Just another Telenet disappointment..

The new Telenet usage formulas are up. (Probably for a while already but I just discovered today.) Ive got a 80Gb download limit now; others are unlimited.

Unlimited internet? Well, no.

Turbonet and up customers can enjoy “Free Downloading”. You can now choose to pay for the perception of unlimited downloading. There still is a limit but they promise that that limit is so far beyond what you would download as a normal person that you will never run into the limit. And they wont set the bar. They will tally the users with similar packs and see to it that you dont over-use (twice the average use) compared to those peers.

Thats not unlimited, they merely made the barrier variable and invisible!

(1) De term “Vrij downloaden” betekent dat je een zeer grote hoeveelheid gegevens via het netwerk van Telenet kan doorsturen en ontvangen. Enkel bij buitensporig volumeverbruik waarbij het comfort van andere abonnees in het gedrang kan komen, zal Telenet je vragen je verbruik aan te passen.

Onder buitensporig volumeverbruik verstaan we verbruik dat minstens het dubbele bedraagt van het gemiddeld volumeverbruik van alle abonnees van je internetproduct. Telenet behoudt zich het recht voor om bij buitensporig volumeverbruik, wat dynamisch bepaald wordt en afhangt van het beschikbare lokale netwerkvolume, de downloadsnelheid te verlagen naar minimaal 512 Kbps tot wanneer de volgende aanrekeningsperiode begint.

“Vrij downloaden” mag enkel voor privédoeleinden gebruikt worden en in volledige overeenstemming gebeuren met de algemene voorwaarden en de gedragscode van Telenet. Dit betekent ondermeer dat de abonnee enkel legale gegevens mag verspreiden.
Source: http://telenet.be/219/0/1/nl/thuis/internet.html

My main problem here is the perception. This new formula is utterly misleading and frustrating. They appear to be offering unlimited data but instead they offer an invisible and variable barrier. One could say that this is necessary as to not slow down other users (in fact they say so themselves) but that’s turning things around. The consumer pays for a service, if that service-level is impossible to maintain on the current Telenet network; that network is at fault and not the users for using it. Ergo upgrading the network instead of throttling the users.

Now, There is nothing wrong with a more communal approach. We, the Telenet users, use this service as a group; the resources are limited and we all want decent speed. (And if memory serves me well, Telenet did start out like that..) so we ll just all be social about it and not overdo the downloading. And its even better if Telenet provides us the tools to do that..
But thats not what they re selling; thats not what they re advertising!

On top of that, their whole concept of fair use is measured using a set of parameters that are not exactly clear. Their meter shows your behavior up till the time of the month where you check it. If the meter is red, that means that if you keep up that downloading behavior they might throttle your speed at some time till the end of the month. Or at the very least you will be asked to change your use. Green means you’re up to par with your fellow users. (Telenet Helpdesk Page: Hoe interpreteer ik de nieuwe Telemeter voor abonnementen met vrij downloaden?)
“Buitensporig Volumegebruik” means more than twice the average your fellow users are downloading. But since the time of day still factors in, its obviously not that simple? So how is this number being computed? And where can I see the numbers and all the data that factors into it?
Today? Nowhere.

A quick search trough the dredges of their online support quickly turns up the introduction of the “Fair Use Policy” concept. With tips on how to use the service fairly. The question about what the actual limit finally is, is answered in the help: “Dat hangt af van je internetgedrag en wanneer je vooral surft: tijdens drukke of minder drukke periodes. Aangezien niet iedereen hetzelfde internetgedrag heeft, is het niet mogelijk om er 1 cijfer op te plakken.” Which is about the same as saying “we ve got some math to get there, but we d rather not tell you..” Sure sounds a lot like the Nighttime/Daytime counter renamed to regular and peak time.

Its a play straight out of their American colleagues book. They call it unlimited, add a vague “Fair Use” clause and sell the same product as before, but with a higher limit, less information, a different meter and a new point of view.

The new provider commercial buzz words all float around unlimited downloading; no caps.
Yet these are invisible, variable download caps that we re getting instead.