I received an email yesterday from a reader who told me that his internet provider had limited his DSL download bandwidth to just 1.6GB a day. He told me that according to his provider every internet provider in Kuwait will be doing the same thing to their customers in the next coming weeks as well. I thought he might have misunderstood and it could have been a problem he was having but I just read in the forum that another person also ran into a similar problem. His internet provider downgraded his speed from 2MB to 512kb because he was downloading on average 3GB a day.
This freaked me out so I called up my provider (Qualitynet) and asked them if they had implemented the same system and according to the customer support guy I spoke to they haven’t. He actually told me I could relax and download the whole Internet if I wanted to and I would be fine.
Anyone have any more information on this?
66 replies on “Internet and Bandwidth issues”
Just called Kems, they said they weren’t going to do anything of the sort. Its probably just United Networks.
was it a mobile ISP that has reduced the limit?
Download the whole Internet?
Challenge accepted.
Its gonna be Legen-Wait for it-Dary!
@ Patrick, it can be done, the Internet is very compact 😛
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTBsm0LzSP0
Ironically, that video took an unusual amount of time to load.
Whoa, that would be enough to get me on the street rioting Libya style!
According to QNet’s Nitro page:
“Download libraries worth of movies, videos, songs, pictures etc. With Nitro on your side, sky is the limit.” 🙂
Isn’t this an implied invitation to piracy? 🙂
nope since you can download movies, videos, songs and pictures legally.
My friend’s internet provider is a mobile operator, and they downgrade the speed once the download limit is passed. But it only lasts until the end of the subscription month.
Hey yeah I have been having similar problems…
my internet speed feels like im using a dialup
before it was really good… high speed!!!
but then suddenly the bandwidth has dropped I dont think im downloading much as Im at the office most of the time but when im sufing the pages load really slow…
Im using Zajil (Kems)… the best part is when we call the customercare, they keep giving silly excuses ( like ur phone line has a problem locally, or maybe your router needs a firmware upgrade, we cannot see your router online in our system) etc etc etc
Zajil Kems was really good once upon a time and I kept recommending most of my friends about it and everyone was satisfied with their service, but right now its really very slow!!! im not sure of if they have reduced the speeds or implemented download control per day.
if I were downloading a file before of 800 MB to 1GB it would take me 2 to 4 hours sometimes even less to download, now when I put a 100MB to 500 MB file for download it takes me 4 to 5 hours sometimes if says weeks on the estimation.
I wish they fixed my connection something needs to be done. half the time the web browser just fails loading pages.
(For Kems Please note: This is my personal opinion, I have communicated with your customer service many times regarding this issue since past 2 months, and something seems to fixed instead it gets slower and slower)
I guess giving out free recommendation isn’t worth it since the bandwidth is really down these days!
I am having the same issue with Zajil(kems) since past 3 months , called several times and nothing happened.
Our KEMS connection was down almost on a daily basis for a few weeks up until last week – for four or five hours every evening. We finally discovered that someone at KEMS had us on a list, something they called a private ISP list. They were turning off our internet to make one of their buddy’s internet faster. As soon as we were off the list, the problem cleared up. That was after a frustration two weeks of trying to get ahold of somebody at KEMS. Can you imagine them playing with their customers’ service like that?
I knew it – been having the same problems – am also with KEMS who also told me to change the wiring to english wires which I did twice) then they said it was from the telephone company etc etc etc – now my internet is practically non-exixtent – cant open anything – I think internet is being slowed down because of the situation in the ME
Vik,
if the problem is bigger then Kems then its affecting all ISP providers by limiting the download speed! moreover, Kems won’t care at this point, since their competitors (fasttelco/qulaity/gulfnet etc) cant give them competition,
my friend has fasttelco (or slowteclo) and during night the 6x promotional time, the download speed comes 20kbps/sec!!!
It’s probably a mobile operator implementing a “Fair usage policy”. All mobile operators do it in Kuwait.
its not its DSL land line
They can do that too. It’s all about if the company chooses to implement a fair usage policy, to ensure that bandwidth is fairly distributed among all subscribers
They can do that too.
fair usage policy is such bullshit. In any case all fair usage policys have to be pre-defined and not implied
You might want to check out a post I wrote about this very issue , https://kuwaitiful.com/news-2/gulfnet-quietly-slips-in-download-speed-limit/
Zain slows us down after 20GB for the month – it’s painful:(
they are doing this in Canada
i remember like 2 weeks ago reading an article about this on yahoo news
its a stupid idea
Actually in Canada we started a grassroots organization and got the Usage Based Billing (UBB) put on hold and eventually we’ll kill the idea.
see: https://openmedia.ca/
The internet providers in Canada where just lying about the cost to deliver bandwidth and they tried to equate bandwidth to a utility like natural gas or electricity. Which is just plain bull. Delivering a gigabyte of data costs them under 1 cent and they want to charge the consumer anyware between $1-4 CAD over the low cap.
If this is happening in your country you have to kill it and start a similar movement. With so many people turning to the net to entertainment (online tv and netflix) and everyday life we’ll all be screwed just so the telcos can make a buck.
As and example I have a Talfazat internet TV box for Arabic channels. Which in my area is the only option if you want Arabic programming. The box consumes about 1gb per hour of use. It would add up very quickly.
This is Kuwait dude. You can’t do anything remotely like this here.
The only way i’ve found to fight this is to put your money where your mouth is and just stop using that particular company’s crap service and put out the word to as many people as possible so that they follow suit an end it with them, while getting possible clients to be aware and not join them. The company then has 2 choices: To improve their services to get clients back an new ones in, or just close down.
The stupid thing is so many companies here don’t care SO MUCH that they would rather close down and cut their losses than improve their service and get clients. It’s just a different (fucked up) mentality of business in this country. MOST companies here just do. not. care.
the whole internet is just 2tb wtf
I’m pretty sure the whole internet is not 2TB.
Man I’ve been in Canada for 2 weeks now.. And I can say that Kuwait Internet is a dial up compared to what they have here.. Its fricken fast..
Good point get some of that Kuwait oil spent on fiber to all the homes.
What could be the reason?
Well i`m a United customer since 4 years and i can`t complain about their services to much. At work i`m on KEMS wired and Wataniya wireless. Why 2 connections? `Couse KEMS is so slow and lousy after 10-15 mins i`ll switch on Wataniya. My boss is on Qnet and he`s complaining about them every 4-5 weeks.
So to draw a line, everyone has he`s own experience with his ISP , good or bad, but this doesn`t mean that the ISP is always to blame, maybe is the telephone line or something else.
If you suspect that your ISP is playing with your line (capping, throttling ..) try this link:
https://broadband.mpi-sws.org/transparency/
do the testing and see what you find out
Zain downgrades its speed once u reach 10GB. I reached 10gb on 29 of the month, when i called up that there is some issue with my connection they clearlt mentioned that they have reduced the speed.
In 4 years i never crossed 10gb for one day they had to that..
Using Qnet, browser speeds are down for me, but P2P speeds are still good.
I get 4GB a month here in Lebanon before I have to start buying extra bandwidth.
Man I miss Kuwait.
wow these greedy bastards we are already paying 3x the price and they want to limit our daily use ?
Aren’t movies an average of 4.2GB’s? I know when I burn my movies from other DVD’s they are that size. So if this is true those people better switch to another provider.
How come no one ever mentions fasttelco
fasttelco is not on anyones radar any more; their online website no longer works; elearning has been dismantled; no self care; cant get worse for them.
check below links; none are working since months.
https://online.fasttelco.net
https://elearning.fasttelco.net
https://selfcare.fasttelco.com
Try to register at
https://www.fasttelco.net/AxCMSwebLive/Elearning.cms; dead link.
2003 dead promotions still shown at
https://www.fasttelco.net/AxCMSwebLive/Dialup.cms
Let’s hope they’re not going to implement the Cap Usage policy similar to the one here in Canada, where you can only use up to 20 to 50 GB depending on your monthly plan with the provider. If you go over the bandwidth limit, you will pay $2.00 to $5.00 per GB (depends on the provider). Companies here try to justify it by saying that heavy bandwidth adds too much pressure on it’s infrastructure which is absolute bullshit since the US provider have a cap limit of 150 GB and above and it’s population 10 times more then Canada’s and there is no complaining on their part.
Let’s hope that greedy CEO mentality won’t come to the major service providers in Kuwait. Although I have a feeling that it could soon.
I have been a Gulfnet (United Networks) customer for the past 4 years. I was generally happy with their service but for the past 3-4 days I am facing problems. I too think they have a put a restriction on how much you can download, and once you reach near the limit, the download speed becomes snail pace. That’s unfair and its a shame, if it’s intentional.
I`m a United customer too and a regular downloader, for the past 31 days I have over 73GB transfer up+down, and i can`t see any problems in my 1MB line.
Same speed up and down.
I ran some of the tests from :
https://www.measurementlab.net/measurement-lab-tools
on my line and is showing some “shaping” of the traffic from ISP but nothing to be worried or to decrease the performances.
OK, I got the problem, Once I downloaded 3gb today they downgraded my speed to 25% of 2mb(my speed), which is 512k… until 3am they will reset then you have another 3gb.
(BTW I called and asked)
Please people lets act, these people responsible for the “Fair Use” Policy
have found a way to ruin a good thing we got going called internet 🙁 My Blood is Boiling
I like this part: “He actually told me I could relax and download the WHOLE INTERNET if I wanted to and I would be fine.”
In here (UK), clients have options of limited or un-limited bandwidth (just a nudge expensive).
Am having a viva wifi router at home with a contract of 2G for two years, and since a month I feel like it’s getting slower by the day…any info about this?
Also the zain iPhone I teensy service is get g slower also!!! What’s going on?
Limited download/upload capacity + increased subscribers.
OK I just called Gulfnet (United Networks), and this is what he told me:
“The daily Cap is 3GB and it resets at 3AM. The Fair Access Policy was put in effect 4 days ago”. I got the 2mbs connection with the offer for 24mbps from 3AM~3PM… and so I used to download all things all at the time…. and now I can barely download more than 2 HD movies…. WTF!! If this the way they treat their customers then I and all my friends are quitting Gulfnet (and that’s a lot coz I recommended a lot to take the offer)
Me too. I will cancel my subscription.
I to faced the same problem, since i am running the 512 kbps connection the cap my daily limit to 843 MB and then drop my conn speed to 128 kbps.
If this is the crap they are gonna implement i to am not interested in renewing my conn and neither will my friends.
If you get a better offer from someone else let us all know and will come with you.
Terminating their services is the only way to punish them.
BTW has anyone checked their FUP?
You`ll have to pay 50KD to terminate the service and another 25KD to remove the jumper :O. This is what i understand 🙁
Fair Usage Policy. It’s a huge debate happening everywhere around the world.
Our KEMS connection was down almost on a daily basis for a few weeks up until last week – for four or five hours every evening. We finally discovered that someone at KEMS had us on a list, something they called a private ISP list. They were turning off our internet to make one of their buddy’s internet faster. As soon as we were off the list, the problem cleared up. That was after a frustrating two weeks of trying to get ahold of somebody at KEMS. Can you imagine them playing with their customers’ service like that?
That’s so messed up. I imagine it happens a lot here thanks to wasta and whatnot.
Hey Mark,
Guess wat, I think all the customer service in Kuwait thinks the same…. coz we all were complaining on Gulfnet’s facebook page and then suddenly, somebody out of nowhere (he just created the account yesterday) comes and praises and glorifies Gulfnet… ring a bell… I am not renewing my subscription with Gulfnet and neither are my friends….
Wataniya downgrades the speed once you download 10GB for the basic speed (512) and 45GB for the high speed (7.2)
First of all, yes this is true q8s isps are indeed considering ways to limit people from “downloading 24/7”. And here’s whats pushing them to do it:
A pipe of continuous 1mbps costs about 1300 kd per year.
Read the above again and do some simple math and you’ll understand.
The majority of the above cost gets paid to the ministry of comm by the ISPs.
So since lately us ISPs have been suffering to get extra bandwidth and stay within budget, the result was we had to let home users get congested, which is bad for everybody (especially gamers!!)
I hope this sheds some light and causes people to face the dilemma
Light Internet –> For People who don’t want to download or bothered by the low speeds
Internet –> Youtube, PS3 XBOX PC Online Gaming, Downloads, 3 main keywords that we paid to do.
I (and most people) Paid for 2Mb “Unlimited” that’s what we supposed to get.
Do not offer high speeds and assume we aren’t going to use them to download.
.Is there a possibility that this poorly decided policy will get canceled? How?
.Is there something we can do to help?
.Cancel our subscriptions maybe?
.Is there a safe haven ISP that did not approve and will not implement?
I totally agree with you! our service says 1/2 mpbs /sec, not 1.xGB/day!!!!! and we paid full!
are there any laws in Kuwait regarding this?
https://babbleq8.com/2011/02/problem-with-internet-throughout-kuwait/
my zain 13.5 kd connection is damn slowwwww
it is even slow than 52 kpbs dialup
what to do?????
Hi, It is true. Today I felt that my internet was slower than usual. So I called and they told me that the daily limit is 1.69GB which i think is unfair, but they said that it is to stop people that are downloading 24/7.
which ISP ?
Been a happy Quality Net customer since 1998.
This brings up the traffic problem!
The roads capacity haven’t increased for a long time to adjust with the number of cars increasing everyday.
Same thing with the ISP’s. They have a “limited” bandwith to distribute for all of their subscribers. They are having more subscribers everyday, but they are not increasing their bandwith to handle all those subscribers.
So, what do they do? they force a cap!
When I first got Viva internet in 2009. My download speed was very fast at peak day hours (600 KB/s+). Now I’m very happy when I get around 150KB/s at peak hrs.
I basically use my internet for online gaming, with some little downloading when I need to download a game patch. So my biggest concern is always upload speed. It was around 50 KB/s. Now 10-15 KB/s.
At the last exhibition at Mishrif, I asked the Viva representative about the slow speed going around lately. He told that they only got 5 MB/s upload speed for all their users?! WTF?
I have some what similar problem. but my ISP (kems) told me that they did not reduce any bandwidth but actually they have had major problem with their server that is why the download speed is so slow! he said it should get fixed in couple of days (that was last week, till now its slow)
i have viva connection 7.2 Mbps since july 2010 before 10 month it was nice work and i had been getting speed 500 to 700 KB/s which is the Best
But now a days i think viva change my connection speed which is remaing only 15 KB/s to 20 KB/s
some time i m loughing on thier cheat joking Becoz i did my contact for 2 Yrs not for only 10th month ehhhehehehheheh !!!!
i know they are cheating to every one many guys have like that complaint
But viva cant solve it
hi,
today Qualitynet started the 3 GB day limit
they reduced my speed from 2 MB to 512 k
i called there customer support and they said its a rule from MOI which is a BIG Lie