I pay more for my package (£22) and get less (13Gb) and have restrictions placed on my speeds during peak hours.  I'm at home all the time, I play games, download patches, iso's, software, stream videos etc. etc. etc. 
As you can see in the attached image, I use a *lot* off peak, going as far as 85Gb, but you'll notice my peak usage doesn't hit the 13Gb, it can do, it can go over and I suffer intolerable speeds until it turns over (which has happened with 2 weeks to go).  Now, if someone like me who can happily find 100Gb to download one month, 50Gb the next and this month so far (1 week) has used 5Gb peak, 12Gb off peak, can make adequate use of my time, why can't someone whose paying less for more?

[#12]

Quote from: Dom

So when you pay for the highest-priced package you should expect to get the highest service, including the highest monthly limits, highest traffic priority, etc. 20Gb just doesn't cut the mustard.

When I buy the most expensive Bugatti Veyron, I should get the highest service, including the fastest car, the best servicing, and the best mpg
Just paying more for a service doesn't mean you get the 'most' of everything, you get the 'best' of some things, at the expense of others.
B.

[#13]

I seem to recall the PN Pro was introduced around the same time as BBYW.
At that time, it had a better usage allowance and higher priorities than some of those packages.
Now it does seem to be a poor relation.

[#14]

Quote from: Barry

When I buy the most expensive Bugatti Veyron, I should get the highest service, including the fastest car, the best servicing, and the best mpg Just paying more for a service doesn't mean you get the 'most' of everything, you get the 'best' of some things, at the expense of others. B.

So do you consider 20Gb as "the best" service for the top package?

[#15]

I'm not necessarily agreeing that the 20GB 'included' bandwidth is sufficient for every need.  What I'm trying to highlight is the fact that the Pro product is firmly pitched at all protocols having line speed.  Going back to the Veyron analogy - it's a bloody fast car at all times, but you need to keep putting fuel in it
So, the Pro product is a fabulously fast product for all traffic types, but if you use all the bandwidth you should expect to pay more to 'refill the tank'.
B.