What does 'unlimited' mean?

There's no such thing as a free lunch. And despite what you may have seen in adverts, there's no such thing as an "unlimited" home broadband account, either. One person who discovered this was Stuart Aspland, an NTL Telewest customer in Swansea. Every evening, he'd start using his "unlimited use" 10 megabit per second (Mbps) service; and every evening, its speed would halve after about 20 minutes.

  • http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/feb/01/newmedia.media1


    • What does broadband mean?

    'What does broadband mean?' might sound like a stupid question, but a spate of new 'broadband' services are leading many to ask whether the word has lost its meaning.

    Not only are connections which offer only slightly more than twice the speed of dial-up being called broadband - 128 and 150K services from the likes of NTL and Tiscali for instance - but the increased take-up of ADSL in some urban areas is reportedly having a significant decelerating affect on 512K users contending for one fiftieth of a busy pipe.

  • http://www.wrayvillage.co.uk/whatitmeans.htm


    • Broadband: What Does It Mean for People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired?

    Recently, there has been an unusual amount of discussion of "broadband" in Congress and at the Federal Communications Commission. What does this policy debate mean to people who are blind or visually impaired?

  • http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=3&TopicID=238&DocumentID=1821


    • VoIP over cable broadband: Does it mean business?

    Is VoIP over cable reliable enough for business use? A few years ago, most experts would have said no-but things have been changing over the last few years. Deb Shinder examines where cable Internet service and VoIP over cable broadband are today.

  • http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-6161826.html


    • Broadband Explained

    Broadband is growing and growing fast in the UK, but what is Broadband? How does it work? and what dirty little secrets do the ISP's keep hidden? We aim to give you all the answers in this article Broadband Explained.

  • http://www.lordpercy.com/broadband_explained.htm


    • Broadband demystified

    The boffins have come up with a new term, broadband. What does it mean, how will it affect you and do you even need it?

  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/features/2004/03/broadband/index.shtml


    • Changing your broadband supplier

    Migrations Authorisation Code (MAC) Broadband Migrations Process

A1.1 The Communications Provider shall, at the request of:

   1. an End-User of the Communications Provider; or
   2. another Communications Provider who acquires a Broadband Service from the Communications
	 Provider

issue a MAC for a Broadband Service where the Broadband Service is a service to which the MAC
Broadband Migrations Process applies.
A1.2 The MAC Broadband Migrations Process applies to the supply by the Communications Provider
 of all DSL services, with the exception of those DSL services that are required to be migrated
 by means of a process that relates to the supply of a Fixed Line Telephone Service supplied in
 conjunction with the DSL service.
A1.3 The Communications Provider shall take reasonable steps to validate the identity of an 
 End-User who has contacted the Communications Provider to request a MAC for a Broadband 
 Service, before issuing a MAC to the End-User.
A1.4 The Communications Provider shall provide its End-Users with two or more of the following 
 contact methods:

   1. telephone numbers;
   2. e-mail address; and
   3. postal address,

for the purposes of an End-User contacting the Communications Provider to obtain a MAC.

Issuing MACs to End-Users

A1.5 The Communications Provider shall communicate the MAC to the End-User in writing by letter
 and/or by e-mail within five working days of receipt of the End-User?s request save for A1.6.
A1.6 Where the Communications Provider has issued the MAC to the End-User over the telephone 
 (including details about the MAC validity period and expiry date and the Broadband Service to
 which the MAC relates), the Communications Provider is not required to communicate the MAC
 to the End-User in writing.
A1.7 The written response (e-mail or letter) to the End-User containing the MAC shall clearly
 indicate:

   1. the MAC (or MACs);
   2. the MAC validity period and expiry date; and
   3. the Broadband Service(s) to which the MAC(s) applies.

A1.8 At any time prior to the expiry of the MAC validity period, the Communications Provider
 shall remind the End-User of the MAC if requested by the End-User.
A1.9 Where a MAC has already been requested and provided, the Communications Provider shall
 not impose any limits on the number of additional times an End-User may request the provision
 of a new MAC in relation to the Broadband Service, following the expiry of any other MACs.
A1.10 The Communications Provider shall issue a MAC to the End-User free of charge.

Refusal to issue a MAC

A1.11 The Communications Provider shall only refuse to issue a MAC to their End-User if:

   1. the Communications Provider has, by taking reasonable steps, been unable to validate
	  the identity of the person requesting the MAC as the End-User;
   2. the Broadband Service contract has already been terminated;
   3. a MAC which is still within its MAC validity period has already been requested and 
	 issued by the Communications Provider in relation to the Broadband Service; and
   4. the Communications Provider has already submitted a Cease Request for the Broadband
	 Service; and
   5. the Communications Provider is unable to obtain a MAC from a Broadband Network
	 Communications Provider.

A1.12 Where the Communications Provider is unable to, or refuses to, provide a MAC to the
 End-User, the Communications Provider shall provide the End-User with a clear explanation
 of why the MAC has not been provided.

Cease requests and notice to terminate a Broadband Service

A1.13 The Communications Provider shall not issue a Cease Request for the Broadband Service
 unless the Communications Provider has established that the End-User does not wish to
 transfer the Broadband Service to another Communications Provider.
A1.14 The Communications Provider shall, when issuing a MAC, confirm to the End-User
 that any previous termination by the End-User has been revoked, and shall ensure that
 any current or pending termination actions are cancelled.

MAC validity and migration dates

A1.15 The Communications Provider shall not terminate the Broadband Service on account of
 the MAC validity period expiring unless the Communications Provider has received
 notification that the End-User's Broadband Service has been migrated to another 
 Communications Provider.
A1.16 Where a Customer provides a MAC within its validity period, together with a request
 to effect a transfer of the Broadband Service to the Communications Provider, the
 Communications Provider shall proceed with the migration and inform the Customer of the 
 Default Migration Date.
A1.17 The Communications Provider shall, at the request of a Customer up until one 
 Working Day prior to the Default Migration Date:

   1. accept a request to extend the Default Migration Date to a later Migration Date
	 ('Requested Migration Date'), provided the MAC validity period has not expired
	  within five days of the Requested Migration Date; or
   2. cancel the Default Migration Date or Requested Migration Date.

Erroneous MAC migrations

A1.18 The Communications Provider shall provide a recovery process so that in the event
 of an erroneous migration effected by way of a MAC, the End-User's Broadband Service
 can be restored to the original Communications Provider with minimum disruption.

Information about the MAC Broadband Migrations Process

A1.19 The Communications Provider shall publicise the availability of the MAC Broadband
 Migrations Process to End-Users, including providing the following information:

   1. an explanation of how the MAC is used to facilitate the transfer of a Broadband
	 Service to another Communications Provider;
   2. details of how an End-User may request a MAC from the Communications Provider,
	 such as telephone, email and postal contact details;
   3. reasons why the Communications Provider may not be able to issue a MAC;
   4. details of the complaints handling process for complaints about a failure by
	 the Communications Provider to issue a MAC;
   5. alternative migration options for an End-User if the Communications Provider
	 cannot issue a MAC for the Broadband Service;
   6. the default Migration Date that applies when a MAC is provided to the
	 Communications Provider by a Customer for the purposes of transferring the
	 Broadband Service to the Communications Provider; and
   7. any options available to the End-User to request a Migration Date later than
	 the Default Migration Date.

A1.20 Publication of the information set out in A1.19 above shall be effected by
 publishing the information on the Communications Provider's website, and by sending
 a copy of the information if so requested by an End-User.

Complaints about the MAC Broadband Migrations Process

A1.21 The Communications Provider shall handle complaints from End-Users in relation
 to a decision to refuse, or a failure by, the Communications Provider to issue a MAC,
 as part of its existing complaints handling processes.

Broadband Network Services

A1.22 Where the Communications Provider provides Broadband Network Services, the 
 Communications Provider shall also ensure that it:

   1. effects the transfer of a Broadband Service on the Default Migration Date,
	 unless a later Migration Date has been requested by the Communications
	 Provider for the transfer to be effected;
   2. notifies the Communications Provider who formerly provided the Broadband
	 Service of the date that the transfer has been effected to another 
	 Communications Provider; and
   3. has a process that enables an erroneous service migration effected using a 
	 MAC to be reversed, so that the Broadband Service can be restored to the
	 original Communications Provider who requested the MAC.
    The full document can be found at : http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/migration/statement/statement.pdf These regulations are described by the Regulator as a "mandatory code of conduct". We take the view that these regulations are now incorporated into the Broadband contract. If you have difficulty changing Broadband suppliers and it is because these regulations have not been complied with, you may complain to the Regulator - but we would suggest an action in the Small Claims court for damages and an order to force compliance. We feel that this will have a very much more salutary effect on your Broadband supplier and is likely to produce a rapid compliance and an early out of court settlement. Your damages claim is likely to be very modest. Also, because you would be bringing a part 8 claim, it will cost £150 flat court fee - although this will be recoverable from your supplier.