Another Change to FAP -- WildBlue to Lower Service Levels

WildBlue slated to lower upload and download limits on all service packages.

(PRWEB) December 31, 2005 -- In the beginning of this month WildBlue switched from a month-to-month F.A.P. to a new more strict "rolling F.A.P." (see 12/01/05 article at http://www.wildblue.cc/sitenews.htm for details). Continuing their FAP 'tuning' trend, WildBlue is scheduled to lower the download and upload limits entirely for all their service packages as of 01/01/06 .

"Value Pak" subscribers currently have an upload limit of 3GB per 30 days. That limit is scheduled to be lowered to 2.3GB.
The Value Pak 30 day download limit is currently 10GB, but will be lowered to 7.5GB .

"Select Pak" subscribers currently have an upload limit of 4GB per 30 days. That limit is scheduled to be lowered to 3GB.
The Value Pak 30 day download limit is currently 16GB, but will be lowered to 12GB .

"Pro Pak" subscribers currently have an upload limit of 6GB per 30 days. That limit is scheduled to be lowered to 5GB.
The Value Pak 30 day download limit is currently 22GB, but will be lowered to 17GB .

OUCH! That's nearly an entire service package below what subscribers currently have! (Pro Pak users will have 1GB on each end higher than today’s Select Pak users.)

Unfortunately, it's looking more and more like WildBlue didn't know the limitations of their own system prior to actually putting it on the market. It's one thing to activate users and assign them to a beam ... but entirely another for those people to actually use the system. These recent tighter restrictions to the FAP signal some anticipation on WildBlue’s end of a possible problem with the current usage load. Switching to a rolling-30 didn't seem to do the trick, so now they're additionally lowering service levels.

Of course, one would always stand behind the concept of a company changing service limitations so that overall the system remains stable & useful for the masses. That just makes sense. Still, one can't help but feel a little cheated here. A major reason many users signed up for WildBlue was because of the way they implemented their FAP, and the upload & download limits associated with those service packages. Now only a few months after my service was installed (only a few months after the service became available anywhere) it's been cut back twice.

According to WB : "WildBlue estimates that with the new Usage Threshold limits the FAP will affect approximately 3.5 percent of the total subscriber base." Affect 3.5% ? Maybe so ... Annoy a whole lot more ? Definitely. Nobody likes to give something up without getting something back in return.

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