Resolved Exceeding alloted time on internet

A member of our forum keeps getting a message stating he is exceeding his alloted time on the internet. Q, what is allotted time, and how can he tell if he is getting close to the limit. He is with btinternet.
thanks

 

Thanks Steve, have emailed him and am waiting reply. Incidently, what is 'bandwidth'? I read somewhere it has something to do with KBPS, ( I am assuming this to be Kilobytes per second ?). and can he increase it if he is still running out of alloted time?.
And why am I, and fellow LDC Forum , not bothered with this?

 

"Bandwidth" is often loosely used outside of its "KBPS" definition you referred to.

Your friend might be limited to a certain amount of time allowed online (such as 10 hours per month) under his current "plan" with his Internet Service Provider (ISP). If so, then I suspect your friend is approaching that time limit imposed by the ISP under his current "plan ".

Another loose use of the term "bandwidth" deals with the amount of information downloaded from the Internet. One might download enough information (in gigabytes) from the Internet to trigger his/her ISP to warn about reaching the limit allowed under the user's current level of service with the ISP.

Streaming video (i.e., YouTube ") and P2P file sharing (i.e., BitTorrent, Limewire, etc.) are common ways that "bandwidth" gets eaten up.

I suspect you have not received similar warnings because you do not have such limits, your limits are higher, or you have not approached your limit(s) as quickly as your friend.

 

Thanks Steve& Mailman, my Forum Member does have a contract (package) with BT (British Telecom) that is time based, there are three sizes of package on offer, he has gone for the middle one. He downloads a lot of Airshow stuff, being ex RAF, so this may account for the high use of his time quota.
I think he is re-evaluating his contract with his ISP.
I checked with my ISP and I don't have a time limit.
Appreciate your help, thanks again.
Marking this Resolved
Spanner

 

Spanner,

You'll find your forum members issue is nothing to do with the amount of time he spends on the internet but has everything to do with how much data he downloads. If he is downloading a lot of audio/video "airshow stuff" or a lot of you tube streaming then he either must increase his package or reduce his downloads.

However mailman mentioned P2P sharing, does your friend have a wireless connection, could it have been hijacked? BT and many ISP's will target heavy users of bandwidth as their usage affects many of their customers. Is it possible your forum member has had his internet connection "stolen" by a neighbour?

 

Wow! Wildfire, just as I thought this was sorted. I understand what you are saying &I will be seeing him today (Tuesday 15 th June) and tell him the info, I believe he is thinking of changing his ISP, or at least his package. Bit worrying about hijacking though, will check this out with him.
Thanks Spanner