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'unmetered' bandwidth should be illegal

General Discussion by armstrongvds 22 replies 3.1K views
armstrongvds

Member OP

ARM Enjoyer

#1

This marketing term is driving me insane! Every budget host slaps "unmetered" on their 1Gbps port and people think they can actually push 1Gbps 24/7. The math doesn't work and we all know it!

A 1Gbps unmetered port, fully utilized, is 324TB/month. A 10Gbps port is 3.2PB. No provider at $5/month is giving you that. The "unmetered" claim is basically a bet that you won't use it, and when you do, they throttle or terminate under "fair use."

I just hit this with my own host, Hetzner. "Unmetered 1Gbps" on the page. I'm running an Ampere Altra-based file mirror, totally legitimate, and at 2TB they start throttling me to 100Mbps. I check the terms: "fair use policy applies, specifics not disclosed." Insane value my foot! This chip runs circles around x86 at this price point but what's the point if the pipe is a lie?

If we can't get actual numbers, "unmetered" is just a way to sell dreams. It should require disclosure of the actual throttle point, or be regulated as deceptive marketing. Who's with me?

one small ping for man...
pavel_train

Member

4 #2

Armstrongvds makes the pipeline clear | the marketing is the input | the expectation is the filter | the throttle is the output | grep the terms of service | you find nothing specific | sed 's/unmetered/fair use gamble/g' | this is the industry standard | cat /dev/null > transparency

The problem is not the bandwidth | the problem is the pipe dream | sort -u | wc -l | one

RAJ

Member

#3

Guys, from business side, what margins are we talking? Any leads on panels that actually show the throttle point to end users?

I resell GreenCloudVPS and their "unmetered" is actually 10TB soft, 100Mbps after. I tell my clients upfront, but their control panel doesn't show usage clearly. I have to manually warn people. Not sustainable for growth.

If regulation forces disclosure, maybe costs go up but trust goes up too? I don't know.

your margin is my opportunity
kei_osa

Member

#4

The irony, armstrongvds, is that you did not read the fair use clause before purchasing. Two spaces. Full stop.

Hetzner's terms are not unique. The language is vague by design. Your remedy is to select providers that specify exact transfer limits. CloudCone publishes 3TB on their base plan, 10TB on premium (https://cloudcone.com). No ambiguity. No disappointment.

You are not wrong that "unmetered" is misleading. You are wrong that regulation is the only path. Market pressure works when consumers demand specificity. You have learned this lesson at 2TB. Share that knowledge.

Hana5

Member

GPU poor

10 #5

Armstrongvds have please to read terms before sign, "unmetered" is trap for beginner,

Help, many provider use this word because customer want hear it. Actual limit is secret. Server can push 324TB but provider not want to pay for pipe

No articles needed to see truth: buy metered, know limit. "unmetered" is gamble with house edge

8-char NTLM found in 4min 32sec
danfra

Member

1 #6

DDoS mitigation context: "unmetered" in bandwidth marketing has no relation to mitigation capacity.

Typical scrubbing threshold: 1-10Gbps attack triggers filtering. Scrubbing center capacity varies: HostHatch advertises 400Gbps per PoP, Leaseweb does not disclose. Anycast dispersion vs single-location scrubbing affects sustained legitimate throughput differently.

If you want actual pipe guarantees, look for committed information rate (CIR) in contract, not "unmetered." Everything else is best-effort.

mitigated 800Gbps before breakfast
Doug

Member

New Jersey

#7

So like $5 for 324TB? I don't think the math works lol

grabs popcorn, checks /r/drama
RAJ

Member

#8

Which panel does GreenCloudVPS use?

your margin is my opportunity
BI

Member

#9

CIR is the only thing that matters tbh

FI

Member

#10
RAJ said:
Which panel does GreenCloudVPS use?

SolusVM last I checked, though they were talking about moving to Virtualizor. Either way the bandwidth graph is daily average, no live counter, so your clients won't see the cliff coming.

I run a small reseller operation in London using Mythic Beasts for anything where I need actual numbers upfront. They meter by the byte, bill in GBP, and the quote is the quote. No fair-use roulette.

The "unmetered" game only works because comparison shopping is broken. Nobody lists CIR next to price.

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