Thought I should share this here on my blog. This post was my response to a discussion on our DWU forum about the soaring prices of data rates by Digicel compared to the other Telco's in the country.
In reality, the broadband internet access provided by ISP's (Internet Service Providers) like Telikom, BMVodaphone, and Digicel especially via this different packages is really not the same for Mobile phone usage and USB dongle usage. For instance, customers can access the internet via mobile phones or a USB dongle connected to a PC; and although the data rates look the same there are bandwidth caps (aka data caps) that limit the transfer of a specified amount of data over a period of time. The same amount of megabytes per second for mobile phone usage will be much less when used in a PC through the USB dongle.
ISPs normally apply this to ensure the network usage that's intended to be shared by many users doesn't become overloaded, or may be overloaded, by few users. These few users might be streaming video, downloading movie files or file sharing and when the use is continuous at high rates for hours at a time, it may seriously impair the service of others.
ISPs do not tell you this but they try to manage it in a way that enables the network to be shared fairly by all consumers or else we complain that network is slow or clogged up.
They do not do this using data caps alone.
1. Firstly, they ensure you as a customer see that your expenditure is capped (not by way of data cap but by knowing in advance that you can never be charged more than a certain amount for a 24hr, week or month long period.) Thus it reduces your nervousness in receiving a high bill but encourages you to take advantage of the package. That is why internet usage has soared.
2. Secondly, they will never cut you off from the internet access during the time frame you have purchased the service. A cut off may mean that you have to wait for a day to renew the service as in Digicel's Day pass prepaid plan. This I believe is a network management strategy.
So how do you as a customer get best value for your money?
I have come to realize that in order to keep costs and therefore prices for consumers down providers like Digicel configure their networks for what they believe should be a reasonable average level of usage by customers.
Thus for example , for a hypothetical network, every customer might be given a service with a maximum theoretic speed of 12 Mbps. If the technology allows for a maximum theoretic download speed of 12Mbps, the provider will aim to dimension the network to meet the usage levels of the large majority in order to keep costs and prices for everyone down. In this instance the provider might for example assume that the network should be configured to assume 1Mbps download on average at all times for all customers.
Now you all know the demand in Internet usage especially with download rate and speed. So for example, if the provider is forced to provide a network that could handle 12Mpbs download for all customers continuously, that would drive up the costs of the network and prices tremendously. The consequent increase in prices would leave many people unable to afford Internet Access packages from the provider and I believe this is what's happening with Digicel now.
Simply put, the bridge built from vines cannot hold 12 people walking across all at the same time, so what do you do? build a "bigger better" bridge with steel...and dat wan u no oledi.... will cost more...:)
My 2toea comments.
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