Telkom Internet, Telkom’s Internet service provider, said on Friday that from 1 February users on its capped broadband products will be still be able to access international websites and services when they reach their data cap where previously they would be limited to browsing local websites.
However, customers should be warned that their connection speeds and the range of things they’ll be able to access will be extremely limited, the telecommunications operator says in response to questions from TechCentral.
“Of importance is that the soft cap is intended to be a more customer-friendly means of ensuring broadband access to essential Internet-based services after they have consumed their cap than the previous local-only data promotion.”
Customers will have their connections shaped to prioritise traffic such as e-mail, banking and browsing.
Although the throttled speeds will “satisfy broadband definitions”, they will be “significantly slower than entry-level ADSL line speeds”, Telkom says. Throttling may be increased or decreased in future based on feedback and “operational constraints”.
In addition to throttled speeds, consumers will not be able to use video streaming services like YouTube or peer-to-peer services at all once they have reached their monthly data cap.
This is to “ensure that the essential services are not impacted”, Telkom says.
Telkom Internet’s business customers are given priority for their applications during business hours, while residential customers will find their after-hours activity prioritised. It says this is in line with the practices of Internet service providers worldwide. — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media