By Charles Miller
There is a cartoon I once saw in a magazine and now wish I had clipped and saved. It pictured a husky fellow holding an empty plate and pointing to a sign above the lunch buffet that reads “All you can eat for $3.95.” Across from him stands the cook holding a butcher knife saying “You’ve already had all you can eat for $3.95!” That ever so succinctly sums up the concept of “unlimited” as it applies to the world of information technology.
Most dictionaries define the word “unlimited” as having no restrictions or controls, having no boundaries; infinite, without qualification or exception; absolute. Nevertheless, some internet service providers (ISPs) think it is okay for them to unilaterally make up their own definition of the word, and that is where the term “fair use” comes in. Read the fine print of most ISP contracts and you will often find a reference to fair use. The legalese varies from company to company but can usually be translated as “Your internet is unlimited until you go over our limit.” The actual limit is rarely, if ever, defined.
A problem can sometimes come up if your ISP decides to enforce “fair use” on you. In other words, the definition of “unlimited” your ISP could use is not the same definition as found in the dictionary. In all my years’ experience in the field of information technology I have only seen this happen a handful of times.
A good friend in Texas is typical of many consumers. He suffers from “the grass is always greener on the other side” syndrome. It is human nature to believe the things we do not have seem better than the things we do have, and a lot of us are tempted by or envious of what other people have. So my friend canceled his internet provided by the phone company and switched to a local cable company for a deal that would lower his cost. I should mention he lives in a rural area, so that presents challenges and limits his options.
Everything seemed fine for the first three weeks. Then it seemed like everything either stopped working well or moved in slow motion. After a few days the problem cleared up, but this reoccurred a month later. Eventually my friend ascertained that his new ISP had a strict fair use policy and that he had gone over his limit near the end of each month.
Even after figuring out what the ISP was doing, they would not admit it. He never did find out what the limit was, only that there obviously was a limit and he had gone over it. ISPs rationalize that heavy users could have an impact on everyone else’s access if heavy users are not limited. The cable company offered that my friend could pay more for a higher tier of service, but he decided to go back on bended knee to the phone company.
I relate this experience to remind readers we all need to appreciate that our local internet service providers in Mexico are all doing a very good job of keeping pace with growing demand while providing economically-priced broadband internet that is, in fact, better than that available in many other parts of the world.
Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant, a frequent visitor to San Miguel since 1981, and now practically a full-time resident. He may be contacted at 415 101 8528 or email FAQ8@SMAguru.com.
