NBN Co is planning to impose a limit on the bandwidth allowed for satellite users. In response, ISPs will be forced to cut plans that come with more than 50GB.
First  reported by The Register and according to a notice by an ISP to its customers: NBN Co first attempted to add more bandwidth in response to the poor and slow connections that various subscribers are experiencing with their satellite providers. However, NBN Co has decided that all RSPs (Retail Service Providers) to cut back plans that involve large GB allowances and “anytime” quality of service.
To add, an ISP customer told The Register: “The introduction of these new restrictions penalises agricultural businesses and businesses servicing the rural sector such as my own and will have an adverse impact on schools, medical services or any institution dependent on NBN satellite broadband services for their Internet”.
The customer added that while NBN Co announced its intention to manage satellite usage in March 2013, the 50 GB limit (even for users paying for more) was only communicated to him recently.
In the document provided by The Register, NBN Co told RSPs that “NBN Co expects that less than 5% of ISS users will likely be impacted by the application of a download limit”.
This is NBN Co’s way to make fair usage for all during peak hours where connections have been causing consumer outrage for months. “NBN Co expects that on average, end users will receive access to around a third more capacity during peak periods, which will enable them to better carry out tasks like email, Internet banking and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services, such as Skype”.
Recently, NBN Co released a statement to address to Vulture South that has since been quoted by The Register: “The interim satellite service is designed to serve a maximum of 48,000 users only. That’s based on the fact that we’re only able to lease a finite amount of bandwidth from commercial operators.”
NBN Co further noted: “some very heavy users of satellite broadband were crowding out the majority. So we began for the first time enforcing the fair use measures that had always been in place (but up until then had never been used).”
Credits: Quotes from The Register, credits to the author