How does Demon ISP count download usage?

Question

I'm in the UK, currently using "unlimited" Demon (www.demon.net) as my ISP. Apparently last month my house(there are 4 of us students usin the same line!) exceeded the 50gb "fair download usage" policy.(so much for being unlimited) and as of tomorrow our internet speed drops from 8mbps to 128kbps durng the house of 9am to 10pm!!!

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone knows if downloading at any time during the day counts towards the download usage, or is it just downloads during the more popular times of 9am to 10pm? thanks.

Answer 1

Sorry, it looks like it runs at the slower speed 24hrs a day for the next 30 days.... (but I could be wrong on the hours).

Seems you're lucky they only count the downloads... (many ISPs count both uploaded and downloaded traffic, and some upload more than they download... Zen charges a lot more, as does AAISP, which are both 'downloads only' counters).

I did see a blog from someone who felt unhappy about the use of the FUP and applied for costs against Thus (trading as Demon) though I have not yet read all the blog, nor other discussions (since there are several on ThinkBroadband) about the Demon 50 GB FUP limit. Anyway, hope the links are useful. It seems like you have 30 days of slow traffic.


One of the ThinkBroadband posts asks whether the 30 days is a one-off penalty or whether they keep you slowed down for 30 days while your rolling average is above 50 GB so it seems like there are plenty of questions over the policy and handling of this from Demon users.


I'm using Eclipse for 14.99 on their Evolution level 1 (which allows 20 GB of traffic during the evening hours of 1800-0000 but some people want faster speeds or more traffic so need to pay more). Seems from the blogger that there are some ISPs allowing upwards of 300 GB off-peak so you should find some joy if you decide to quit Demon.

Finally, you might like to sign the petition campaigning for a block on any ISP claiming "unlimited" in their advertising or description if they have a fair use policy (with no clear limit).

I have been looking at Claranet (for off-peak use, they have no limit, but only allow home users to get pages etc from 1800 to 0800 Mon to Fri and all weekend so that might be an option for office workers).