3 gig cap ?

KdjaCL · 07-04-2002 1:20pm #1

with the possibility of ADSl soon (this millenium).
Why is everyone so annoyed at the cap?
3 gig is a lot ,fair enough we shouldnt have a cap at all.
But i think i will get used to it .
Kdja

JamworkS · 07-04-2002 2:19pm

With the amount of SHlTE that i receive everyday, i'll say the 3 gb cap will be passed in the first week of using it.

And i'm not talking just for myself i'm sure many others here will think the same. For me it's not good a 3 Gb cap, it's like not having ADSL at all.

JamworkS.

phreak · 07-04-2002 2:48pm

its the same problem with having to pay per minute. people dont want to watch how much internet they are using and worry about the next phone bill. they want to pay a certain amount per month and use the internet as much as they want. personally, if i get ADSL i will use it to download movies and other big files, so in my first week, i will be over the cap!

Winters · 07-04-2002 2:57pm

I agree. If i had ADSL I would host web sites from my server and would also be using the internet ALOT to downlaod large files and as a gamer would easily pass a 3gb limit in a week.

Frank Grimes · 07-04-2002 3:01pm

The novelty of a fast connection wears off after a bit.

I'm not trolling, but you can hardly complain about going over the cap if you're downloading movies etc.

Praetorian · 07-04-2002 3:03pm

3GB sounds like alot...but its not over a month.

Think about it this way, its 100megs a day.

I think you can get about 50 KB a sec on adsl. Which means you would have used your daily limit in little over 30 minutes.

So basicly you get ADSL running at 100% for 30 ish minutes per day...then you have to pay per minute (again)

Frank Grimes · 07-04-2002 3:06pm

You don't *have* to download 100 megs a day. I'm not saying the cap is a good thing, but there's ways of not going over it.

Lex_Diamonds · 07-04-2002 3:18pm

Why do some people just lie there and let people like Eircom walk all over them?

The fact is that 3gb is holy inadequate, even for a light user of ADSL. A cap somewhere in the region of 10gb would be alot more realistic and I could see myself keeping within that no problem.

Frank Grimes · 07-04-2002 3:25pm

As I said, I don't agree that 3 gigs is reasonable. But that's what it going to be (initially anyway, whether or not it changes is another thing).
So if that's what it is, you just have to work within it.

Lex_Diamonds · 07-04-2002 3:39pm

Unfortunately the 3gb cap will be the least of our worries. We have to contend with the lack of coverage and the ridiculous price that will be charged. I'm disappointed at the ODTR for folding and allowing the €50 wholesale price.

yellum · 07-04-2002 4:39pm

Originally posted by Frank_Grimes
The novelty of a fast connection wears off after a bit.

No it doesn't. I had a very fast net connection up to recently in work but its gone now that I changed jobs. It was really handy and helped in productivity, since the weight of webpages is increasing.

I'm not trolling, but you can hardly complain about going over the cap if you're downloading movies etc.

I agree with you there, but even downloading legal stuff will push you over your daily limit within a few hours.

Tellox · 07-04-2002 5:58pm

100megs a day is alright... most 20min long tv shows are about 30megs, thats 3 a day and still enough left for some gaming and chatting...

Dustaz · 07-04-2002 6:25pm

Ive had dsl since august and i have exceeded 3 gbs only one month since then. The attached file is a report generated by DUmeter. Its not 100% accurate because i kept forgetting to start it up, so the totals are actually higher but i have seen the stats that eircom generate and its close enough for a comparison(i was on holidays in march, hence the low figure:) ).

Generally, my usage is gaming, browsing, IRC, and Kazaa type stuff (he said mysteriously;) ). 3gb is tight, but it is possible to get by with it.

Originally posted by Lex_Diamonds
Unfortunately the 3gb cap will be the least of our worries. We have to contend with the lack of coverage and the ridiculous price that will be charged. I'm disappointed at the ODTR for folding and allowing the €50 wholesale price.

Absolutly, to me the wholesale price is a much bigger issue than the cap.

Dustaz · 07-04-2002 6:28pm

doh, forgot the attachment.

Celt · 07-04-2002 6:46pm

Originally posted by Dustaz
Ive had dsl since august and i have exceeded 3 gbs only one month since then. The attached file is a report generated by DUmeter. Its not 100% accurate because i kept forgetting to start it up, so the totals are actually higher but i have seen the stats that eircom generate and its close enough for a comparison(i was on holidays in march, hence the low figure:) ).

Thats impressive Dusty.
I know people on 28k who manage much more than that.
3 gb would be a fair cap on 56k, on dsl it's only there as a source of extra income for eircom

Dustaz · 07-04-2002 7:02pm

yeh, i really dont download that much. If i did download 10 gigs of stuff per month, i dont know where id get the time to view/play/listen/install all the stuff

Its more the unlimited connection time and the speed of connection that appeals to me.

kamobe · 07-04-2002 7:15pm

3 gig cap is PATHETIC. I'm on the trials, a post earlier said the novelty wears off - it doesnt.

There is no need for a cap. It's not like we're costing the telco more money by downloading more then 3 gigs, the only reason for there to be a cap, is GREED. I will not spend a penny on dsl if they release it with a cap.

Oh, and how many other countries with dsl have caps? Or had dsl introduced with caps?

How many countries HAVE dsl with a decent price in the first place.....

Why the hell did the whole nation stand by and allow the bloody government to sell our telco!!?! arrrgh.

damnyanks · 07-04-2002 7:22pm

Its a simple coin toss for those people complaining about there games and videos. Porn or Frag's which is more important.

sikes · 07-04-2002 8:33pm

i am on the trial and i can say that i go over 3 gigs. i mainly d/l bootlegs (only artists that agree eg U2 DMB)

i use to d/l mp3 bootlegs but now it is shn. each show is approx 800mg. i d/l about 1 a night.

thats (i think) 24gig a month. then there is general surfing.

i was think can other isps offer adsl and put on cap on it?

sikes · 07-04-2002 8:34pm

sorry that should read

Can other isps offer adsl without a cap?

eg esat

Felix Randel · 07-04-2002 8:52pm

Since the isp in question can provide there own bandwidth, use a third party or buy bandwidth off eircom to provide the ADSL service, they can put what ever cap they want on it, even none if they do so wish. Personally I think the cap is gone, since originally eircom thought they had fiddled it so there would be no one else offering ADSL(high wholesale price) they could basically but what ever cap on if they wanted.

The great thing about bitstream is that and isp can request access to any ADSL enabled exchange, this is not technically the case with llu.
basically once the wholesale price is acceptable, you will always have a choice between isp's.In theory this is a form of imperfect competition,
which is allot better then the oligopoly telecom system we have now.

I am on the trials, and last night I downloaded 4 gigabytes, all legal.The simply fact that needs to be excepted by
people is that if a 3 gigabyte cap is "a huge amount" to you, then chances are that your not the type of person
that should be on ADSL and definitely not the type of person the extremely high price tag is aimed out.
Your most likely a FRIACO type person.

KdjaCL · 07-04-2002 8:58pm

Hmm such opposing views.
Well i have never had DSL and assumed a 3 gig cap wasnt much (legal stuff) .And i want DSL for a basicaly decent net connection for games and dloads.
Now i cant say if i have DSL i wont go mental and start dloading like a lunatic.
Ah well hopefully i`ll find out if im a dloading lunatic in the next few weeks .
Kdja

sikes · 07-04-2002 9:01pm

i agree with you. 3gig is not a lot. those on the trial know that. i hope they just give up on the cap thing. my dream would be €70/month no cap

Felix Randel · 07-04-2002 9:12pm

Allot of people don't realize how much they download on 56k alone. Get this program and record what you download in a month. then double it as you on average, I would say spend twice as much time on a flat rate product as a metered once initial euphoria has worn off. That will give you some idea of what you will download from day to day on ADSL not including surprises.

pete · 07-04-2002 10:19pm

4 gigs last night?

I'm assuming then that you're not on a 512k line, which i'm told gives a steady 50k/sec for downloads - i'm open to correction but some quick headsums gives me:

50k/sec = ~3mb / minute

~3mb / minute = ~180megs / hour

~180 megs / hour = 4.32gb / day

root · 08-04-2002 1:35am

3 gb a month is nothing.I average 1 gb a day.Ok, 1 gb a day isn't normal but then neither is a 3gb cap.

I have dsl and cable in Belgium and the minimum cap is 10gb but you also have a unlimited option.

Dustaz · 08-04-2002 2:59am

I agree that 3gb is not enough. Im just saying that its possible to stay within the limits.

Felix, the attachment i posted is an export of my usage. I consider myself to be a broadband type person, i just dont download enourmous amounts of stuff.

ando · 08-04-2002 11:45am

query: is playing an online game effectively downloading/uploading at top bandwidth speed ? I mean, is it possable to go over a 3gb cap with aprox 2 hours a day online gaming ?

Samba · 08-04-2002 12:03pm

I am curious if 3 gig was the limit, what would happen once you have surpassed it, 1. They disconnect you, 2. They make you pay extra?

Im just back from a week in France, where DSL costs 30 euro a month with a 6 gig capped bandwidth, Thats double of what is being proposed here this to me seems quite harsh......

Mountjoy Mugger · 08-04-2002 12:06pm

The old proposal was to charge 3.6c per MB over the 3GB cap. The rumour mill hasn't indicated any change on this pricing structure.

It would be interesting to see if IOFFL can moan a bit on this point when they meet the ODTR tomorrow.

pete · 08-04-2002 12:14pm

Originally posted by ando
query: is playing an online game effectively downloading/uploading at top bandwidth speed ? I mean, is it possable to go over a 3gb cap with aprox 2 hours a day online gaming ?

As far as I know, most online games are optimised to send as little data as possible so that they're playable on a 56k modem.

So that would be a 'no', then. I think.

Dustaz · 08-04-2002 12:34pm

Originally posted by ando
query: is playing an online game effectively downloading/uploading at top bandwidth speed ? I mean, is it possable to go over a 3gb cap with aprox 2 hours a day online gaming ?

I can promise you from experience that you wont exceed a 3gb cap by playing online games (you could probably play a lot more than that and be safe, i have:) )

m1ke · 08-04-2002 1:16pm

gaming doesn't take up very much bandwidth sometimes only using bandwidth modem style 5k/sec.

The 3gb cap tho is utterly useless. Granted if you sit around and play games all day and surf and chat in irc and download the odd patch you'll be fine.

....

but if you actually have to do some WORK, transferring files to other computers, downloading etc... is really important and a 3gb cap will just make a mockery of whatever you need to do.

segadreamcast · 08-04-2002 3:57pm

So in a nutshell...

For casual browsing (IRC, gaming etc) 3 gig a month is OK

For working on the web (uploading files, downloading files, hosting) well...with 3 gigs...you're really not in a good position:eek:

Lex_Diamonds · 08-04-2002 3:58pm

Yeah, if you want to download GI JOE THE MOVIE then your up poo creak then arent you? CMON EIRCOM!! Set my DIVX free!

segadreamcast · 08-04-2002 4:01pm

Or listening to streaming radio for a few hours...I've often exceeded 40megs in a day on 56k listening to radio and working away for only a few hours*

* --- ugh, when I say few, I really don't know how long I was on for :P

sikes · 08-04-2002 4:20pm

i think esat may put a higher cap. cos they would get all dsl customers if they had a higgher cap or no cap at all.

so esat if your listening PLEASE

segadreamcast · 08-04-2002 4:26pm

Originally posted by sikes
i think esat may put a higher cap. cos they would get all dsl customers if they had a higgher cap or no cap at all.

so esat if your listening PLEASE

...PLEASE give me free adsl for ever

.

No, please, goodness, somebody price adsl fairly and competitively.

Countries like France, U.K, Canada, Kazakhstan, South Africa and Australia have it so why not us? We don't even have it in our capital city for goodness sake (I think we're the only capital city in the EU not to have it?) and that is absolutely horrendous.

How can we seriously go about calling ourselves the e-hub of europe when we don't even have decent broadband?

No wonder computer education in this country is in the state it is...:rolleyes:

Dustaz · 08-04-2002 5:16pm

Originally posted by NoelRock
For working on the web (uploading files, downloading files, hosting) well...with 3 gigs...you're really not in a good position:eek:

On the the I-stream Solo option (which is the 3gb one), you are not permitted to host any sort of server.

Celt · 08-04-2002 5:57pm

Originally posted by pete
4 gigs last night?

I'm assuming then that you're not on a 512k line, which i'm told gives a steady 50k/sec for downloads - i'm open to correction but some quick headsums gives me:

50k/sec = ~3mb / minute

~3mb / minute = ~180megs / hour

~180 megs / hour = 4.32gb / day

my 512k cable gives me a steady 75-80k down:

75k/sec = ~4.5mb / minute

~4.5mb / minute = ~270megs / hour

~270 megs / hour = 6.5 gb / day

4 gb / day = 14 hours steady downloading off of a good server

sikes · 08-04-2002 6:04pm

thats interesting about not being allowed to host a server on the solo option. on the origianl launh date i phoned eircom. One question asked was would i be allowed to host my own site. They said yes there was no problem.

well thats a kick in the ....

ps good luck in your new role dustaz

Felix Randel · 08-04-2002 6:41pm

Your allowed host what ever you want, basically they wont stop you. the official T&C are not finalized, Dustaz shouldn't confuse the T&C of the trials with the retail ones. You will not however have a static Ip address. Which will cause you problems when hosting. The way around this is to use a remote dns type server such as dns2go.com.

Dustaz · 08-04-2002 6:50pm

I signed a retail contract.

I also assumed that the reason the cap was there was to prevent server hosting and therefore throttling bandwith (ok, and also to grab as much money as possible

)

sikes · 08-04-2002 7:02pm

the contract that you signed is that for 12moths from when you signed or when you start paying

Dustaz · 08-04-2002 7:06pm

well, thats the million dollar question isnt it

I wake up sweating every night about that one

Felix Randel · 08-04-2002 7:18pm

Then my T&C are far more up to date then yours, yet they make no mention of hosting anything.

I can post them if you want

Mountjoy Mugger · 08-04-2002 7:45pm

Bizarre. I don't think I ever signed any T&C.

pete · 08-04-2002 9:48pm

Originally posted by Celt

my 512k cable gives me a steady 75-80k down:

That's nice. But I thought we were talking eircom DSL?

I was quoting from download rates supplied by 3 people I know on the DSL trials.

I don't know anyone on the NTL dealie.

Jorinn · 08-04-2002 10:06pm

Originally posted by Dustaz
I signed a retail contract.

I also assumed that the reason the cap was there was to prevent server hosting and therefore throttling bandwith (ok, and also to grab as much money as possible )

Cap is a download cap as far as I know, if you were hosting a site wouldn't you be uploadin the site to another computer technically so it wouldn't be affected, however an ADSL line eventually drops the connection, generally I found it happened after ~20 hours connected.

Also ont the eircom site it merely says xGB of a limit, this however could be two things, either Gigabit or GigaByte which are too extremely different measurements. If it's Gigabyte and you have a 3GB limit then you can download 3072 Megabytes, however if it's 3 Gigabits you can only download 384 MegaBytes or thereabouts. During the trial I filled a blank 4 Gigabyte HD with only a freshly installed copy of Windows on it in a few days, basically I crossed the proposed cap in a few days. A cap is pointless, as far as I know the amount downloaded doesn't affect eircoms at all because of it's bandwidth distribution as a certain amount is divided among a certain amount of users, no one can hog the bandwidth as such, eircom even advertise their €1 billion investment in the fibre netwrok in the Irish Time so surely they can handle a not even state of the art DSL service?

segadreamcast · 08-04-2002 10:16pm

I think the cap is upload and download - feel free to correct me ^_^ because I'd love to have a definite answer.

pete · 08-04-2002 10:20pm

From eircoms residential ADSL page

For a single user, on a single computer

The product has both a USB port or ethernet option
Speeds are up to 512kbps downstream/128kbps upstream
Connection fee is €151.25 inc. VAT - Monthly fee is €133.10 inc. VAT
Additional equipment required: ADSL USB modem €175.45 inc. VAT or ADSL Ethernet modem €242
For eircom i-stream the monthly download allowance is 3 GB. **

*A monthly download allowance, included in the monthly recurring charge, applies to some of the eircom i-stream products. Once this allowance has been reached, a per Megabyte additional charge will be levied. See individual product descriptions for details.

** There is an additional charge of 3.6c incl VAT per MB for material downloaded over and above the stated monthly download allowance.

I also have a vague recollection of information on that page specifically ruling out hosting a server, but I can't be 100% certain.

3 gig cap ?

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