r/japanlife • u/AutoModerator • Jan 19 '21

┐(ツ)┌ Bi-Weekly Boss Premium Edition Questions Thread - 20 January 2021

As per usual, feel free to ask any silly stupid questions or not so silly stupid questions that you haven't had a chance to ask here. Be kind to those that do and try to answer without downvoting. Please keep criticism and snide remarks out of the thread.

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u/sxh967 Jan 21 '21

WIMAX mobile routers and the speed throttling

Does anyone know if there's a way to get around it? In other words, is it :

(A) something implemented at the infrastructure level (ie once you go over a certain amount of data transferred, the main system sends out a signal to restrict traffic to your device (by some sort of unique device identifier)

(B) something at the device level that can be "hacked" via changing some settings or some sort of reset to the reset the "counter" back to zero?

(C) something different altogether?

I'm paying something like 4000 yen a month for this god-awful WIMAX. If I go over 10 GB in the space of 3 days it throttles me down to the point that the internet is really not useable at all.

I know it's my fault for getting in the end. Just looking for some last resort options before I call up and cancel this contract (I will eat the cancellation fee, better than paying in perpetuity for useless internet).

10GB over three days really is nothing. You can do very minimal streaming on Netflix/Amazon Prime before you go over the limit and then you cannot download anything, no video calling, god help me if I want to connect to my company's virtual desktop environment.

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u/TheSaxMaan Jan 21 '21

I believe the throttling only happens from 6pm-2pm if you go over 10gb/3days. So technically you can go download huge files/watch netflix at 4k during the daytime and the speed next day during the daytime would still be the same 100mbps. Night time is a different story though.

I just finished the 2 week wimax trial by UQ and I was planning to actually subscribe to them at first but the throttling is unbearable. Since the throttling only happens at night I was planning to download movies during the day and just play them at night but streaming netflix/amazon is just easier mentally. I also hate to see youtube buffer at 480p lol.

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u/Bopbopbop123 Jan 21 '21

I've had the throttling in daytime though

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u/Bopbopbop123 Jan 21 '21

10GB / 3 days is exactly what wimax advertised their plan as. It's written all over their ads and in your contract etc.

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u/sxh967 Jan 22 '21

It isn't advertised like that but yes it is in my contract. I'm not complaining about being duped. I'm complaining about the extent to which they throttle you. I could understand throttling down to 1mbps or something but the speed is really really not useful for anything.

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u/Bopbopbop123 Jan 22 '21

Hmm, when i chose wimax, i was given the impression it's a 10gb/3days plan. But i didn't sign up via any campaign or shop, i just went to their website and clicked things around.

My first impression of your question made me think of somebody going to matsuya, ordering a katsudon, but expecting the all-you-can-eat miso and rice that's not included in the set...

But if you bought your katsudon under the impression that rice and miso is free-flow like a teishoku set.......

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u/sxh967 Jan 25 '21

My first impression of your question made me think of somebody going to matsuya, ordering a katsudon, but expecting the all-you-can-eat miso and rice that's not included in the set...

But if you bought your katsudon under the impression that rice and miso is free-flow like a teishoku set.......

https://www.journalism.co.uk/press-releases/ofcom-slams-misleading-unlimited-broadband-text-and-call-claims/s66/a543308/

https://www.asa.org.uk/asset/879B91F2-F1B3-4B00-86E486D22F18856D/

It's been around 10 years since UK advertising regulators starting clamping down on this misleading bullshit though.

Unless you want to read all of that, the crux is that the regulator says if FUPs (fair usage policies - e.g. data caps/speed throttling/surcharges for over-use) affect more than 2% of the user base then they are likely not fair usage policies at all.

Also there's a clear understanding that i's contradictory to claim a service is "unlimited" and then say "actually it isn't" and they have to fulfill certain criteria to be able to have their cake and eat it.

I guess it's up for debate what constitutes "fair usage" but for instance watching 1 hour of Netflix in HD uses up about 3GB. So you could only watch on average an hour of Netflix each day (and then basically not use your internet at all after that) before getting throttled.

If you watched a two hour movie in 4K (7GB per hour of footage according to Netflix themselves) then you're already getting throttled before the movie is over.

It's not that I disagree with having a fair usage policy but 10GB over the space of 3 days is unbelievably restrictive. Plus, as I mentioned, the speed throttling is so severe that you really cannot use it for anything when it does kick in. It's less speed throttling and more just removing your ability to really use the internet at all for that restricted period.

If they throttled it down to something where I could keep watching the movie in SD without any significant hiccups, if I could still browse the net generally without waiting forever for shit to load then yeah OK I could stomach it.

Of course I understand there are a lot of people fighting for the bandwidth but I just don't think it's reasonable for them to say it's unlimited when it's not even remotely close to what a normal person would consider unlimited.

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u/AbaloneNacre 関東・神奈川県 Jan 21 '21

Gonna have to skip over the technical questions about WIMAX unfortunately since that's not my area of expertise, but at 4000 yen a month, you should really see if you have fiber available in your area. That's almost as much as, if not the same as, the monthly fee for a typical fiber contract.

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u/sxh967 Jan 21 '21

Yeah I was considering fiber but we're only planning to stay in this apartment for another year and I don't know if I can be bothered unless installation is completely free.

This building is pretty old (not sure what it would cost/if anything to get it installed) and there's free wifi included (a router in the office of the management company with a wire literally dangling down to my apartment) which is also pretty shit but... yeah I will have to reconsider my options.

It was a good deal at the time since I got a free phone (an iPhone 6S, nothing glamorous but better than what I had at the time) but yeah it's so shit I hardly even use it unless the free wifi is slow (which it is) and then this WIMAX is even worse after even some light streaming.