Tuesday, 25 July 2006

Computerland - The trouble with ISP’s and fair use

I don't mind admitting it I use the internet a fair bit. I like to keep up to date and use Hubdog for my fix of news and 'casts' but I'm now on the watch list of my ISP because I download a fair bit. I recieved a snot-o-gram email from them telling me not to download large files during peak times (i.e when I'm awake) and to not use peer to peer technology at all. I thought this wasn't entirely fair as it inferred that I will be downloading illegal material at worst or at least causeing them an inconvenience by using what I pay for.

I wrote to them asking for information as to what was considered to be fair use. How much exactly is the threshold? Unsurprisingly I didn't get a straight answer, a mere redirection to a FAQ which oddly circumvented the thorny issue itself. I wrote again and receive no answer this time. I wrote on paper and as yet have still recieved no answer.

Along with the claimed connection speeds where my current 2Mb/s actually downloads around 120Kb/s at best am I the only one who feels as if my pocket has been picked in a smooth corporate way?

Answers on a post card, unless you are of course my ISP where any format would be acceptable.

No comments:

Post a Comment