un·lim·it·ed [uhn-lim-i-tid]

-adjective

1. not limited; unrestricted; unconfined: unlimited trade.
2. boundless; infinite; vast: the unlimited skies.
3. without any qualification or exception; unconditional.

You don't have to look too far these days to see an ISP marketing their broadband service as "Unlimited". It seems like the sensible option when choosing a provider. We all the like the freedom of being without restrictions.

If it looks too good to be true...

Providing a broadband service costs money. The more bandwidth that customers use, the more it costs the provider. So how can some providers offer an unlimited service? The answer is quite simple; these services aren't really unlimited, but clever creations of our competitors' marketing and legal teams supported by inventive "Fair Usage Policies".

What's a Fair Usage Policy? It's the caveat that says "Our service is unlimited, provided you don't use it too much - if you do, we'll limit your service in some way or even disconnect you". Most Fair Usage Policies don't state what the limits are and they can therefore be changed over time.

How is the service limited for those who "use it too much"? Many different methods are used to restrict the service to those customers who fall foul of the Fair Usage Policy. Some ISPs simply slow down the connection speed, meaning a sub-standard Internet experience for the user. This is known as "throttling". Others are simply blocking the "ports" on which specific bandwidth-hungry services run. This can affect anything from peer-to-peer file sharing applications to online games. But whatever the tactics, the aim is simple: to limit the use of the service by some users.

At Madasafish we do things differently. We believe in transparency and honesty and we don't claim things are unlimited when they're not. We have 3 broadband products which include 5GB, 20GB or 50GB of usage a month. If you find you're using more than is included in your product, you can either just pay for the extra usage or switch to a product with more usage included. If you find you're using less, you can switch to a product with less usage included. You can check your usage at any time in My Account and we'll even send you an email if you're getting near to your inclusive usage for that month.

That means that customers who use a lot of bandwidth end up paying a little more than those who don't use very much, which is only fair, when you think about it - you could call it our Fair Usage Policy. It means that we don't need to throttle or place restrictions on the service and we can provide enough capacity across our network - even at peak times.

So if you're thinking about Unlimited Broadband, ask yourself this: are you a regular or a heavy bandwidth user? If you're a regular user, do you really need unlimited broadband? If you're a heavy bandwidth user and you choose a broadband provider on the basis of an advertising campaign that claims "unlimited usage" you could end up stuck in a 12 or 18 month contract and severely restricted in your use of the Internet.

We hope that you'll join us in our push for honest and transparent advertising in the Internet industry.

• Comparision of Madasafish vs "Unlimited" ISPs
• The Free Fairy Story by Guy Kewney
• Dictionary Definition of Unlimited