NTL's opinion on Filesharing

[busterdan]

This may be a stupid question, but with increasingly fast broadband connections and the increase of P2P methods, I just wondered what NTL's opinion on this might be...

Especially as much of what is shared will be breaching copyright.

I have always downloading the odd MP3 or app using the likes of Kazaa and now I have a 1mb+ connection BitTorrent, Emule and other apps are proving very tempting.

But I don't want to be kicked off NTL for downloading loads and loads of "stuff". Is there an acceptable limit or quota that NTL tend to stick to....lets say 100mb download each day....it wouldn't take much to get to do that I think but would this likely be a problem?

Thanks

[downquark1]

Your using bandwidth, they don't like it ;)

Perfect NTL customer - has a large bank account and dies after buying 1.5mb connection, not found for months

But I don't want to be kicked off NTL for downloading loads and loads of "stuff". Is there an acceptable limit or quota that NTL tend to stick to....lets say 100mb download each day....it wouldn't take much to get to do that I think but would this likely be a problem? The cap it 1gb a day. Which you should not exceed more than a few times a week.

[dragon]

The cap it 1gb a day. Which you should not exceed more than a few times a week.


they very rarely enforce that though :D ;) :erm:

[badnbusy]

Its not so much a "cap". Your service wont go off (or slower) if you go over 1gb/day.

Its more of a "guideline" :)

[Tezcatlipoca]

This may be a stupid question, but with increasingly fast broadband connections and the increase of P2P methods, I just wondered what NTL's opinion on this might be...

Especially as much of what is shared will be breaching copyright.

I have always downloading the odd MP3 or app using the likes of Kazaa and now I have a 1mb+ connection BitTorrent, Emule and other apps are proving very tempting.

Well, just remember that the ntl terms & conditions prohibit using the service to breach copyright:

http://www.home.ntl.com/page/userpolicy

Plus there's always the chance that, if you share a lot of copyrighted material, the owner of the copyright may well find out & report you to ntl....or worse.

But I don't want to be kicked off NTL for downloading loads and loads of "stuff". Is there an acceptable limit or quota that NTL tend to stick to....lets say 100mb download each day....it wouldn't take much to get to do that I think but would this likely be a problem?

Thanks


As other people have said, there is a 1GB per day "limit" (not a cap).

If you download more than 1GB per day, for 3 or more days in any consecutive 14 day period, ntl may contact you & ask you to cut down on your usage.

More on it is available in the user policy linked above, plus there's info here: http://www.ntlworld.com/service_update.html

There are also *many* "cap" threads here at CF, if you do a search.


Its more of a "guideline" :)

[Matth]

Look up "Peerguardian" - that main reason for getting into trouble, is being found with stuff shared by snoopers - that seems to be the way some people ended up getting a cease and desist.

I'm not saying anti-snooper blocking will guarantee your safety, but you won't live very long on a P2P network without it.

[dragon]

Look up "Peerguardian" - that main reason for getting into trouble, is being found with stuff shared by snoopers - that seems to be the way some people ended up getting a cease and desist.

I'm not saying anti-snooper blocking will guarantee your safety, but you won't live very long on a P2P network without it.

hopefully if your not doing to much sharing they will decide your not worth going after.


ive seen all this stuff about people being sued for downlodaing music and movies from kaz.etc with Riaa and that but i don't think ive ever heard of one person being sued for downloading software from p2p. :confused:

[andygrif]

I would imagine the opinion of ntl would vary according to who you spoke to...for example:

Marketing department see p2p as a selling point of the broadband service (and still think the service has no limit)

Network department don't like you using their bandwidth

Legal department could not possibly condone the illegal breaches of copyright.

And to clarify about the BPI suing people for using p2p - at this stage they have applied to the courts to force ISPs in this country to reveal the identity of 28 IP addresses and if sucessful will commence legal proceedings against those people.

These 28 are amongst the worst offenders when it comes to sharing copyrighted material, not those that only download.

The problem is that the government minister for arts has publicly lent her support to such action, which in my opinion (and I am against illegal p2p) is wrong. This is a civil case and not in contravention of any criminal law, therefore should not be of concern to the government - but as she's said what she's said it is quite likely the courts will agree with the BPI and force the ISPs to reveal these people's identities.

If (or more likely when) this happens you can expect a second round to begin fairly soon afterwards.

Personally I feel they should be more concerned with people selling counterfeit CDs which is far more damaging to the industry, but then that doesn't scare music lovers so has little effect - and file sharers are far easier to catch.

[Chrysalis]

I would guess these 28 people are leaving big connections on 24/7 uploading continously, but I agree with andygrif they should really be after the people selling the cd's.

[Fractal Helix]

I don't see why you shouldn't be able to download stuff....unless you get some fanmail from Universal or someone.

Taken from NTL's advert here: (http://www.home.ntl.com/icat/broadband&source=minitower_half)

1.5Mb Broadband Internet*

More than 25x faster than standard Dial-up Internet. Perfect for heavy internet use, playing games and downloading music, film and software.

I'd just carry on ;)

[quadplay]

Perfect for heavy internet use, playing games and downloading music, film and software.

I'd just carry on ;)

It is, of course, possible to legally download music (iTunes, et al), films (numerous short films are available legally) and software (see www.download.com for example!)

[Chris W]

It is, of course, possible to legally download music (iTunes, et al), films (numerous short films are available legally) and software (see www.download.com for example!)

and of course through Broadband Plus (www.ntlworld.com/broadbandplus) ;)

[andygrif]

More than 25x faster than standard Dial-up Internet. Perfect for heavy internet use, playing games and downloading music, film and software.

I'd just carry on ;)

The manufacturer of my car says it will go 155 mph...does that mean it's not illegal for me to do so now? Cool! ;)

[iron25]

I think if you are just a heavy downloader then ntl will not bother you. I think it's when you start to upload constantly that ntl might give you a call as I'm lead to believe that it is the upstream that affects the network more than the downstream. Why do you think they only give 256k, if you want more then you have to pay alot more.

With regard to the filesharing issue, I knew someone that was downloading movies using bittorrent and was subsequently issued with a threat of legal action by universal studios. It had his name, isp and movie and looked pretty legit. Did a search on google and I couldn't find whether or not it was a hoax. I read that the RIAA (Rip-off Industry of American Association) only target those users that heavily share the files so if you don't act as a server and allow people to download from you, I reckon your pretty safe.

The trouble with file sharing software is anyone can see exactly what you are sharing. Download from the newsgroups, it's more anonymous and afterall, you are only downloading text headers ;)

[dragon]

dont get me started on RIAA and the BPI

anyway i agree with andygriff with what ntl say depends on the department.

bah i dont think they will ever stop p2p and you have to take the risk that you might get caught someday you just have to hope that you are not one of the unlucky people


Oh and i think the Upstream on NTL is kinda poor on the 750kb service, hopefully the next speed upgrade will be on upstream.

[busterdan]

Thanks for your opinions and feedback guys....obviously this is an area of lots of uncertainty....

I guess at the end of the day if there is any breach of copyright then NTL would need to be seen as actively discouraging this.

As for myself and my new 1mb link....well yes the upload speed is much better than I have been used to and BitTorrent... enjoys that bandwidth too!! but my BitTorrent download speeds over the last few nights have been terrible (around 20KBps but more often 10kbps and less).

Hmm PeerGuardian.... I might check that out ;)

[SOSAGES]

just dont download it if its illigal lot easier

[andygrif]

bah i dont think they will ever stop p2p

I'm presuming you mean they won't stop swapping of copyrighted music and video over p2p? If so, there is some software about to be subscribed to by a few labels that will effectively block you downloading their music. It works by 'listening' to search requests then presents you with thousands of download streams - all pointing to incorrect files - they claim it's about 98% effective.

If it works and all the majors sign up to it, then the popularity of p2p for music will really tail off as people won't be bothered to try after a while.

[Fractal Helix]

I love it when people try to pick holes.....

Of course that advert doesn't make it legal for you nor does it make a loophole in the T&C's for you to jump through. Anyone remember reading the NTL advert in some local newspaper that advertised the ability to download Spiderman.

How many people receive these letters from NTL? I know of more than one person who is either uploading or downloading almost every hour of every day and has't received any.

The speed limit analogy....wow.

[dragon]

Thanks for your opinions and feedback guys....obviously this is an area of lots of uncertainty....

I guess at the end of the day if there is any breach of copyright then NTL would need to be seen as actively discouraging this.

As for myself and my new 1mb link....well yes the upload speed is much better than I have been used to and BitTorrent... enjoys that bandwidth too!! but my BitTorrent download speeds over the last few nights have been terrible (around 20KBps but more often 10kbps and less).

Hmm PeerGuardian.... I might check that out ;)


limit your upload to around 17kb cus if u max out your upstream the ack packets cant get out and therefore your download speed drops drasticly.

least thats what i remember someone telling me when i asked about it,

[andygrif]

I love it when people try to pick holes.....

Of course that advert doesn't make it legal for you nor does it make a loophole in the T&C's for you to jump through. Anyone remember reading the NTL advert in some local newspaper that advertised the ability to download Spiderman.

How many people receive these letters from NTL? I know of more than one person who is either uploading or downloading almost every hour of every day and has't received any.

The speed limit analogy....wow.

I guess that was aimed at me...so I would just point out that it was tongue in cheek hence the ;) at the end of it.

The wider point I was making was that it doesn't matter what ntl say you can do with your BB connection, it's your responsibility and if you do something you get caught for that's your lookout - just like if I drive at 155mph I know I might get caught. You see my point?

Also, what letters are you talking about? The cap letters?

[Fractal Helix]

Andygrif: No, sorry it wasn't really and also - I didn't notice the ;-)

:dunce: