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ADSL FAIR USAGE POLICY
Version 2.0 (May 2007)
1 Why is there a need for a Fair Usage Policy?
Gamma is committed to providing Channel Partners and their customers with a high
quality service suitable for business use, at a competitive price.
To achieve this Gamma uses a network that only carries data for businesses (which
send and receive far less data than residential users, subsequently using less bandwidth).
We manage the available bandwidth carefully and very closely. As with all broadband
offerings the available bandwidth is contended across all users; if a group of users
use a disproportionately large amount of bandwidth (i.e. transfer a disproportionately
large amount of data) then this will:
a. impact the available bandwidth for the rest of the users;
b. potentially degrade the service;
c. drive up the cost of delivering the service to Gamma Partners.
It is a well known fact among ISPs that on badly managed networks 1% of customers
can utilise in excess of 30% of the available bandwidth.
As Gamma provides an un-metered service (where we do not charge by the amount of
data transferred) it is important that we ensure that all customers use the service
fairly. Ultimately providing a poor quality of service is not an option for us,
so unfair and disproportionate use of the Gamma service would lead to an increase
in prices across all users. So as to ensure a high quality service at a competitive
price, a FAIR USAGE POLICY applies to all users.
2 How will this policy affect your customers?
The majority of customers that will be affected by this policy are those using file
sharing software such as peer-to-peer and binary newsgroups (USENET). Such software
(for residential applications) is typically used to send and receive large files
(such as music and videos) and can be left running throughout the day - this unreasonable
use of the internet uses a massive amount of bandwidth and in many cases is illegal.
Customers using their broadband service for sending e-mails, browsing web-pages
and other typical business applications will not be affected.
In order to maintain a business grade service, residential applications should not
be used.
3 What is the policy?
A fair usage threshold has been set for the Gamma product set:
Standard ADSL services (all speeds) are not expected to transfer more than 30 Gigabytes
of data during the course of a month.
ADSL Max services are not expected to transfer more than 50 Gigabytes of data during
the course of a month.
Data transfer is measured on the total amount of data uploaded and downloaded during
a particular month.
4 What is the process?
MONTH 0 - The total amount of data the user downloads and uploads is measured in
Gigabytes (GB).
MONTH 1, Usage Warning - If a user is seen to exceed the relevant monthly limit
then we will contact the serving Partner by the close of business on the 2nd working
day of the month by e-mail. The Partner will be asked to contact their user and
request that they modify their usage accordingly.
MONTH 2, Excess Usage Payment or Speed Restriction - If the customer's usage does
not change by the end of the next month and following the warning, we will contact
the Partner by the close of business on the 2nd working day of that month by e-mail.
The Partner then has the following choice to make:
1) EXCESS USAGE PAYMENT
In order for the service to continue to operate at the usual speed the Partner/customer
can agree to pay for the excess usage over and above the relevant limit. The excess
usage charge is set at 50p per GB.
For example:
A customer has a Max 800 service and transferred 70GB in month 1. Despite being
issued a warning, in month 2 they once again exceeded the FUP and transferred 80GB.
The excess usage for month 2 was therefore 30GB (80GB minus 50GB) and the excess
usage charge raised for month 2 was £15.
Partners must advise Gamma that they are willing to pay the excess usage charge,
by way of return of the original e-mail, by the close of business of the 3rd working
day of the month.
If the customer's usage is over and above the relevant limit the following month,
the Partner will again be asked to pay for the excess usage.
2) SPEED RESTRICTION
If the customer is not willing to pay for the excess usage, or the Partner does
not confirm acceptance of the excess usage charge by the close of business on the
3rd working day of the month, then customer's service will be restricted - we will
make available less bandwidth for the customer to use. This restriction will be
placed on their service until the 1st working day of the next month.
If the usage has dropped to an acceptable limit during the time the restriction
is in place, the restriction will be lifted. But, if the limit has once again been
exceeded the restriction will remain in place (unless the customer then agrees to
pay for the excess usage for that month).
4.1 Regrading to ADSL MAX
Customers using standard ADSL services will have the option to regrade to an ADSL
Max service in order to take advantage of the higher limit for this service type.
However, if a warning has already been issued and the customer breaches the limit
in month 2, they will still be required to pay the excess usage charge or the service
will be restricted until the migration completes. Once a service has been regraded
then any restriction in place will be lifted.
4.2 Process Exception
For ADSL lines provisioned before May 2006 customers will be required to migrate
their service to the new network - speed restrictions will then be put in place
for the remainder of the month.
5 What affect will restricting a customer's service have?
The customer will experience a slowing down of their service. The extent of this
degradation will depend on what the customer is doing and how many users are connected
to the service. If a small number of users are web-browsing and reading emails,
they will notice a slowing of the service. If on the other hand they are using Peer-to-Peer
or file sharing software, or they are downloading files from the internet or an
external server, they will experience a significantly and possibly slower service.
6 What can a customer do with 10 Gigabytes of data transfer?
A customer can:
1) send and receive a total of 100,000 emails
2) view over 100,000 standard web pages
3) transfer over 10,000 1mb files, or
4) make 80,000 minutes worth of FeaturePlus calls
7 Applicable Products
The Fair Usage Policy applies to all ADSL variants, but does not apply to SDSL products.
8 Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What happens if my customer cannot or will not moderate their usage following
a warning?
A: The customer can either pay for the excess usage for the retrospective month
(allowing them to continue to use the service as normal) or their service will be
restricted.
Q: If a restriction is applied, how long will it be in place for?
A: A restriction will be put in place until the 1st working day of the following
month and will be lifted only if the customer usage for that month is less than
the fair usage limit for their service.
Q: How and when will we, the serving Partner, be notified when a customer's usage
has exceed the relevant limit?
A: The serving Partner will receive the notification from Gamma, via e-mail, by
the close of business of the 1st working day of the month. The Partner will have
to accept the excess usage charges, by way of return of the original e-mail, by
the close of business of the 3rd working day of the month.
Q: Does the fair usage policy apply to customers using the Max 800 or Max 400 service?
A: Yes it does. However, the fair usage limit is 20GB higher than that of standard
ADSL services.
Q: Can I regrade a standard ADSL service to a Max service to increase the fair usage
limit for my customer?
A: Yes you can. However, if a warning has already been issued and the customer breaches
the limit for the second month in a row, you will still be required to pay the excess
usage charge or the service will be restricted until the migration completes.
Q: Does the fair usage policy apply to customers using SDSL?
A: No, it doesn't. SDSL is designed for high levels of data transfer, especially
where the customer is sending as much (or more) data as they are receiving.
Q: Which e-mail address should I use for correspondence about the Fair Usage Policy?
A: You will receive e-mails from fairusage@gammatelecom.com
and it is this address that all e-mails regarding the policy, including acceptance
of charges, should be sent to.
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