Fair Use Policy FAQ
What is the Fair Use Policy (FUP)?
As part of our commitment to providing excellent quality, faster download
speeds and reliable service, NowCom has a Fair Use Policy on its Wireless
services. The Fair Usage Policy (or FUP as it's commonly referred to)
contains usage guidelines for customers using the NowCom Wireless services to
ensure that customers act reasonably when using the service.
Why has an FUP been implemented?
While we encourage NowCom Wireless customers to take full advantage of the
excellent quality of service and faster download speeds, we have an obligation
to ensure that all customers receive the best possible service at all times.
The application of the Fair Use Policy (FUP) ensures that we continue to
provide an acceptable standard of service in terms of download speeds, across
all our Wireless services.
Does the FUP policy apply to me?
We will continually measure the performance of our Wireless network and take
steps to restrict the download speeds of very heavy users during peak periods,
should their activities significantly contribute towards the risk of reduced
speeds being experienced by the majority of our Wireless customers.
The Fair Use Policy (FUP) applies to all NowCom customers.
How is the FUP measured?
We continually measure the performance of our Wireless network and measure
customer usage over a day 30 rolling period.
You say you are measuring my downloads over a rolling 30 day period. What does
this mean?
It means that on any given day, the figure that has been calculated in order to
determine whether or not you have exceeded the limits we deem acceptable, has
been reached by adding together the amount uploaded and downloaded for the
previous 30 days.
So as each day goes by, and your 30th day becomes the 31st, it is no longer
included in the total.
What are the FUP limits?
We currently regard 5-7GB as being a fair maximum usage level of downloads
during a rolling 30 day period for customers.
Please note that these limits are guidelines and are subject to change.
How will I be notified?
All NowCom clients have access to the Bandwidth Usage server. This allows you
to view your current bandwidth usage for the monthly period.
This enables customers to adjust their usage downwards rather than moving into
breach of the FUP.
If a customers usage remains high, and approaches the monthly limits, they will
enter into a bandwidth throttling situation. The server will begin to slow down
the connection speed gradually. In extreme cases the client account will be
completely restricted.
What happens when I'm restricted?
In the event that a customer is restricted in line with the NowCom Fair Use
Policy, their connection will be automatically dropped, and they will be
required to reconnect to the Wireless service. A reconnection fee may be
charged.
When will the FUP restrictions apply?
For the small minority of customers who excessively use the service on a
regular basis, their service will be restricted between the hours of 9am to
11pm, 7 days a week.
How long will FUP restriction last and how do I become unrestricted?
Should a customer be restricted in line with the Fair Use Policy, usage will
continue to be measured on a rolling 30 day basis. When usage returns within
the limits identified as acceptable, the restriction will be removed
automatically.
What happens if my usage rises again after I have been unrestricted?
Having been unrestricted, if a customers' rolling 30 days usage totals again
rise above the acceptable limits, a restriction of service will occur as
previously described.
How can I manage my service usage?
We recommend that customers should be mindful of their usage to stay within
reasonable usage levels. Typically, it should be quite difficult for a
customer that uses their Wireless connection for lots of web browsing,
frequent email use, hours of chatting every day, or even a combination of
all three, to risk being restricted. For reasons such as this, we would only
typically expect customers performing
frequent large file downloads to be affected.
Obviously, combinations of the above or other types of usage will increase
total usage figures.
I am concerned that my current usage seems very low, yet I have been restricted?
While most web browsing only takes up a relatively small amount of download
usage, there are a number of applications and activities that can consume large
amounts of Internet bandwidth without it being made particularly obvious.
Examples of these include:
- Email with large file attachments
Sending and receiving emails, with attachments (such as other emails, or
pictures), alone does not usually generate excessive usage. However if a
customer downloads enough large file attachments via email, this may have a
significant impact on the rolling 30 day download total.
- Malicious activity
In addition to software that is installed on your computer, there may be
programs on your computer that also affect your Internet usage without your
knowledge. This includes Hacking, Viruses and Spyware.
In addition to the software that is knowingly installed on your computer, there
are a number of types of malicious activity that in turn can result in Internet
traffic. A few examples are:
Hacking attempts - Hacking is typically when a person or program attempts to
break into your computer without your prior authorisation or knowledge.
Usually the intent is to gain access to your computer and then use it in
fraudulent ways, which often can create excessive usage. A good way to prevent
unauthorised access is to consider using a Hardware/Software Firewall. For
example, Windows XP users should make sure that the Windows Firewall in XP is
turned on, and similarly that your computer is up to date with the latest
Operating System updates.
Viruses/Trojan Horses - In the event that your computer becomes infected with a
virus or Trojan horse, this could have an adverse affect on your usage. For
example some use your computer as a relay for sending out mass emails over your
Internet connection. The recommended way to protect your computer against this
threat, is to install proprietary anti-virus software and ensure that updates
to the virus signatures are applied regularly. We recommend Avira.
Spyware differs from a virus as it is less malicious although for the general
user it can also cause great frustration. When Spyware gets onto your computer
it gathers information on the web sites that you visit. This is then used by
advertisers, who in turn will then send banner advertising and screen pops up
to your computer.
There are several applications available that can check and remove Spyware from
your computer. We recommend Adaware.
- Multiple users
Sharing an Internet connection between several users or computers within a
household can impact usage. Although users will be sharing the connection,
there is scope for different users to download more than others. If your
computer is shared with other users, then we recommend checking how frequently
they have been using the service and downloading files. If you are using a
router to manage your Internet connection, you may find that by logging into
the router in a web browser, there may be a traffic counter that indicates how
much data has been uploaded and downloaded.
- Wireless Access
If you access the Internet via a wireless connection at home, then it is highly
recommend that this is secured with a secure encryption key. This is a
password that is configured on the Router. The password is also entered onto
your PC when setting up the wireless connection and this authenticates your
computer to use the wireless service.
In the event that your home wireless connection is unsecured, it can mean that
any users with a wireless device, within a certain range of your wireless
modem/router can use your connection to access the Internet and download files.
Please note, NowCom Wireless pre-configured outdoor radios have wireless
encryption
enabled as part of the standard configuration.
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