SubscribeAre you using too much Internet service? If your service provider thinks you are, it can alert you by barging in on your web-browsing sessions with forced notification messages warning you are about to be the latest victim of Internet Overcharging.
PerfTech, a maker of browser messaging systems has teamed up with Active Broadband Networks to deliver providers a way to notify up to two million subscribers about their broadband usage from just a single rack-based system.
“Feedback from ISPs who have deployed usage-based Internet tiers has confirmed that two factors are key to success: accurate usage measurement and quick, proactive notifications,” PerfTech vice president of sales Jane Christ said in a statement.
Most browser message injection systems are used to warn customers when they are approaching monthly usage limits or excessive use charges. Some can even redirect web users to a single ISP-administered website to alert them their service has been suspended or request payment for additional usage with a credit card.
So far, only smaller U.S. providers are using PerfTech’s system, including WideOpenWest, BendBroadband in Oregon, and Buckeye Cable in Ohio.
- WideOpenWest doesn’t appear to limit usage except for newsgroups. According to their FAQ, users may download up to 5GB per month of newsgroup content;
- Bend Broadband has a 100GB monthly limit on all but its highest speed Internet plan, which carries a 150GB monthly limit. The overlimit fee is $1.50 per gigabyte.
- Buckeye Cable favors “network management” techniques, which can slow down customers deemed to be using too much, at its discretion. But the company does have a 3GB strict usage cap on newsgroup access. Exceeding it is very costly. The overlimit fee is a whopping $45 per gigabyte.
