BT Broadband - will 15 gigs be enough for me? [long and waffly]

Right... just signed up for BT Broadband 512k (the non-Yahoo one).
Yes, *after* spending several days reading newsgroups, forums and so
on, so I'm well aware of the 15-gig cap. This is a fait accompli, not
least because someone else is paying for it! They insisted on a big-
name company (so Bulldog etc were out), and no-one was perfect -
Wanadoo have identical caps to BT and are slightly more expensive;
Tiscali seem to have a complete absence of customer service; PlusNet
treated me so badly a few years ago that I still can't face going
back; and AOL is... well, AOL. Also, there's the fact that on the
whole the BT dialup service I've used has been decent, and that a
couple of other people I know in this area have got BT Broadband and
are happy with it.

However, what I *haven't* been able to find on the various forums is
a good answer to the question of how much of a constraint 15 gigs a
month (which I'm aware is combined up/download) actually *is* for
someone like me, since the people who reply to those threads tend to
be either people who are very heavy users and get through 10 gigs a
day, or people who are such light users that even the BT Broadband
Basic 1-gig/month limit is more than enough. Moderate users like me
don't seem to answer these questions.

In other words... I do the odd bit of online gaming (maybe 2 hours a
week), but only with Grand Prix Legends. This is an old racing game,
but very playable even via a dialup modem and so I highly doubt I'll
play it much more even with ADSL. I do listen to net radio
occasionally, but a few hours a week maximum. I read text Usenet a
lot (via the n.i.n server), but don't look at binaries at all, and my
main email account is a Yahoo one which I normally read on the web,
so don't need to download any big spam mails.

I'll want to download the occasional games demo and a few other
larger programs (eg the latest versions of things like GIMP or
Mozilla), but have no interest in whole Linux distros - it's easier
just to buy those from eBay for a few quid, and I have Mandrake 10
already thanks to a friend. I don't do any P2P stuff at all; it just
doesn't interest me. There's only one computer (and the only console
I have is a 1989-vintage Gameboy ), so no networking. And so on
and so forth - as you can see, I use the net quite a bit, but only in
certain classes of usage.

My only real experience of broadband so far has been at the local
public libraries - I believe the biggest few libraries in
Worcestershire have something like an 8Mb connection, and the smaller
ones a 2Mb connection. They're also fairly lenient compared to some
authorities as far as their AUP goes (gaming is allowed, for
example), but since they'll only allow downloading to floppy disk
there's not usually much advantage in the having such a fast
connection. Moreover, comparing myself with other users there I'm
certainly using things like streaming video a lot less than most - it
works very smoothly, but in a two-hour session (Worcs' maximum usage
per day) I practically never watch more than 5-10 minutes of the
stuff, and quite often none at all, whereas quite often someone next
to me is watching video for more than half their time.

Obviously I'm expecting to use the net with broadband more than I
have been doing previously with dialup, not so much because of the
download speed but because of the ease of connection - not having to
sit around and wait for the modem to connect will mean it'll be much
more worthwhile just nipping on to look up one little thing or grab a
minor update of something like Irfanview. So, the question: do I
really need to worry about 15 gigs a month, or is that strictly for
the filesharers and game-hosters out there?

I *can* get a 1Mb service where I am, so I could bump things up to 30
gigs if really necessary. And I believe my line could manage 2Mb as
and when BT get it launched, which I imagine would allow a 60-gig
limit. But it'd be nice to know in advance whether I should start
planning for that now. Apologies for all this waffle, but if I'd just
asked, "Is 15 gigs reasonable?" I'd probably have got the same sort
of responses I've already seen, from the people at one end of the
scale rather than in the middle.

--
Above address *is* valid.

Support the world's oldest motorsport venue!
http://www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk/future.html

"David Buttery" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Xns95331705B10CEgplscrapyardyahoo@130.133.1.4
> Right... just signed up for BT Broadband 512k (the non-Yahoo one).
> Yes, *after* spending several days reading newsgroups, forums and so
> on, so I'm well aware of the 15-gig cap. This is a fait accompli, not
> least because someone else is paying for it! They insisted on a big-
> name company (so Bulldog etc were out),

Ah - you should have used "Cable and Wireless" as the big name instead of
mentioning Bulldog (now owned by C&W)

>(usage patterns snipped)
> Obviously I'm expecting to use the net with broadband more than I
> have been doing previously with dialup, not so much because of the
> download speed but because of the ease of connection - not having to
> sit around and wait for the modem to connect will mean it'll be much
> more worthwhile just nipping on to look up one little thing or grab a
> minor update of something like Irfanview. So, the question: do I
> really need to worry about 15 gigs a month, or is that strictly for
> the filesharers and game-hosters out there?

To me, you sound as if you will be fine with a 15GB limit a month - the big
question as you point out, is how your usage will change/increase once you
have access to a broadband connection.

What I suggest you do, is download/install a program like
http://www.dumeter.com/ which will actually log the amount of data
transferred in any given time period - this will provide you with a degree
of additional reassurance.

Regards
Sunil

On 27 Jul 2004 in uk.telecom.broadband, David Buttery wrote:

>asked, "Is 15 gigs reasonable?" I'd probably have got the same sort
>of responses I've already seen, from the people at one end of the
>scale rather than in the middle.

while there are days when I exceed 2 GB (I have 2x ADSL connections,
one 500, one 1000 kbps, with different ISPs), 500 MB would more than
cover my routine downloading / streaming music all day, and while it
rarely includes a games demo, some software downloads can be 20-50 MB
but I doubt you'll hit problems, and having someone else paying, won't
be unhappy with your expenditure Peter M.

David Buttery wrote:
> Right... just signed up for BT Broadband 512k (the non-Yahoo one).
> Yes, *after* spending several days reading newsgroups, forums and so
> on, so I'm well aware of the 15-gig cap. This is a fait accompli, not
> least because someone else is paying for it! They insisted on a big-
> name company (so Bulldog etc were out), and no-one was perfect -
> Wanadoo have identical caps to BT and are slightly more expensive;
> Tiscali seem to have a complete absence of customer service; PlusNet
> treated me so badly a few years ago that I still can't face going
> back; and AOL is... well, AOL. Also, there's the fact that on the
> whole the BT dialup service I've used has been decent, and that a
> couple of other people I know in this area have got BT Broadband and
> are happy with it.

Like building a house, you get a builder to build the walls, an electrician
to do the electrics, and a plumber to do the pipework, so why would you go
to a telephone company to get your internet, If you wanted a big name, no
caps, very reliable, inexpensive etc, I'd personally have gone for pipex.
(well actually plus.net 1st, but you discounted that one)

Jon

In an earlier contribution to this discussion, David Buttery
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Right... just signed up for BT Broadband 512k (the non-Yahoo one).
> Yes, *after* spending several days reading newsgroups, forums and so
> on, so I'm well aware of the 15-gig cap. This is a fait accompli, not
> least because someone else is paying for it! They insisted on a big-
> name company (so Bulldog etc were out), and no-one was perfect -
> Wanadoo have identical caps to BT and are slightly more expensive;
> Tiscali seem to have a complete absence of customer service; PlusNet
> treated me so badly a few years ago that I still can't face going
> back; and AOL is... well, AOL. Also, there's the fact that on the
> whole the BT dialup service I've used has been decent, and that a
> couple of other people I know in this area have got BT Broadband and
> are happy with it.
>
> However, what I *haven't* been able to find on the various forums is
> a good answer to the question of how much of a constraint 15 gigs a
> month (which I'm aware is combined up/download) actually *is* for
> someone like me, since the people who reply to those threads tend to
> be either people who are very heavy users and get through 10 gigs a
> day, or people who are such light users that even the BT Broadband
> Basic 1-gig/month limit is more than enough. Moderate users like me
> don't seem to answer these questions.
>
> In other words... I do the odd bit of online gaming (maybe 2 hours a
> week), but only with Grand Prix Legends. This is an old racing game,
> but very playable even via a dialup modem and so I highly doubt I'll
> play it much more even with ADSL. I do listen to net radio
> occasionally, but a few hours a week maximum. I read text Usenet a
> lot (via the n.i.n server), but don't look at binaries at all, and my
> main email account is a Yahoo one which I normally read on the web,
> so don't need to download any big spam mails.
>
> I'll want to download the occasional games demo and a few other
> larger programs (eg the latest versions of things like GIMP or
> Mozilla), but have no interest in whole Linux distros - it's easier
> just to buy those from eBay for a few quid, and I have Mandrake 10
> already thanks to a friend. I don't do any P2P stuff at all; it just
> doesn't interest me. There's only one computer (and the only console
> I have is a 1989-vintage Gameboy ), so no networking. And so on
> and so forth - as you can see, I use the net quite a bit, but only in
> certain classes of usage.
>
> My only real experience of broadband so far has been at the local
> public libraries - I believe the biggest few libraries in
> Worcestershire have something like an 8Mb connection, and the smaller
> ones a 2Mb connection. They're also fairly lenient compared to some
> authorities as far as their AUP goes (gaming is allowed, for
> example), but since they'll only allow downloading to floppy disk
> there's not usually much advantage in the having such a fast
> connection. Moreover, comparing myself with other users there I'm
> certainly using things like streaming video a lot less than most - it
> works very smoothly, but in a two-hour session (Worcs' maximum usage
> per day) I practically never watch more than 5-10 minutes of the
> stuff, and quite often none at all, whereas quite often someone next
> to me is watching video for more than half their time.
>
> Obviously I'm expecting to use the net with broadband more than I
> have been doing previously with dialup, not so much because of the
> download speed but because of the ease of connection - not having to
> sit around and wait for the modem to connect will mean it'll be much
> more worthwhile just nipping on to look up one little thing or grab a
> minor update of something like Irfanview. So, the question: do I
> really need to worry about 15 gigs a month, or is that strictly for
> the filesharers and game-hosters out there?
>
> I *can* get a 1Mb service where I am, so I could bump things up to 30
> gigs if really necessary. And I believe my line could manage 2Mb as
> and when BT get it launched, which I imagine would allow a 60-gig
> limit. But it'd be nice to know in advance whether I should start
> planning for that now. Apologies for all this waffle, but if I'd just
> asked, "Is 15 gigs reasonable?" I'd probably have got the same sort
> of responses I've already seen, from the people at one end of the
> scale rather than in the middle.

Your usage sounds broadly like mine. I have a 512k service from PlusNet -
and they provide a (slightly unreliable!) facility for displaying daily,
weekly and monthly usage.

I use (non-binary) newsgroups a lot, but that uses damn-all bandwidth. I
also use BBCi quite a lot for streaming video news reports - plus some (but
not excessive) software downloads and updates. I'm not into gaming at all,
and have no idea how much that uses.

According to the figures supplied by PlusNet, my usual usage is around 1GB
per *month*. If I really try hard by - for example - watching lots of things
like the live coverage of the Butler Report debate - I can get it up to
something approaching 2GB per month.

I wouldn't worry about a 15GB cap!
--
Cheers,
Set Square

"David Buttery" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Xns95331705B10CEgplscrapyardyahoo@130.133.1.4
15GB is a lot.
My average usage is 3 to 4 GB/month and I use the net a lot.

However what I don't do is run file swapping software.
You could easily exceed 15GB if you allow all and sundry to download
illegal MP3s and DivXs from you 24/7.

--

Brian Gregory (In the UK).
(E-Mail Removed)
To email me remove the letter vee.

David Buttery wrote:
> Right... just signed up for BT Broadband 512k (the non-Yahoo one).
> Yes, *after* spending several days reading newsgroups, forums and so
> on, so I'm well aware of the 15-gig cap. This is a fait accompli, not
> least because someone else is paying for it! They insisted on a big-
> name company (so Bulldog etc were out), and no-one was perfect -
> Wanadoo have identical caps to BT and are slightly more expensive;
> Tiscali seem to have a complete absence of customer service; PlusNet
> treated me so badly a few years ago that I still can't face going
> back; and AOL is... well, AOL. Also, there's the fact that on the
> whole the BT dialup service I've used has been decent, and that a
> couple of other people I know in this area have got BT Broadband and
> are happy with it.
>
> However, what I *haven't* been able to find on the various forums is
> a good answer to the question of how much of a constraint 15 gigs a
> month (which I'm aware is combined up/download) actually *is* for
> someone like me, since the people who reply to those threads tend to
> be either people who are very heavy users and get through 10 gigs a
> day, or people who are such light users that even the BT Broadband
> Basic 1-gig/month limit is more than enough. Moderate users like me
> don't seem to answer these questions.
>
> In other words... I do the odd bit of online gaming (maybe 2 hours a
> week), but only with Grand Prix Legends. This is an old racing game,
> but very playable even via a dialup modem and so I highly doubt I'll
> play it much more even with ADSL. I do listen to net radio
> occasionally, but a few hours a week maximum. I read text Usenet a
> lot (via the n.i.n server), but don't look at binaries at all, and my
> main email account is a Yahoo one which I normally read on the web,
> so don't need to download any big spam mails.
>
> I'll want to download the occasional games demo and a few other
> larger programs (eg the latest versions of things like GIMP or
> Mozilla), but have no interest in whole Linux distros - it's easier
> just to buy those from eBay for a few quid, and I have Mandrake 10
> already thanks to a friend. I don't do any P2P stuff at all; it just
> doesn't interest me. There's only one computer (and the only console
> I have is a 1989-vintage Gameboy ), so no networking. And so on
> and so forth - as you can see, I use the net quite a bit, but only in
> certain classes of usage.
>
> My only real experience of broadband so far has been at the local
> public libraries - I believe the biggest few libraries in
> Worcestershire have something like an 8Mb connection, and the smaller
> ones a 2Mb connection. They're also fairly lenient compared to some
> authorities as far as their AUP goes (gaming is allowed, for
> example), but since they'll only allow downloading to floppy disk
> there's not usually much advantage in the having such a fast
> connection. Moreover, comparing myself with other users there I'm
> certainly using things like streaming video a lot less than most - it
> works very smoothly, but in a two-hour session (Worcs' maximum usage
> per day) I practically never watch more than 5-10 minutes of the
> stuff, and quite often none at all, whereas quite often someone next
> to me is watching video for more than half their time.
>
> Obviously I'm expecting to use the net with broadband more than I
> have been doing previously with dialup, not so much because of the
> download speed but because of the ease of connection - not having to
> sit around and wait for the modem to connect will mean it'll be much
> more worthwhile just nipping on to look up one little thing or grab a
> minor update of something like Irfanview. So, the question: do I
> really need to worry about 15 gigs a month, or is that strictly for
> the filesharers and game-hosters out there?
>
> I *can* get a 1Mb service where I am, so I could bump things up to 30
> gigs if really necessary. And I believe my line could manage 2Mb as
> and when BT get it launched, which I imagine would allow a 60-gig
> limit. But it'd be nice to know in advance whether I should start
> planning for that now. Apologies for all this waffle, but if I'd just
> asked, "Is 15 gigs reasonable?" I'd probably have got the same sort
> of responses I've already seen, from the people at one end of the
> scale rather than in the middle.
>
I been a happy cappless pipex user for months. Great service

"Jonathan Pearson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote here on 27 Jul
2004:

> Like building a house, you get a builder to build the walls, an
> electrician to do the electrics, and a plumber to do the pipework,
> so why would you go to a telephone company to get your internet
<snip>

Well, partly as I said because BT's dialup service has been mostly
fine, and personal experience did have some weight there. Also, at
least BT have something to do with the network, unlike (say) Tesco,
and plenty of people use the latter as their ISP.

--
Please remove ".invalid" to reply by email.

Support the world's oldest motorsport venue!
http://www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk/future.html

"Brian Gregory [UK]" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote here on 27 Jul 2004:

> My average usage is 3 to 4 GB/month and I use the net a lot.
>
> However what I don't do is run file swapping software.
> You could easily exceed 15GB if you allow all and sundry to
> download illegal MP3s and DivXs from you 24/7.

Sounds reasonable. As I said, I don't do file swapping, and hopefully
the firewall will stop other people doing it for me!

--
Please remove ".invalid" to reply by email.

Support the world's oldest motorsport venue!
http://www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk/future.html

I wouldn't use a capped service on principle. When others can offer the
same/better service for less money, what's the point?