I want to know why Virgin media throttle usenet ports outside the traffic management hours?

Question

I started some downloads yesterday at 6.30am, I had to go out around 9.30am, the downloads were working fine, I got back home around 1pm, the lights on the modem signified a disconnection for up to 3 hrs or so from when I went out to rebooting the system, I have since tried and tried and left them starting again at 2am this morning, at 8.30am this morning they had still not started, my usenet provider confirm my usenet ports are being throttled, virgin media say they are not throttling ports, but their traffic management times are 10am-3pm and 4pm - 9pm, so why can't the ports be working at 2am, this is surely classed as unfairness by virgin media, they charge me £10 if my bill is not paid in full by the due date, whether its a penny or more, and I know lots of other people have the same problem
Thanks
I look forward to replies

Answer 1

The only reason Virgin Media would have to throttle your ports is if you're deemed to be using them in excess. It's all in the Terms and Conditions you signed up to--whaddya mean you didn't read them? They have a fairly strict "fair use" policy, and if you happen to go over that, then you're throttled. This is a totally automated process, over which the guys on the VM helpline have no control.



You do realise, of course, that it might not be Virgin Media who are throttling your ports in the first place? A lot of providers (particularly Usenet/Torrent sites) now have a policy whereby they throttle back THEIR output (in order to save on bandwidth costs). This normally happens outwith nrmal business hours, so that they can offer their top service during the normal working day to the punters who make up the majority of their user base. They don't advertise the fact that they do this, and if punters rage at their own ISPs, means they (the Usenet/Torrent providers) don't have to account for doing so......



So there's not much point in thinking of changing your ISP. You'll probably find that most (if not all) providers in your area are similarly affected. As for the downloads not starting again, this could be down to the users providing the files; if they, like you, are having issues with the amount of bandwidth they have available, it doesn't take an Einstein to work out that the whole shebang is gonna grind to a halt.



In short, there ain't a lot you can do about this. Is very much worth considering this as the cost of dealing thru the whole Usenet setup--this is why a lot of users are moving away from this technology onto things like the Cloud.



Sorry



Scots

Answer 2

Virgin Media Usenet

Answer 3

VM have bandwith restrictions; dependant on how much you download in effect till 9pm but they also throttle p2p; usenet, torrents, up untill midnight. If you breach your download limit you will be restricted for the next 5hrs hence your issue