Ridiculous download speeds
with a 20Gb download limit.......... 
It would be better described as an allowance rather than a limit. There's no reason why you can't download far more than that at peak times if you pay the extra.
An update on this issue from the original poster would be nice?? 
Hi there,
That seems like the most likely cause. You could find out for sure by running a Wireshark capture.
The network *would* be busy if we didn't
The rate limits ensure that everybody gets their share. When they're not implemented you find that a small proportion of customers saturate all of the bandwidth which causes problems for others. The blunt answer as to why we limit the speed is because that's how the product has been designed at the price point we're providing it at. As others have mentioned, there are packages available that don't have these restrictions.
Also, download sites/servers aren't rate limited on Value between Midnight and Noon.
Both pages were present from the day we started selling our Value product.
It does benefit us from a network management perspective else we wouldn't do it. We can provide everything at line speed but to take advantage of that you have to pay for it I'm afraid.
It's sounds to me like you might not be on the best package to suit your particular requirements?
Quote from: rigbypa My broadband connection gives me about 6 Mbps. So why oh why is it taking over 2 hours to download Photoshop Elements - file size of just over 1 Gig?
I think I know the technical answer to that - Plusnet is limiting my download speed because Adobe distributes it via Akamai.
That seems like the most likely cause. You could find out for sure by running a Wireshark capture.
Quote What I don't understand is why Plusnet thinks it's a good idea to limit my speed for this type of traffic all the time - even if the network isn't busy.
The network *would* be busy if we didn't
The rate limits ensure that everybody gets their share. When they're not implemented you find that a small proportion of customers saturate all of the bandwidth which causes problems for others. The blunt answer as to why we limit the speed is because that's how the product has been designed at the price point we're providing it at. As others have mentioned, there are packages available that don't have these restrictions.
Also, download sites/servers aren't rate limited on Value between Midnight and Noon.
Quote I've read the traffic prioritisation page, and the one on expected download speeds. I knew about the first when I signed up, but not about the second, which may have been added at a later date - certainly the page is dated from after I signed up.
Both pages were present from the day we started selling our Value product.
Quote Allowing my connection to use all the speed available to it will just make me a happier customer. It won't mean I download more in total - or at least if I do, then Plusnet can charge me more, as I'll have to upgrade my package. As things stand, I'll probably make an effort to download less stuff, because it takes so ridiculously long. How does that benefit either of us?
It does benefit us from a network management perspective else we wouldn't do it. We can provide everything at line speed but to take advantage of that you have to pay for it I'm afraid.
Quote Plusnet, does your traffic management policy need a rethink?
It's sounds to me like you might not be on the best package to suit your particular requirements?