As some of you may know, I have a very cheap internet connection, which is limited to a rather small 10GB per month. After you use up the 10GB, the connection slows down to about 150kbps.

This keeps causing problems. I can set off a file to download, and it will start at, say 15kB/s, but then after a few minutes it will slow down to less than 1kB/s and then stall indefinitely. On some servers it will time out instead. The same issue happens with some websites, where it will download part of the page, then stop. In fact, the post new topic page wouldn't fully load, so I had to switch to the mobile view.

Is this likely to be an issue with servers? Or is it more likely to be an issue with the ISP? I don't transfer a lot of data, and can put up with a slow connection for a few days of the month, but I would like it to at least be reliable.

Any suggestions are welcome.
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Is this only happening once you hit the monthly cap, or at any time?

I really don't see why any ISPs need to impose data limits on broadband these days. Just proves some are trying to run their business on the cheap by running limited lines at each exchange, then over subscribing them and throttling everyone to attempt to manage the limited physical data bandwidth they have available.

It doesn't matter how fast you're connection reported from your house to the exchange, if the connection from the exchange to the isp is worse.

What ISP are you with and how much are you paying? You can get unlimited broadband for under 6 a month these days.

I must admit though that the difference since switching from adsl to fibre is amazing. My ADSL was unlimited and about 6mbps, but suffered connection stutter and download issues sometimes, common with most ADSL connections. But with bt infinity I've not really had any of these issues and it's really smooth using it. Downloads have in fact been getting faster, with Usenet yesterday achieving over 80mbps!, meaning over 10MB/s. That is amazing.

Anyway, back to your issue. I don't think I could put up with even 150kbps download speed. That's really show in this day and age. Only just faster than dial-up. You really could do much better with another isp.

The other main issues causing bad data packet loss could be noise on the line. Have you tried a quiet line test? Or a faulty router. I've had so many issues over the years with bad routers. If they start playing up they can start syncing at really low speeds, and a reboot with often see then up back up to the true line's bandwidth until the router warns up, then it starts to drop again.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
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These problems only occur when I hit the monthly cap. It is fine at all other times. Therefore, I'm quite sure it is not a problem with my modem. I'll reset it though just be sure. I'm satisfied that there is no noise on the line.

I have thought about fibre, but its a bit too expensive at the moment, and my ADSL speeds are normally pretty good. I had my line upgraded to ADSL2+, so can achieve pretty good speeds with that. My current modem can only support upto 8Mbps, but I have had it faster with a proper ADSL2+ modem.

Currently, we pay about £6.50/month with PlusNet. Data transfer is unlimited during the night, so I do most of it then. I probably manage about 20GB per month for free during the night, and just over 10GB per month of daytime usage. I agree that the 150kbps restriction is slow by todays standards, but I'd be happy with it for a few days if it meant a good price saving. However, I do still expect it to be reliable .
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So un-cap yourself & have an un-limited service.

I pay £10 a month for 38Mb Fibre with Sky Unlimited. - .....but you have to subscribe your line rental with them & not BT.

I'd only be guessing you're with TalkTalk for that kind of wallet damage & TalkTalk is a really really crap service, period.
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Don't worry, I'm not with TalkTalk. I'm with Plusnet (aka Force 9).

We are planning to change the telephone service to Plusnet's own. That and an uncapped connection will still be cheaper than what we pay now.
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You know the Plus.net is owned by BT?

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Yes, but Plusnet line rental is still cheaper than BT.
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That depends. How much are they charging? I'm with BT and only pay £10 a month (because I pay it yearly in one go).

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We pay roughly £88 per quarter for the BT line rental, calls, and Plusnet capped ADSL.
If we had a combined package of Plusnet's telephone line and uncapped ADSL, it would cost about £74 per quarter (inc some calls). That is a bit cheaper, plus I would no longer have to put up with the 10GB cap.
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I take it you don't get access to free wifi with plusnet?
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