Globe moves to cap Internet data volume

[_Qwerty_]

First it was Skycable Broadband with their 5mbps - 15GB a month limit.. now it's globe's turn.. will PLDT follow??

http://newsbytes.ph/2011/04/04/globe...t-data-volume/

[SIZE=4]Globe moves to cap Internet data volume[/SIZE]
Posted on 04 Apr 2011 at 2:15pm

Without any law to prevent its adoption, Ayala-led telco Globe Telecom has decided to invoke the “fair use” doctrine in imposing a reported data limit on the Internet subscription of its customer as a way to curb unrestrained use of just a few broadband users.

Globe’s move, first reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, was contained in a press statement issued by the company over the weekend.

The data volume limit, according to the Inquirer, “would affect only users who download data in excess of 1 gigabyte a day.”

By adopting a “fair use” policy, Globe said it can “promote a more responsible way of using the Internet that will ensure fair and optimum usage of its broadband services across all subscribers.”

In a recent analysis, Globe said only 5 percent use 80 percent of the available broadband network bandwidth, leaving only 20 percent of the capacity to be shared by 95 percent of the remaining users.

The issue on data volume capping remains a contentious topic in the industry, with local telcos pushing the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to impose it as a formal regulatory rule.

The agency, however, has already announced that it will not include any provision on data capping on a circular it is currently drafting on the minimum broadband speed in the country.

This is not the first time, however, that a broadband provider has adopted a data usage ceiling. San Miguel-owned Liberty Telecoms, which operates wi-tribe, has been offering WiMax services that have data limits. Lopez-owned firm SkyCable, through its broadband service unit, also recently rolled out a 5-Mbps Internet offering with 15-GB threshold.

Saying network bandwidth is a finite resource, Globe said “it is necessary to adopt a policy that promotes responsible and fair use of the Internet to prevent abuse and misuse of services from a relatively smaller group of consumers.”

“Moreover, the policy aims to preserve the quality of resources in order to provide subscribers with seamless, uninterrupted, and reliable internet connections,” it added. “This also ensures consistency and reliability of connection for use of the greater majority of broadband subscribers.”

Globe cited study done by Envisional which showed that close to 36 percent of ******* downloads was ****ography and another 48 percent was movies and television shows.

The study further claimed that 23.8 percent of global Internet traffic is piracy-related and nearly one-quarter of the traffic on the Internet involves the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials such as movies, TV shows, music, and video games.

“These activities, apart from being unsecured, also utilize a significant amount of broadband network data which prohibits other subscribers to enjoy the same quality of Internet connection,” the company said.

In the statement, Globe said it has partnered with a parenting group MLAC Institute for Children and Families to educate parents on how to guide their children on the proper use of Internet and computers.

“Because it is our responsibility to provide our subscribers with quality Internet services, we are doing all we can to teach our broadband users how to properly use the internet,” stated Jurist Gamban, head of globe fixed broadband business.

Gamban added, “Through this forum, we are actively involving the parents in guiding their children when they access the World Wide Web. We are concerned about how children are exposed to various Internet activities, from downloads, playing games, to watching videos and doing social networking and chatting.

Without restrictions, the Internet can be a source of information not suited for children, or worse, might pose risks that will threaten their minds and own security, Gamban said.

[Monseratto]

Noooo.... guiilty ako dito!!! Mag OpenVPN na tayo.

Globe cited study done by Envisional which showed that close to 36 percent of ******* downloads was ****ography and another 48 percent was movies and television shows.

The study further claimed that 23.8 percent of global Internet traffic is piracy-related and nearly one-quarter of the traffic on the Internet involves the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials such as movies, TV shows, music, and video games.

[tidus1203]

Even PLDT IMO has a silent cap. Naka PLDT DSL kami and pansin ko lang is after subsequent ******* downloads biglang mawawalan ng Internet for hours...

[impulzz]

yung sa sky, its an option for now. i'm using 1.5mbps unlimited for 999/month... but you can switch to 5mbps 15GB at 999/month.

[number001]

Its just another lame excuse to increase their profitability by taking that fake moral high ground route by feigning a false sense of moral authority in this matter. Like they really care what people do or download online. As if these telcos owners/employees, don't do anything differently in their personal internet use compared to the rest of the population.

In the Philippines, we pay a higher rate for internet services that are not even 10% of the speed of what other countries offer like in Hong Kong. In HK, the internet is so fast that downloading terabytes per month is possible. And no bandwidth capping is involved.

If they want to cap the bandwidth then they better improve their service (if it exists) and ante up the bandwidth speed, commensurate to what the consumers are paying these telecos. NTC (another lame duck gov't org.) should look into this matter, if ite even fair in the consumer's interest.

[roninblade]

sus, andami binibigay na reason eh... isa lang naman talaga dahilan nyan... more money.

[digitalron]

Sure there are *******s and piracy and the lot...

But what about the legitimate users who rely on the Internet for research work? Or those that use VoIP? Or even Video-conferencing? What about those who access legal content heavily, such as podcasts, streamcasts, and the like? What about those subscribed to services like Steam? Or those who use the cloud for their entertainment (such as Amazon Cloud, Netflix, and the like?) What about those who do regular patching and updates of their Operating Systems and other applications?

Talk about blocking the progress of online commerce and innovation.

I also agree with the post of number001 above, where we can have some sort of capping set, but the QoS should be improved significantly with corresponding infrastructure and service upgrades.

Instead of putting data caps, I would suggest other alternatives such as:

- Speed caps for exceeding certain data thresholds, a reasonable amount being 20 GB a day on average (a few movies purchased off the web for instance); the service is not cut off, but there is a decrease in the speed when the threshold is breached (where the threshold can depend on the plan).

- Tiered speeds or Quality of Service (QoS) depending on traffic type; this requires a bit of more work but is not impossible. Here, *******-like traffic may be throttled at a lower rate, while valid traffic like HTTP requests, email, VoIP, and commercial streams are left as is.

This post reminds me of a recent article I came across in Ars Technica:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/n...-the-world.ars

It's really a worldwide problem as the slimy ISPs try to find ways to increase their profit without making the requisite investments in service upgrades.

Oh well... sharks after more blood...
:shark:

[CVT]

Maraming dahilan,- Sa kahulihan,- mas malaking tubo lang ang gustong makamtan....

12.7K:fart1:

[ecozone]

bayandsl kami at walang cap...

[shadow]

eh kung improve ba nila yun bandwidth eh di hinde matagal nakababad mag DL.. hehehe

excuse lang nila para hinde na nila gumastos mag mag upgrade ng mga netwrok nila.

[number001]

^Bayan is Lopez (Sky) owned/controlled so expect them to follow the same path as sky.

[c_cube]

pag nangyari ang ganito sa PLDT, yari na ang 24/7 ******* download ko.. BOOO!!!

ang bulok sobra ng mga ISP talaga dito sa atin, ang mahal na ng singil ang bagal pa tas lalagyan pa ng ganyan.

[shadow]

pag nangyari ang ganito sa PLDT, yari na ang 24/7 ******* download ko.. BOOO!!!

ang bulok sobra ng mga ISP talaga dito sa atin, ang mahal na ng singil ang bagal pa tas lalagyan pa ng ganyan.

ikaw pala ang dahilan!

[ess]

The people who cook up these kinds of solutions are either greedy or ignorant (or both).

Greedy because they only want to oversubscribe their lines, and the only way they can meet the SLA is to enforce this stupid bandwidth cap.

Ignorant because they automatically assume that if a subscriber just exceeded 10-15GB, nagto-******* na kaagad! And if a person uses *******, they automatically assume na namimirata na kaagad. Alam ba nila that there are legit businesses use *******s as a means of distributing their products? Have they ever heard of Linux? To those kinds of people, internet is only for browsing web pages.

I have a STEAM account. Two weeks, I just bought and downloaded two games - totaling 30GB (Shogun 2: Total War and Napoleon: Total War). I'm using Bayandsl and thankfully, wala pang inaannounce na download cap.....for now.

[actor21]

mag ISP Bonanza nalang kayo wahehehehehe

[roninblade]

this reminds me of the Canadian furor weeks ago when they were trying to cap the bandwidth din dun. they called it UBB for usage-based billing. buti dun nag-step in yung government to stop that nonsense... dito sa atin malabo mangyari.

[Haruto]

sana naman mag step in din mga senators and ang government natin. hindi yung pag bili ni pldt sa smart lang ang pakialaman... mas importante tong capping na to na dapat hindi mapatupad. kalokohan to.

[cast_no_shadow]

mag ISP Bonanza nalang kayo wahehehehehe

FTW! i remember the days, maangas na ang dial-up na internet..

[ghosthunter]

Internet service providers are already silently capping your internet speeds by limiting the data rate speed you can download your stuff. This stuff would include your website, email, video, web-radio, files, etc.

And now they are implementing DATA VOLUME capping.

DATA CAPPING na.... naka-speed CAP din.

Sobrang talo na yung subscriber!!

1GB a day is simply too low. If you are a regular user of the internet, you will know this. Anyone who plays online games will know it. Anyone who listens to web-broadcased radio will know this. Anyone who watches video on the web will know this. Anyone who purchased software on the web will know it.

The ISPs blaming internet piracy is just an excuse to make more money from thin air.

[ghosthunter]

FTW! i remember the days, maangas na ang dial-up na internet..

14.4 kbaud FTW!

I was using "shotgun" technology for 28.8 kbaud speeds using two 14.4 modems and two phone lines at the same time in parallel. Astig!