BTo ‘levels playing field’ for Sat bandwidth hogs

Pack it in will ya

BT Openworld is getting heavy with its broadband satellite punters after bandwidth "hogs" ignored calls to ease up on the service.

It claims that a small number of its 2,000 or so punters are using 40 per cent of the bandwidth available.

So, from May 1 (Thursday) BT Openworld is introducing a "Fair Share Policy" which it claims will help all its punters "receive a fair share of available bandwidth" while "improving overall service quality".

In an email to customers BT Openworld explained that punters will still be able to use as much bandwidth as they need.

"However, if the bandwidth becomes crowded, customers who have used large amounts [of bandwidth] in the past will temporarily be subject to lower speeds. This is, in essence, levelling the playing field so that we can offer everyone a reliable quality of service," it said.

Anyone exceeding BT Openworld's quotas (up to two gigabytes a week uploading and downloading) for a month will be contacted by the ISP to "discuss ways to change their usage patterns". Ooooo-errr.

BT Openworld insists that the new measures will only hit "a very small number of users" who use large amounts of bandwidth on a regular basis. Everyone else won't notice a difference - who knows, they might even notice an improvement.

In February, BT Openworld threatened around 40 of its broadband satellite customers warning them it might have to cap their service if they continue to hog bandwidth.

The ISP warned that it would have to start imposing bandwidth limitations on heavy users' accounts at peak hours so that all our customers have a fair share of bandwidth. ®

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