1TB Versus Unlimited ...

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AndrewSchick

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#101240 27-Apr-2012 13:58

Hi everyone,

I'm interested in kicking a conversation off here ... call it market research if you like.

When you hear of a 1TB plan, or even "just" a 500GB plan, I'm guessing you think "wholly mackerel" that is a whole lot of data!

So ,what do you think of when you hear of "unlimited" data plans? Is it "wow, that is more data than 1TB"? or "unlimited plans are slow"?

Just asking ... would appreciate some feedback as we are keen on shaping our offering more to suit ya'll ...

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#616019 27-Apr-2012 14:00

personally i dismiss unlimited plans since they all seem to suffer from "fair use", so i assume they will be slow.

whereas a 500GB plan i would assume it was full speed all the time.

NonprayingMantis

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#616020 27-Apr-2012 14:03

yeah same. Given NZs history, 'unlimited' strongly implies traffic shaping of some kind (whether it si active, or simply having a separate bandwidth pool).

AndrewSchick

28 posts

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#616022 27-Apr-2012 14:06

Interesting, thanks for the feedback.

I guess when you are "Paying" for a cap, you feel far more entitled to using that cap anyway you choose, at any speed you choose.

So you both assume that the ISP doesn't shape capped plans at all? Or just less so than unlimited?

NonprayingMantis

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#616029 27-Apr-2012 14:12

That is what I assume, and I have definitely seen a few ISPs state they do not shape traffic on their standard plans (this doesn?t mean they always buy enough bandwidth toi maximise throughput though, just that they don?t prioritise different traffic in different ways)

The other thing from the ISPs point of view which you touch on, is that when people have a set amount to use, they will try and use more so they feel they are getting their money?s worth (see a few posts in the thread when Telecom doubled their caps ? people saying things like ?now I have to think of ways to use all that extra data?, yet when people have an unlimited plan, they don?t have any artificial ceiling to hit to get their money?s worth, so will probably just use data more ?normally?.

insane

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#616131 27-Apr-2012 16:37

I think this is a very interesting question as I've seen a number of people this last week get all excited at paying $150 per month for new 500GB plans when there are unlimited plans available for much less.

Perhaps 'Unmetered' has a better ring to it than 'Unlimited' which has been proved to have average results when done on mass at other ISPs.

AndrewSchick

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#616136 27-Apr-2012 16:40

Hi Insane

What do you see the difference being between "Unmetered" and "Unlimited"?

mattwnz

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#616159 27-Apr-2012 17:01

AndrewSchick: Hi Insane

What do you see the difference being between "Unmetered" and "Unlimited"?

Unmetered means that they don't actively meter your usage, but it can still have restrictions. It all however comes down to their fine print. One definition of Unlimited however, is 'Infinite', which means that it is all that you can eat without restrictions. However you will usually find restrictions in 'unlimited' plans, such as traffic shaping, a fair use policy, etc. I recall one ISP got in trouble for using the word 'unlimited', or 'all you can eat', so you don't see that used too much in NZ. That is possibly one reason why NZ ISPs use quotas.

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deadlyllama

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#616160 27-Apr-2012 17:03

AndrewSchick: Hi Insane

What do you see the difference being between "Unmetered" and "Unlimited"?

Seems obvious to me.

Unlimited: there are no limits. (Note: traffic shaping is a limit.)

Unmetered: we won't count how much you use. (So there may be limits.)

The latter would appear to be more honest.

mattwnz

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#616174 27-Apr-2012 17:32

deadlyllama:
AndrewSchick: Hi Insane

What do you see the difference being between "Unmetered" and "Unlimited"?

Seems obvious to me.

Unlimited: there are no limits.? (Note: traffic shaping is a limit.)

Unmetered: we won't count how much you use.? (So there may be limits.)

The latter would appear to be more honest.

un?lim?it?ed (n-lm-td)
adj.
1. Having no restrictions or controls: an unlimited travel ticket.
2. Having or seeming to have no boundaries; infinite: an unlimited horizon.
3. Without qualification or exception; absolute: unlimited self-confidence.

networkn

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#616180 27-Apr-2012 17:35

AndrewSchick: Hi everyone,

I'm interested in kicking a conversation off here ... call it market research if you like.

When you hear of a 1TB plan, or even "just" a 500GB plan, I'm guessing you think "wholly mackerel" that is a whole lot of data!

So ,what do you think of when you hear of "unlimited" data plans? Is it "wow, that is more data than 1TB"? or "unlimited plans are slow"?

Just asking ... would appreciate some feedback as we are keen on shaping our offering more to suit ya'll ...

I think Slow. Also when I think unlimited, I don't see 500GB or 1TB, because that's just crazy.

timbosan

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#616197 27-Apr-2012 18:09

reven: personally i dismiss unlimited plans since they all seem to suffer from "fair use", so i assume they will be slow.

whereas a 500GB plan i would assume it was full speed all the time.

This is how I would see them to.

However I do remember reading somewhere that usage on 'unlimited' plans peaked at the start of a customers term, but then trailed off when they stopped trying to download the whole internet (unless they are trying to download the whole piratebay, but that's a different argument).

Personally I would be happy with 500GB - that would give enough to cope with Netflix, Hulu, iTunes (I have a US account so HD movie rentals), youtube (kids), TVNZ on demand, game demos, PS3 games etc etc etc, WITHOUT having to worry.

I would not choose an unlimited plan due to the possibility of slow downs which I DONT want on streaming shows.

Batman

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#616210 27-Apr-2012 18:24

reven: personally i dismiss unlimited plans since they all seem to suffer from "fair use", so i assume they will be slow.

whereas a 500GB plan i would assume it was full speed all the time.

+1. i stay away fr unlimited but most likely would latch onto a 500gb one

AndrewSchick

28 posts

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#616228 27-Apr-2012 18:53

So for arguments sake (no promises) you would rather a 500Gb plan for (lets just say) $99 than an unlimited plan for $99 ... Even if there was no real world difference in speed??

timbosan

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#616234 27-Apr-2012 19:14

AndrewSchick: So for arguments sake (no promises) you would rather a 500Gb plan for (lets just say) $99 than an unlimited plan for $99 ... Even if there was no real world difference in speed??

You have to be careful when you say "speed" as to me that means line speed, not the (probably) speed:

1) available to the ISP
2) available to the users in the pool

Plus it doesnt:

1) does not address any policies around throttling, protocols (torrent etc)
2) does not address overage charges

eXDee

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#616250 27-Apr-2012 20:05

I would expect a high data cap plan to be possible to be fufilled. ie i'd expect the same service as any other capped plan.
If you offer a 1TB plan for $99 but you offer another plan for $120 with only 120gb for example, i'm going to be wary. A general consumer will just be confused. "Theres more data - why is it cheaper than the plan with less data?" and then they could possibly be suspicious as well.

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