Very true, but I think it’s the
usual misleading statements that most ISP’s use that really sticks in
people’s throats, in particular BT Internet spring to
mind!
I think that the comparison with the
water
supply is a little spurious though, as after all, water can be a finite
resource
dependant on the season, whereas this is not; it is purely down to the cost
and
contention ratios being met be the ISP.
IMO, “unmetered”
means not metered, therefore if there is a finite cut off point then surely
the
service is metered to enable monitoring that usage therefore, it is both
inaccurate and morally wrong to call the service unmetered,
as it is misleading to the general lay person. Having said that though, the
vast majority of casual net users that would take on the service would
probably
never see the cut off point, it’s just sad gits
like ourselves that want an always on connection where there is no
alternative
except a dial up service and that is not what dial
up
was designed to do.
Just my tuppence
worth though ;-)
K.
-----Original
Message-----
From: Mark Harrison
[mailto:Mark.Harrison@xxxxxxx]
Sent: 27 May
2002
10:17
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [ukha_d] Re:
Another
Unmetered Service
Depends what you think unmetered
means...
If you think it means "unrestricted", then it's a
problem.
If you think it means "charges are not proportional to
usage", then it's a fair description.
The ISP industry has, overall taken the view that it means the
latter.
Let's look at the example of "unmetered water
connection".
This means that you pay a fixed monthly rate for your water, but the water
company reserve the right to restrict your supply if they have supply
problems.
In this case, I'd say fair play to this ISP for making it clear
up-front on the advertising page, rather than burying it deeply in the
small
print of a contract.... or changing the terms once you were signed
up.