BT to continue restriction of broadband service, even for Next Gen broadband

We?ve spoken a few times before out BT?s heavy service restrictions, and unfortunately it has been confirmed that the company are due to carry on similar restrictions on their 40 Mbps next generation service when it becomes available, knocking down the speed for anyone wishing to do heavy downloading before midnight on a regular day.

Previously BT have been in the news for reducing speeds during peak times so much that even regular streaming services like iPlayer had trouble running for regular people, once again fuelling the argument of whether or not the company should be allowed to advertise ?unlimited? internet when it so often chokes the speed of its customers.

While network capacity can certainly be an issue, there are plenty of ADSL and ADSL2 companies that don?t limit bandwidth at all, and although all have a fair usage policy, the extent to which they define how much is ?too much? can vary wildly, which can confuse many consumers looking for a good deal on truly unlimited connections.

We question the need for BT to do this across all of their announced next generation packages. What?s the point of having 40 Mbps internet if you can?t actually use the service when you want or need it?

Meanwhile BT state that those targeted remain around 1% of their overall? customer base, although the company hasn?t yet supplied us with exact statistics or proof of this number. The comparable 50 Mbps service from Virgin Media has yet to enforce a similar policy, although analysts are suggest that the company may have too if the service becomes too popular.

What do you think? Should BT be throttling their customers, even on next generation packages, or should we be allowed to use as much bandwidth as we like? Would you pay more for a service or package that allowed truly unlimited downloads or do you think it would be a waste of money?

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