Was invited to a lunch buffet at Sofitel yesterday afternoon by one of the telcos to celebrate Chinese New Year with other members of the media covering the telco beat. It was an opportunity for me to grill them about the NTC and bandwidth issue so I prepared my questions just in case.
And thanks to the my readers who left comments about the issue, I was able to bring more insights into the discussion with their product managers.
Was there capping in the first place? One of the product managers categorically said they’ve never implemented any sort of capping on their residential subscribers. Their only contention is that they place safeguards printed in the Fair Usage Policy. I then pointed out that a trusted source gave inside information that their 3G packages are actually capped — a measure they’ve finally admitted. They qualified though that the usage dynamics with mobile 3G is very different from fixed residential lines and as such, some sort of capping is necessary on that end (since the 3G spectrum is finite and limited).
So I asked them if there was some sort of over-subscription on their part. The answer was a qualified “yes” — that there was a time that they somehow exceeded their subscriber capacity. However, that was addressed immediately and have been continuously monitored and optimized on a regular basis.
The issue with “unlimited internet” zeroed in on false advertising. The use of the term “unlimited” actually refers to the time and not the bandwidth so when they said unlimited internet they actually meant you can use your internet 24 x 7 at a fixed price. Unlimited does not refer to unlimited bandwidth. That’s why we normally see two plans being offered — e.g. Plan 499 for 50 hours internet (this is the limited) and Plan 999 for unlimited hours of internet (this is the unlimited).
I added that this is very confusing to regular consumers who know very little about bandwidth and such. Their proposed solution — educate the consumer about the which type of internet service is appropriate for their lifestyle or usage pattern.
So why not just offer bucket pricing too, I asked? If they say that only 1 to 2% of the subscribers actually exceed “normal” usage patterns, why not just offer these subscribers a more equitable package that will suit their needs. Say Php500 for every 50GB of bandwidth? If I only used 5GB for the month, then I only get billed for only Php50. Now that’s fair use!
They didn’t really answer this but promised that they’ll be putting up something really soon to address this “idea”. At this point, I felt they were a little uncomfortable answering any more of my questions so I said that’s enough for today.
I believe bucket pricing could be a solution to the issue of “over-usage”. Imagine, if I only pay Php10 per 1GB, then I might be able to afford to subscribe to 3 different ISPs all at the same time. If I use 20GB on the 1st ISP, then 30GB on the 2nd ISP and 50GB on the 3rd ISP, my total usage is 100GB. I then pay Php200, Php300 and Php500 to each provider respectively for a total internet bill of Php1,000 a month — and to think I subscribe to 3 ISPs all at once. I don’t think you can afford that at our current situation.
If one of the ISP’s connection craps out and I don’t get to use their internet, I don’t pay anything at the end of the month since I didn’t use any bandwidth. How’s that for a fair use policy? I only pay for what I use.
This will remove the focus on service providers away from “marketing” and more on “quality of service”. The better the quality of connection, the more you use their service and the more you pay them at the end of the month. They might even open up your pipes more (from 2Mbps to 5Mbps) if they want you to use their line more often. Imagine one ISP billing you for just Php5 because their connection speed is really crappy and you can’t download anything thru their line.
The idea came up when after a reunion with some college batchmates, one of them tells me he’s still using dial-up at home. The reason was that he’s always in the office anyway and that he only access the net from home for 1 to 2 hours a day. Paying Php999 for unlimited internet hours, while affordable, is still expensive considering he’s only online between 30 to 60 hours a month.
By getting prepaid dial-up, he only pays for the hours he actually uses. He probably spends Php250 on dial-up for those hours (way cheaper than Php999). If we go by the bucket pricing model, he could subscribe to a DSL account and possibly still pay the same Php250 amount he used to pay with dial-up.
Of course this scenario might not apply to everyone but I’d like to see them ISPs try that billing method. That way, we’d really know who has the better service.
kristian says:
Guys i hate globe already… iv been watching you-tube for 5 hours only… ad i cant connect to the internet because of this…
GLOBE Advisory: Ur data subscription for today has reached 800mb. Ur remaining browsing hours will resume tomorrow subject to promo validity. U may opt to forfeit ur remaining subscription to browse for P5/15. To unsubscribe text POWERSURF OFF or SUPERSURF OFF to 8888. This promo is guided by Globe Fair Use Policy.
Time: 27/02/2011 02:17:09
vince says:
@Paul
horror story talaga yang link na yan. Let me quote
“This is going to hurt
Starting on March 1, Ontario TekSavvy members who subscribed to the 5Mbps plan have a new usage cap of 25GB, “substantially down from the 200GB or unlimited deals TekSavvy was able to offer before the CRTC’s decision to impose usage based billing,” the message added.
By way of comparison, Comcast here in the United States has a 250GB data cap. Looks like lots of Canadians can kiss that kind of high ceiling goodbye. And going over will cost you: according to TekSavvy, the CRTC put data overage rates at CAN $1.90 per gigabyte for most of Canada, and $2.35 for the country’s French-speaking region.
Bottom line: no more unlimited buffet. TekSavvy users who bought the “High Speed Internet Premium” plan at $31.95 now get 175GB less per month.
“Extensive web surfing, sharing music, video streaming, downloading and playing games, online shopping and email,” could put users over the 25GB cap, TekSavvy warns. Also, watch out “power users that use multiple computers, smartphones, and game consoles at the same time.”
You need “protection”
Here’s the “good” news: TekSavvy users can now buy “insurance,” defined as “a recurring subscription fee that provides you with additional monthly usage.” For Ontario it’s $4.75 for 40GB of additional data (sorry, but the unused data can’t be forwarded to the next month).
There are also “usage vault” plans—payments made in advance for extra data. Consumers can buy vault data for $1.90/GB up to 300GB in any month.
Where once TekSavvy consumers could purchase High Speed Internet Premium at a monthly base usage of 200GB for $31.95 a month, now they can get about half of that data (if they buy two units of insurance) at $41.45 a month.”
Paul says:
Sir yuga, I highly suggest you stop pushing for bucket pricing, or at least reconsider the consequences.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/01/canada-gets-first-bitter-dose-of-metered-internet-billing.ars
Because then this happens… 25GB per month cap. And an additional $2 per extra gigabyte. This cap is combined for upload and download.
The worst part? They still have a fixed rate to pa, whether or not they reach their 25GB quota. They followed the bucket pricing suggestion, but ultimately it works better on their end.
Internet Hizmetleri says:
For me speed and service is the problem, not price. On the low end though, I can see where this idea would have merit.
vince says:
as usual this has advantages and disadvantages. The most obvious disadvantage is, if the price is too high, it will discourage innovation, anything that consumes bandwidth, both legal and illegal. We all know what those high bandwidth uses are
If this was implemented years ago with a high price among other things, streaming video, MMORPG’s, even flash animation on websites would not be common
Jay says:
Reminds me of coin activated public telephone. 25cents X 3.
Paying the (approx) exact usage for every user will solve all this pirate issues and probably internet traffic if they dont intend to upgrade their system.
Herce says:
There is already a kind of bucket system in place. When you subscribe to the expensive tier fixed line service, there is no capping. At least none that I have seen.
In terms of the low end services, I do think this bucket idea has merit. As in the case of your friend who is still on dial up (can’t believe they still offer dial up).
However, as someone who uses fixed line at home a lot for personal server services, I would much prefer that the ISPs continue to offer more expensive plans that are truly unlimited but offer much faster bandwidth. I am willing to pay a price premium for faster consumer retail net and I know many others that are like me.
For me speed and service is the problem, not price. On the low end though, I can see where this idea would have merit.
Arnold Gamboa says:
Hi Abe,
The problem with this proposal is not in the proposal itself but with the kind of honesty the telcos will provide in terms of reporting the bandwidth consumptions.
Pag flatrate, madali lang ang usapan. Pero pag per bandwidth ang billing, I don’t think I can trust them with that — for now :D
Bohret says:
bakit hindi natin lapitan si manong jhonny ng senado para mabigyang pansin etong problemang eto, puro pera lng kc gusto ng mga telco, para maiwasan na mabawasan ang mga base stations nila hehehe
Bohret says:
Parang Smart Communications yung tinamaan ah, laging over subscription, crappy 3g connections, poor quality of service.. i want to blow up smart towers hehehehe
Gumz says:
thumb-up for this article… totally agree with your insights, and hopefully telcos will realize this…
Lezuric says:
nice one sir abe.. agree agree! :D
ricardo isip says:
why dont they just monitor over subscriptions, invest on new and better equipment for better service, malaki namn kita nila. then add new subcriber when the technology and their system permits.
booooo sa article na ito.
para ko ng nakikita, this plan is meant for the telecoms to gain more profit at the expense of their costumer. ganyan ang ngayari sa text messaging, inabot ng 4 na oras bago na recieve yung text ko. putol pa.
booo yuga
Jonaflormic says:
Nice and informative post. http://learner-spot.blogspot.com/ thank you!
Kabayan says:
The bucket system is a great idea! It is about time a real competition happens among the ISP providers – matira matibay baga, hehe.
kjalcordo says:
Good point pero to be fair naman sa mga ISP, parang lugi naman sila kung di gagamit ng bandwidth yung consumer.. Let’s say may minimum of 500 pesos per month yung mga ISP with 50GB na yan.. Anything exceeding that is 10 pesos per gb.. Now I wonder how much BW I’m using per day..
Teknisyan says:
good read… and I doubt that they’ll offer a bucket pricing.
the problem with telcos is that the offer unlimited pricing but when their service goes down for 2 days, you still get to pay the same amount even though they were down for two days.
add that to the inconsiderate reps that you’ll be talking on the phone (but not all the reps)
Mr.A says:
*Saka, kung high margin low sales ngayon; mas better pa kung low margin high sales. Yun ang trend ngayon.
john says:
I think charging by the bucket would be good for mobile internet at least you don’t have to pay per 30 minutes or per hour when the connection is crappy and unusable
Pepe says:
I remember this type of pricing being offered for 3G in Serbia and have always wondered why this has not yet been implemented here
Mr.A says:
Meydo mababa yung price na sinulat ni yuga sa article. Pero at least, naintindihan niyo na hindi lang puro kasamaan ang data cap. In fact, makakabuti pa ito sa gumagamit ng mobile phone sa internet.
http://pinoypcper.com/2011/01/04/how-can-bandwidth-cap-propel-the-use-of-smartphone-in-the-country/
Saka, it is better to have high margin low sales; better pa ang low margin high sales. yun ang trend ngayon.
Operation Super says:
If I was there, and of course eavesdropping on conversations, the moment I hear that they were referring to the time and not the bandwidth on this whole unlimited hoopla, I would shout “I smell bullsht!”.
vince says:
the bucket system has its advantages but I seriously think the ability to have 3 isp’s is a big turn off for the isp’s since if its so easy to get more than one isp, its also easy to compare and then to junk one. They would rather have you wondering if mas maganda or pangit ang ibang ISP so more chance that you stick with your current ISP
jm says:
sir yuga tulungan mo sana kami na sabihin yung mga hinaing namin sa NTC.
“Sana lahat ng handsets sa bansa wala ng network locked katulad sa singapore or HK, kahit sa singtel mo nabili yung phone or naavail mo sa postpaid subscription open line yung phone at hindi nakalocked sa singtel, sana ganun dito sa bansa lahat ng phone na iaavail natin sa Globe, Smart o Sun under postpaid or prepiad kit sana openlined din.”
Cris Marcos says:
Thats why i just load my tattoo when im going to use my netbook for blogging,pero when im just do facebook,mails,yugatech article reading i use n lang my mobilephone using handler opera mini for free by proxy ip.
Libre na wla pangover data charge na kailangan bayaran sa globe.
Just globe sim,s40 or any nokia symbian m0bilephones without load ok na internet,hehehe”,
Brown Bear says:
@Ruz
“inutile data plan”
No man, they’re “Smart” and they think you’re the one who’s “inutil” that’s why they treat you like that.
Money really made the minds of these telco people a pile of garbage.
BrownBear says:
Lagi ko na lang nababasa “abusive users”. Pwede ba paki define kung ano ibig sabihin nang “abusive user” in the context of Internet access subscription.
Kung 1mbps ang connection ko at pirming 1mbps ang network activity ko 24/7 abuse na ba yun? Eh ang subscription ko ay “1 mbps – unlimited” hindi naman sinabing “1mbps – use moderately”.
At kahit anong gawin ko hindi naman lalagpas sa 1mbps ang connection speed ko kaya wala akong na deprive na ibang tao nang access nila. Kung nakaapekto man sa ibang subscribers ang 24/7-max speed activity ko ay hindi ko kasalanan yun. Kasalanan yun nang telco kasi DI NAMAN PALA NILA KAYA i-accomodate madaming users eh panay pa din ang tanggap nila nang subscriptions.
Ruz says:
excellent piece yuga! I hope they see the logic in your proposed bucket pricing. That is FAIR INTERNET.
On a slightly off topic, I am one of those affected by this so called “unlimited” data plan (by Smart). I got an N8 thru retention and it seems they have a problem with symbian devices as I have been getting data charges for the past two months – even if i am on an unlimited data plan. Smart credited back the charges but was very vague on why it came up in the first place. Last communication I was informed that every time I use Ovi based applications, I will be charged on top of my unlimited access. So that will leave me with an inutile data plan. Cannot use nokia messaging, ovi apps, even using opera seems to be charged.
Come to think of it, I will welcome this “VAS on top of data plan” IF THEY WILL ADAPT your proposed bucket pricing.
Jeff says:
Nice one yuga. Mayadong business na ang dating. The company might have been concerned in gaining more income at the expense of the users. They are taking advantage of the lack of knowledge of most of their customers. Marami din kasing users ang hindi alam kung gaano ba talaga kabilis ang dapat na speed na nakukuha nila.
Jeric says:
Just upgrade your system and wag na kayo mag over subscription. Kung hindi na kaya ng system nyo, wag na mag dagdag, so better upgrade first before allowing more subscribers.
I have noticed that once they upgraded their system, gumanda yung connection ko. I was one angry customer last year sa smartbro share-it, esp. during peakhours! darn even facebook and speedtest would not load!
Few days before new year, I notice they added more IPs on my area, and since then gumanda na yung net speed, no more constant time outs and page not loading errors. I was back being a satified customer.
I hope tuloy tuloy nato till the end of the year. But I have a feeling that they will over subscribe again and by the middle of the year at mamomoblema naman ako, I hope I’m wrong!
Pahabol: Remove than darn 2 year lock in period! Or lessen it to let say 6 months.
Night says:
@sonofa well mahilig talaga sa tingi tingi ang mga pinoy =) pero I was just giving an example based on the numbers available. Di ko pa sinama ung ibang pwedeng mangyare =)
Winziph says:
mabuhay ka sir yuga.
Philippine Blog Directory says:
That is a great idea. I hope they don’t make it as expensive as the “per KB” charging used in the previous generation mobile internet access.
I can still remember that Globe charges 15 per KB before.
Philippine Blog Directory says:
That is a great idea. I hope they don’t make it as expensive as the “per KB” charging used in the previous generation mobile internet access.
I remember Globe charges 15 per KB.
TEHC SUPPORT says:
typo:
So I asked if them if there was some sort of over-subscription on their part.
Cake says:
People, please get informed. Bittorrent is just a protocol. Just like HTTP.
Streaming a music track through your browser uses as much bandwidth as downloading the same music track through bittorrent.
@Real Geek
Awesome generalization there. Most people I know use the internet for communication. The second largest chunk is for playing online games.
Fleeb says:
@Real Geek hahaha.
@Sonofa, it depends on the direction of the company. I knew one telco where their previous chief executive would rather have big margins than bigger/expanding marketshare. He was replaced with some one else who do not share the same idea.
Real Geek says:
“can’t they the telcos just block offending apps that hog bandwidth? torrents”
that would be ironic, because that’s a big reason why people subscribe. people think they get “free movies” .
intersectRaven says:
I don’t think bucket pricing can solve this since you can’t actually say or determine what amount you’re actually using. It’s easy to detect the current throughput BUT let’s remember that the TCP protocol itself allocates a fair amount of data to error correction and the like which means only a fraction of the actual detected data is really being used. That also doesn’t include the background services that automatically ping some site (Windows Update, NTP, etc.) which you *may* be using but isn’t really a conscious act of consumption.
Jiron says:
Siguro, IMHO, kung pinayagan itong “bucket pricing” mas marami ang makaka-afford ng internet line, dadami ang mga magsusbscribe sa mga ISP’s… which is a loop, considering na kaya nga may ganitong proposal ay para makasave sa bandwidth. then again I may be wrong.
Kahit anong gaein nila, basta dapat mag-improve ang customer satisfaction.
kyle says:
bababa ang sales nila kac alam nila na mas sulit ang ganun…mas marami ang makukuha nila kung fixed pricing ang paguusapan… ang mangyayari nito eh mag oofer sila ng additional price for the excess bandwidth used on top of your plan
Arvee says:
Yes, we will definitely benefit from bucket pricing IF the implemented price is alike with Sir Yuga’s example.
Currently, a WiMax ISP implements this kind of subscription, but for a hefty price of P1000/6GB.
If that’ll be the case, I’d stick solid with my P1000 “unlimited time @ max 1Mbps” subscription.
jun says:
naku.. di papayag mga telco nan.. palagay ko sa statistic nila eh.. mas marami ang average subscriber na di uubos ng 200-400 pesos a month kung ganun usapan.. 10 for 1 gig.. :) usually yung iba eh check email etc…
tuberong_tagalog says:
good point you raised here. it kept me thinking of my internet plan at home. thanks for the info, sir.
Sonofa says:
@night
Hindi naman po applicable yang scenario sa pinas… Madaming tao din ang gusto maka connect sa net using their phones pero di nila afford ang “unlimited” plans…
Bababa nga yung ave profit per person nila but they will get new customers naman…
At masmadaming tao ang may afford ng P200 to P500 kaysa sa mga nakaka afford ng P999
Like me… Pag meron per gb na payment kukunin ko yan… Kahit na P100 per gb…
Pwede na naka on ang push email, facebook, twitter at kahit anong social networking na yan… Kasi alam ko na di naman ako lalampas ng 1gb yun… Sa bahay ka na mag youtube…
rhyan says:
Isn’t this system being employed now by Wi-Tribe? I think they have a flexi that is similar to this system but with a twist. Their charge is still fixed to a certain amount.
http://www.wi-tribe.ph/products-2/free-to-move-flexi-plans/flexi-plan-598/
I also don’t think that the telco’s would eventually end up with this bucket plan unless the government makes it into a law without any influence from the telco, just what Erap did in texting to other network back then.
deuts says:
Amen to this article a million times!
Faust says:
can’t they the telcos just block offending apps that hog bandwidth? torrents, enable audio and video streaming intead?
Cake says:
@Abe
So did you actually ask them why they don’t offer bucket pricing then? What did they say?
Like I said before, I agree to bucket pricing in principle. I’m just too jaded with the ISPs to trust them enough that they’ll make it fair.
@Night
I totally agree with you. Since the usage of that 1-2% is subsidized (over-subsidized even) by the vast 98% that use very little, they shouldn’t complain.
Robin says:
I guess the problem is what to do with all the existing contracts, and that is why NTC intervention was needed. No problem offering new plans with bandwidth caps. If the contract says capped, and the subscriber agrees, there is no problem.
What do you do with all the old contracts that were entered into as completely really unlimited?
raul barrios says:
Now those are a lot of information for one day. Nice one Yuga. Hope telcos are reading this. The competition is sure to rise among them if what you suggest will come into action.
raul barrios says:
Now those are lot of information for one day. Nice one Yuga. Hope telcos are reading this. The competition is sure to rise among them if what you suggest will come into action.
Night says:
im talking about residential lines here. may both pldt dsl ako and sun broadband. hindi naman ako maka torrent sa sun dahil mas mabilis pa ata dial up ko dun. I just use it para may internet ako kahit saan.
Night says:
to put it in numbers
sample 100 persons
based to sa 2% nila na “abusive” at sa proposed pricing ni yuga
pag 100% nag babayad ng 999
P999 * 100 (100% na tao) = P99,900
pag may bucket plans ginawa ko ng P500 ang average babayaran ng mga “fair” users while P3000 sa mga “abusive” users
P500 * 98 (98% “fair” users) = P49,000
+
P3000 * 2 (2% “abusive) = P6,000
P49,000 + P6,000 = P55,000
P99,000 > P55,000 by a wide margin.
the only way I see bucket plans implemented is almost similar pa din sa 999 babayaran mo per month pero mag kakalimit ka ng bandwith. I dont see them making it cheaper for us. so in the end anong difference ng capping sa bucket plans?
Night Reply says:
Night, tama ka naman but the telcos can be creative with the pricing and still cater to those who download alot and those who don’t and still maintain revenues. Wi-Tribe charges you 999 per month for the first 6GB and 200 pesos per 1GB in excess.
Their solution targets those “abusive” users which I believe in Wi-Tribe’s scenario, are more than that of other telcos. I mean an average household with 4 internet users probably consume 6GB a month easily. So may guaranteed 999 na ang wi-tribe++ for heavy downloaders. Everybody is happy, in theory.
Night says:
they wont try this because majority (98% according to them) uses the internet “fairly”. so 98% ng subscribers nila sa malamang hindi aabot ng P999 ang bill compared kung lahat “unlimited” na tig P999 talaga lahat.
pag inaverage mo ung kikitain nila kahit pa may 2% na “abusive” according to them at lahat P999++ ang bill eh malaki pa din ung kikitain nila compared sa 2% lang na nag babayad above 1k while the rest 200, 300 or 500 lang.
plus pag hindi na “unlimited” ang plans most of the people na naka 24/7 torrents syempre hindi na mag DL yan kasi concerned na sila sa bandwith consumptions nila. so ung 2% na sinasabi nila na “abusive” baka bumagsak pa sa less than 1%. so theyll end up with almost 99% users not paying 999 compared sa before na almost 99% nag babayad ng 999.
Dan The Beast says:
Basta ikaw, Abe! BTW, na-invite ka bang umattend sa red carpet ng SMDC MOA the other night?
Abe Olandres says:
@paul – I could not believe it myself (but as he explained he does all the heavy internet stuff in the office and only checks email at home). I have another friend who does not use the internet too.
@dan the beast – thanks for the correction. My math is rusty na.
@lolipown – it does not hurt to try.
Ryan Ang says:
What should be done is to inform the consumers about their usage habits/patterns para ma justify ang pricing ng telco’s.
Dan The Beast says:
You got a point there, Abe!
Just a correction though, on: “Say Php500 for every 50GB of bandwidth? If I only used 5GB for the month, then I only get billed for only Php100.” It should be Php50. :)
Paul says:
One of your friends use dial-up? Really now. He/she doesn’t watch online video or view photo albums? From all the internet ads and markup stuff on websites these days, with dial-up the only thing you can access with any semblance of speed is pure text.
Besides, the shareholders of the telcos won’t allow bucket pricing. Particularly not at 10 pesos per gigabyte.
You said it yourself, only 1 to 2% exceed normal usage patterns. The other 99% do not place any additional strain on their system. They’d rather keep the status quo where they can charge everyone who subscribes to DSL/cable internet at least a constant 700 a month, than watch their profit go down the drain as the vast majority of the customers don’t meet the bandwidth quota and get billed only 100 a month.
merlin says:
In addition to the pay for what you use system, there should be a way to monitor your usage, like a website you can visit that shows you how much you’ve consumed, and the status of your connection (capped, over limit, etc). Para pagdating ng bill e walang magugulat.
peps says:
Juicy article and spot on and bucket system. Parang prepaid dial-up pero upgraded speed! Now, this a win-win situation for both telco and consumer.
I am currently on Globe 3Mbps, mabilis (up to 2.76MB/s max), pero since nasa office nga ako parati, di ko rin nasusulit kasi paguwi ko na lang nagagamit.
If mag-materialize itong bucket system, I will definitely take one.
Alexei Rivera says:
The little snag with metered pricing is that people will then start to just keep going offline instead of being “permanently on” the internet. Some people might not find that a problem, but for people who would rather stay on, they might have to be OCD as to how they get data from then on, like Ads for their IM clients and such – and that will eventually lead to being counter-productive if that happens.
razorous says:
If there’s an easy way to wirelessly route dial-up connection to computers/smart phones at home that just do usual email checks and a few Google searches i’d be* grateful!
razorous says:
If there’s an easy way to wirelessly route dial-up connection to computers/smart phones at home that just do usual email checks and a few Google searches i’d grateful!
Benchmark33 says:
Medyo nalinawan na ako dyan sa bucket system…and yes, I think nga na mas better yung ganyan, than paying unlimited time…since yung iba nga, sinusulit nga nila yung pagka unlimited by downloading 24/7 of files sa net…sabi nga maximize the use. Worse, if the connection is slow, talagang mapapa 24/7 ang paggamit nila ng net, instead na sandali lang.
fr0stbyte says:
I think the way Australian ISPs do it is much better. Same principle (you pay for what you use) but in this case you choose the bandwidth allotment upon subscription. Once you go over the data you’ve subscribed to, you are either shaped or charged for the amount of data you consume thereafter.
lolipown says:
>Imagine one ISP billing you for just Php5 because their connection speed is really crappy and you can’t download anything thru their line.
Oh I seriously doubt it’ll reach a point where this happens.
Hebron says:
Yuga for president!!!!