Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

That shows a lot of technical knowledge, I don't think, if you think all Nildrams customers can get well over 200gb a month without affecting anyone's browsing. Why have Nildram introduced caps? What will happen if all those dissatisfied NTL customers move over to them? How soon before their caps get lower?

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

I've been watching all these caps threads over the past year or so and the only thing that has recently made sense is the model from Plusnet and now Nildram.

Yes of course caps are necessary and whatever we all think about them, caps are here to stay for the foreseeable future BUT there is a case for compromise from both sides. Heavy users will argue until they are blue in the face that they 'have a right' etc etc to use their bandwidth as they see fit. Meanwhile, and this is an observation, the regular pro-cappers on here seem to think that their right is to use their bandwidth as THEY see fit and even though most of this band don't seem to use the service to the full extent, they do have an argument for good service levels. So it seems stalemate is reached and the threads go round and round. Personally I don't really care what other people do don't download.

Ultimately Ntl are the ones in the driving position. It has the upper hand over all of us and the driving force behind the company is profit - which frankly it should be. As a company it has tried to market itself as a technologically advanced solution to all your communications needs which until a year or so ago it probably did just that with the vast majority of its customers happy with the service provided.

However if recent trends in the broadband market are to be continued I think all this worry about caps will be a thing of the past as more and more adsl companies follow the lead of Plusnet and Nildram. Their peak time capping is IMO sensible and realistic and the overnight free-for-all is good for most people to download whatever they want to. Yes theres the argument for having to stay up till 1am or whatever time the cap ends but thats what download managers are for - to queue up the downloads and let the software do the work. If the powers that be at Ntl haven't sat up and taken notice of the latest developments in adsl speeds and capping levels I would be very much surprised. Contrary to most peoples opinions, ANY company the size of Ntl WILL have directors who are aware of market trends and you can bet discussions are afoot to monitor the situation. That doesn't mean they'll come out fighting - they have to implement the current batch of upgrades first - but they will react at some point. My guess is about September this year when they see how things have changed in adsl we'll see higher speeds and more flexible capping levels. Why? Because they'll be forced to by more innovative products from competitors INCLUDING BT who Ntl seem to want to follow rather than lead.

As for me, I browse the internet for a few hours a day, I don't do much streaming BUT, and i'm not ashamed of this, I download mp3's, movies and anything else that I want, when I want because I pay for a service that is broadband. How much do I download? Depends on how I feel. One month I can download 100gig and the next month 10gig. I don't worry too much about restrictions because I haven't had any communication from Ntl EVER to say that I am doing anything wrong so I will continue with what I do and download whatever until that changes. At which point I'll decide the way forward. It's less stressful.

So to sum up, yes there will be caps, no you won't have to worry about them for at least six months, yes we'll see changes for the better in speed and compromise and we will all live happily ever after - until the next capping thread ;)

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

The cap itself ALLOWS for 200GB a month, including off peak downloading. So clearly Nildrim DO think it's viable. Not everyone who leaves NTL will go to nildrim, in fact, i doubt if even half of them COULD get nildrim, i can't here in Northern Ireland.

And as more people sign up to Nildrim, i'm sure they'll use the money wisely to upgrade the networks etc, so that they can make even more money. Unless they learned business strategy from NTL. :erm:

Telewest have done it, they did the work first, and will make more money in the long run, because of it. They also don't have the constant problems NTL have (email, newsgroups etc) with faster speeds AND an uncapped service. It's just a shame that when the two companies merge, ntl will be in charge. :rolleyes:

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

"Please put brain in gear before posting."

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

And your point is? :dozey:

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

jesus... You get a 50gb peak cap. Then all you can eat off peak. How is downloading off peak affecting the NORMAL USER (you know, the people that matter)?

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

Because the "normal" user will change his online patterns ... ??

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

I don't understand what you mean? Why would an average user start browsing through the night because it's uncapped? Surely they won't care as they'll never reach anywhere near 50gb in a month? Plus it remains to be seen if people started downloading through the night (which I'm sure they do anyway) if it actually would affect normal browsing at those times.

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

It doesn't mean that Nildram think it's viable at all. They have recognised that something has to be done about customers usage. They may think that any more stringent capping at this time could affect their competitive position in the market. They have taken the first step of a walk, there will be others. Don't forget that Nildram have only 40,000 customers.

NTL have been getting a lot of stick because they announced the speed increases around three to four months before they are due to appear. Some are saying that they should have waited until they were ready to implement the increases before announcing them.

The same people are saying that NTLs 3 Mb top tier is far too low at the side of ADSLs 8Mb offerings. They forget that in the most part the 8 Mb ADSL services are only in the trial stage with BT and it will be Autumn :Yikes: before they will be available to other customers, that is if the trials are successful.

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

*IF* during the day becomes a problem for users, because it's slow, due to bandwidth/download issues, then users will change their pattern to suit the quieter times. People do already know that while the states are asleep, download times are quicker etc etc

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

Be realistic, the much loved 'average user' who downloads less than 3gb per month is never going to start checking email after midnight. Even if they did, we won't reach a point where the internet has ground to a halt due to p2p, certainly not any time soon.

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

I regularly browse through the night and I'm not alone in doing that. What's wrong with that? Anyone using high amounts of bandwidth has the potential to affect the usage of others. If ISPs all move towards Day and Peaktime capping with an overnight free for all then that overnight time will become peaktime and the time congestion is more likely to occur.

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

It's possible it could occur in the future, I agree. But, not as of now, or any time soon. Of course ISPs will continue to upgrade equipment, so who knows, that day may never come.

P.S. the people who download a lot of illegal software are also not alone, but browsing in the middle of the night does not make you an average customer, hence your needs should not be catered for, going by your earlier logic.

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

I would assume that ISPs such as Nildram only have enough resources to satisfy their customer base needs and possibly not enough at times. I can remember Nildram having to borrow a block of IPs from another ISP because they couldn't cater for the demand. Only having 40,000 customers would mean that they haven't got massive resources in reserve and could soon get caught short with a shift in usage patterns and the suggested influx of NTL customers into the ADSL networks. I use less than 3Gb per month and last night I was checking emails at 1:00am, 3:20am and 5:30am, although the 5:30am check was aborted when there was a power cut which lasted until after 7:00am..

Re: [Merged] *ALL* ntl Cap Discussion In Here Please.
 

No offense, but I trust Nildram's sums better than I trust your insanely 1 sided calculations. I don't see why it bothers you, you should be glad to see the back of heavy downloaders, why are you trying to convince people to stay with NTL? Also, I'm not one of those heavy downloaders.