If you are looking for ISP prices and details of any FUPs or CAPs on individual products from ISPs then see ISP price list and caps or search prices using the ISP price compare tool.
This page is based on observations from users from various ISPs. It is intended as a guide as to how ISPs handle their traffic and any FUPs that are in place. Obviously I cannot check all ISPs on a daily basis therefore it is recommended that you also check the individual ISPs FUP policy. If you are aware of any discrepancies please advise me, I also appreciate any genuine feedback from users of their own experiences.
| ISP |
Status |
More Information
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AAISP
CAP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| OffPeak & uploads not inc |
|
U/M Contention |
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
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| P2P/NNTP |
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| Large Downloads |
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Uploads not included in usage. Large off peak period during which usage is unmetered and not counted in your allowance. (6pm to 8am and all weekend).
"10GB buffer zone" for occasional months with heavier than normal use, without having to pay for extra GBs on some accounts.
Basically only downstream usage during 08:00 -18:00 Mon to Fri is counted towards the cap, and the rest of the time appears to be unrestricted. |
AOL
CAP & FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
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| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
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| Web/HTTP |
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| P2P/NNTP |
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| Large Downloads |
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FUP comes
into place Feb 2007. More Info.
Update Feb 07 - Many users over
the past few weeks have been reporting download speeds in the
region of around 400 kbps - despite them not being heavy users. :/
Update Oct 07 - Traffic Shaping in Operation. Some users reporting torrents limited to 30KB/Sec at all times of the day. Others have reported nil throughput during peak. |
BT Broadband
CAP or FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
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| Web/HTTP |
|
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| P2P/NNTP |
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| Large Downloads |
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Feb 2007 -
advertising "Unlimited",
but a FUP with little info applies. In the past BT have billed for
excess usage and prev it was 40GB for option
3. Users are also advised to avoid downloading during peak hours.
Testing seems to show speeds of 1.5 - 2Mb on all protocols during peak times regardless or not of FUP being reached . Some users report p2p being slower than this.
Update Nov 07 - Option 3 FUP rumoured to be 40GB when peak time speeds will be reduced. In excess of appx 100GB will result in restricted speeds 24/7.
|
Be*
FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
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| P2P/NNTP |
|
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| Large Downloads |
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29.08.07 FUP in place.
No specific details but allowances appear to be very generous. I've yet to see Be actually apply the FUP and to date they are the only ISP that I've seen who haven't as yet invoked their FUP. Many users do successfully manage to download several hundred GB per month. |
Bulldog
FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
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| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
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| P2P/NNTP |
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| Large Downloads |
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* Unlimited T+C's
state
4.4.3 if your use of the Service may damage or disrupt the
proper functioning of the Bulldog’s or others’ networks.
As
yet I haven't seen any evidence of throttling or caps in place on their LLU service, although in the past they let natural contention kick in on their datastream products.
Bulldog phone line needed. |
Clara.net
CAP or FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
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| P2P/NNTP |
|
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| Large Downloads |
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Re Home Offpeak is after 6pm and w/ends only.
Be aware that although the
offpeak may be unlimited on this account they are hardly likely to be offering
true unlimited at a lesser price than the 2GB account! |
Demon
FUP |
| Limit Reached* |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Uploads not inc† |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
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| P2P/NNTP |
|
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| Large Downloads |
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|
Oct 07 FUP now specifies 50GB and 60GB of downloads. Uploads would appear not to be counted, although this is not 100% clear.
†Some users report that after testing that uploads aren't included in monthly usage.
*Throttled users report 128kbps speeds.
In the past Demon have let natural contention kick in but all seems ok now the FUP has been clarified. |
Eclipse
CAP or FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
|
| P2P/NNTP |
|
|
|
| Large Downloads |
|
?
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|
|
|
Traffic shaping / Contention / FUP
I have tried clarifying the FUP
with Eclipse but unfortunately cant report any hard facts, other than the higher priced accounts get preference over the cheaper products when the network is busy.
Update Oct 07 - Users are having extreme difficulty with p2p at all times of the day regardless of account type. |
Enta ISPs
CAP and ALT |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Offpeak Extras† |
|
Evening Shaping* |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
|
| P2P/NNTP |
|
|
|
| Large Downloads |
|
|
|
| Current w/e status on all protocols |
|
|
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†Additional OffPeak usage (Mon -Thurs 22:00-08:00. Fri 22:00 - Mon 08:00).
*Whilst not advertised there is an ALT in place. Basically which can limit speeds on all protocols down to 2Mbps during the start of the offpeak times. Disconnecting and switching Central Pipes may help. See also the enta NOC tool for expected performance. Update Nov - 2Mb speeds on some centrals during NOC period and weekends.
ALT info . |
F2S
 |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| OffPeak Extras† |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
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| P2P/NNTP* |
|
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| Large Downloads |
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†Off Peak hours 1am to 6am
do not count towards monthly usage on some accounts.
* "Preference interactive traffic at peak times" Reports show that p2p/nntp traffic can vary but would appear to be between 60-100 Kb/Sec during busy periods. Update Feb 08 -Many users are now seeing the effects of the take-over by tiscali. ut throttling on http, but users are complaining of problems with gaming and p2p. Mar 08. Reports of further poor speeds on all protocols. |
ID Net
CAP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
Uploads not inc.
OffPeak Extras† |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
|
| P2P/NNTP |
|
|
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| Large Downloads |
|
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|
|
†Only on SuperMax product
Hard Caps - pay for excess usage.
|
MadasaFish
CAP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
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| P2P/NNTP |
|
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| Large Downloads |
|
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|
Brightview Group inc MAAF, IC24, Freenetname, Global, Totalise, Waitrose
Hard caps - Excess usage charged at £2 per GB |
Metronet
CAP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
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| P2P/NNTP |
|
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| Large Downloads |
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Hard caps - either purchase more bandwidth or speed is restricted once final limit is reached. |
NewNet
CAP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
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| P2P/NNTP |
|
|
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| Large Downloads |
|
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|
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Hard Caps - pay for excess usage. |
Nildram
 |
| Limit Reached* |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| OffPeak Extras† |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
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| P2P/NNTP |
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| Large Downloads |
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*reduced to 64kbps or purchase extra GBs
† Surf and Broadband2 - unlimited off peak midnight to 8am which is not counted in usage allowance.
Update Feb 08 - Unfortunately it would appear that many users are now seeing the effects of the take-over by tiscali of this once fine ISP
Unsure about throttling on http, but users are complaining of problems with gaming and p2p. Update
Update Apr |
O2
FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
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| P2P/NNTP |
|
|
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| Large Downloads |
|
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FUP in place.
No specific details but they use Be* dslams where allowances appear to be very generous. Be* are about the only UK ISP who doesnt appear to have invoked their FUP on any of their customers. |
Orange
CAP or FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Traffic Shaping |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
|
| P2P/NNTP |
|
|
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| Large Downloads |
|
?
|
|
|
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Max has 30GB FUP and heavy downloading discouraged
during peak. See below
p2p restricted to circa 256 kbps during peak, although this could depend upon area/ LLU
Users in the past have reported being disconnected after 40GB
Update Apr 08. Users reduced to dial up speeds after 40GB |
Pipex
CAP or FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
|
| P2P/NNTP |
|
|
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| Large Downloads |
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* Max has a FUP + QoS *FUP
is not clear,
There is traffic
shaping in evidence.
Peak time is in the region of 6pm - midnight week, 9am to midnight weekends.
Shaping appears to be very random, sometimes all day, sometimes very little. May depend on location/LLU.
Update Nov - more users would appear to be reporting slow http speeds and p2p also seems to have deteriorated further. Update Apr.. and again :/ |
PlusNet
CAP/FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Free offPeak use |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
|
| P2P/NNTP |
|
|
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| Large Downloads |
|
|
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|
|
† Free offpeak usage on all accounts.(00.00 to 08.00)
Cap and Traffic Shaping in place.
Clearly defined depending on product type. See
TS Calculator .
Amount of throttling depends upon product, some arent restricted whilst the cheapest product is heavily restricted on p2p. Pro has no additional shaping. |
Sky
FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
|
| P2P/NNTP |
|
|
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| Large Downloads |
|
|
|
|
|
Requires SKY TV package.
*FUP in place The FUP is rumoured to be in the region of 250GB. As yet I haven't seen any evidence of implementation. |
Supanet
FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Traffic Shaping |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
|
| P2P/NNTP |
|
|
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| Large Downloads |
|
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|
* I cant find any mention of a FUP
on the site, but at £24.99 no way can it be true unlimited
- particularly in view that the previous "limited" unlimited
account was £49.99.
See also notes below.
Users report average speeds of around 512k or less during evenings on all protocols, although Supernet are supposed to have admitted to traffic shaping. |
TalkTalk
CAP or FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
|
| P2P/NNTP |
|
|
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| Large Downloads |
|
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QoS/Throttled/port blocking
*advertise
unlimited but have cut their customers off without warning.
They haven't defined any limits but their T+C's 4.5 state:-" we may change your Transmission
Speed or manage your use of our Broadband Service as we
see fit in the circumstances.
Heavy users are throttled - see below. My own observations are some pretty poor speeds 24/7 - May depend on location/llu. |
Tiscali
CAP or FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
|
| P2P/NNTP |
|
|
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| Large Downloads |
|
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|
No
mention of a cap in the FUP. Rumours are this figure is exceedingly low during peak time hours.
p2p during peak is considered unacceptable - see below. Many users report poor throughput on all protocols. May depend on location/llu.
Update Mar 08 . Current status seems very poor.
Reports of Newsgroups, p2p being totally blocked during the day. p2p also being managed even offpeak to 25KB/Sec. Reports of slow http dial up speeds . :/
|
Toucan
CAP or FUP |
| Limit Reached |
|
Ellacoyas (QoS) |
|
| Off Peak Extras |
|
U/M Contention |
|
|
| Protocols |
Day
|
Eve
|
Night
|
| Web/HTTP |
|
|
|
| P2P/NNTP |
|
|
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| Large Downloads |
|
|
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|
|
Despite advertising unlimited, the small print
shows a FUP. Users have found this equates to around 3GB per week. Resold Tiscali d/s products. |
UKOnline
FUP
|
|
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