Alright... We have seen too many questions from potential customers and answers from mgcarley in the various threads on the forum... I wanted to have a single dedicated thread with all the questions that are being repeated...
Help me compile the data in this thread and I would post all the latest info in this first post itself. Since, mgcarley is a moderator of this forum... he would be able to do the edits himself as well.
Location of servers: Mumbai (Bhandup and Mahim)
Location of office: Mahim
[*] Hayai Broadband Website
A. Hayai Broadband | India's FASTEST Broadband
[*] Hayai Broadband Terms and Conditions
A. Plan Definitions, Terms and Conditions | Hayai Broadband
[*] Hayai Broadband Plans and Packages
A. Residential plans PDF currently available at: http://www.hayai.in/maintenance/hayai_in.pdf - mirrored here: Hayai Broadband Plans and Packages (India Broadband Wiki) (may be out of date) (updated 30/10/2010)
[*] Advantages of Hayai Broadband over others
A. Several:
[*]Up to 1000mbit/s (1Gbit/s) connectivity with other Hayai users throughout India at no extra cost (on most plans).
[*]Option to pay per GB at 1000mbit/s (1Gbit/s) speeds.
[*]Cheaper high speed unlimited plans.
[/list]
[*] Are uploads counted in data transfer consumption?
A. For Data plans, whatever you buy down, you also get up, eg 100Gbytes Download + 100Gbytes Upload.
[*] Is uploading speed the same as the download speed in all the packages?
A1. Within Hayai's network, always, speeds are synchronous at up to 1Gbit/s.
A2. Outside of Hayai's network, it depends on the plan you have subscribed to:
Residential connections upload speeds are 25% of the download speed (rounded to the next upper megabit), so 5mbit/s down, 2mbit/s up; 10mbit/s down, 3mbit/s up; 100mbit/s down, 25mbit/s up.
SME connections upload speeds are 50% of the download speed (rounded to the next upper megabit), so 5mbit/s down 3mbit/s up; 10mbit/s down, 5mbit/s up, 100mbit/s down, 50mbit/s up.
Business connections (Corporate & MNC) are synchronous in speed, and come with certain SLAs (not unlike a leased-line).
We will not provide a residential connection to a business premises under any circumstances. For the varying levels of business connection, we differentiate which kind of connection is required based on the number of seats in the organization. People wanting to run a cyber-cafe would have to avail a connection according to the number of PCs in the place. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*] What are the installation charges?
A. This may depend on what is required, but our pricelist for residential customers currently says Rs1100 including tax. We may also run specials (including but not limited to free installation) in certain areas if we are doing a subscription drive or something. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*] What is the modem-rental charge?
A. Does not apply. While there will be a security deposit, our equipment is not useful on any other ISP (as input is fed by Fiber, not CO-AX Cable or Ethernet), and so it is easier for us (and you) if the CPE remains property of Hayai - we take care of the warranty etc except in the instance of something like intentional damage or misuse, in which case you would have to pay for a replacement. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*]Installation charges of Rs. TBD include: Wiring and Hardware? Including Wi-Fi Router? What if the hardware goes bad (not because of customer's mishandling)
Yes. Hardware remains property of Hayai. If it goes bad, that is our responsibility and we get the warranty replacement. If the router goes bad, we provide a spare (either new or refurbished - depends on what is in stock), however as previously mentioned, if there is intentional damage or misuse, then you would have to pay for a replacement. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*]In case a customer manages to damage the hardware provided to him by Hayai... What would be the possible replacement charges?
This varies depending on the hardware - they're not exactly cheap. If I've got my costs & conversions right (tax, duties, shipping), Rs5,500 for residential units, Rs7,000 for the SME units (the main difference between the 2 being the number of ports each has) (updated 11/03/2011)
[*] What kind of hardware does Hayai provide?
A. Alcatel-Lucent. Models I-120G-P for residential and I-240G-P for SMEs. We will keeps standardized platform nationwide for wired access, while wireless equipment is under review. (updated 11/03/2011)
[*] Which cities and areas are covered right now?
A. See Coverage Map | Hayai Broadband
At the moment we can provide a "blanket" of coverage between Vikhroli and Mulund, however anywhere in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai & parts of Thane should be possible. Areas which we *may* not be able to provide for one reason or another (at least until our Wireless network comes online) currently includes 7 Bungalows, Sion, Kandivili and New Panvel. Generally speaking, most other areas are fine. (updated 30/10/2010).
Pilot areas of Pune and Delhi are underway in the planning/infrastructure stages. (updated 09/02/2011)
[*] Will you expand to my city/town/village?
A. If we can justify it, yes, probably. That is, there needs to be enough people in your city/town/village to justify us rolling out services. Chances are, if your city/town/village is between two other city/town/villages that have access, then chances are we can roll out services there anyway. If there is NO competition (as in, your only options are BSNL and cellular services such as Tata Photon+ or Reliance Netconnect+) then we may even prioritize your area. (updated 24/07/2011)
[*]When will you expand to my city/town/village?
A. Hayai will be operating on a class A pan-India ISP license. We are anticipating entry in to Pune almost immediately following the Mumbai launch, and very shortly thereafter in NCR. Other major centres (as well as some minor ones) within anything from 3 months to 10 years, but the timelines for some places depend on far too many variables than we can go in to here. We will launch as quickly as we can in each metro (albeit with a limited coverage area) and expand as demand dictates. (updated 18/09/2011)
[*]When will you expand to (my specific locality)?
A. As demand dictates.
[*]For pete's sake! When the heck is Hayai going to launch? We've been waiting for ages!
A. We're aiming for Diwali, 2011, subject to our new license having been successfully granted by September as we are expecting. (updated 24/07/2011)
[*]How much time would it take to install the connection at my place?
A. It depends on your area, as we are connecting people based on the area - partially for efficiency and partially because demand in some areas is stronger than others.
[*] What are the charges of migrating from one plan to another (upgrading/downgrading)?
A. None. (updated 11/03/2011)
[*] Can I migrate from one plan to another in the middle of a billing cycle?
A. Yes, but once again, this would really only apply to flat-rate plans. Should take effect within 1 hour of the change (depending on how it is submitted). Users on data plans may purchase more data at any time or up their bill limit anyway. (updated 09/02/2011)
[*] On a data plan... Can data be purchased at any given time online using netbanking or credit cards?
A. Of course. In my view, it would be silly and inconvenient to NOT allow such a facility. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to pay your bill or top-up your account, so if there is a payment method we don't offer and we see enough demand for it, we'll try to integrate it. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*] Prepaid, postpaid or both options available? (Frame this question in a better way)
A. Yes. Prepaid for all data plans (where you buy data in advance). Prepaid and Postpaid for flat-rate and data plans using the bill limiter facility. We want to eliminate the possibility of there being any nasty surprises in your bills. (updated 09/02/2011)
[*] Price differences between prepaid and postpaid?
A. Plans are pretty much all prepaid, except for the bill limit plans. Flat-Rate plans can be given on a postpaid basis at management's discretion. Currently, we're looking at Rs10/GB including tax on data plans, plus Rs550/month for the infrastructure (in either case). Flat-rate plan pricing is all inclusive. (updated 09/02/2011)
[*] What are the payment options available for prepaid/postpaid account?
A. All of the standard payment options available in India - Cheque, Cash, Net-banking etc, and we are looking to operate Kiosks and other forms of payment including mobile card payments. Suggestions welcome here also - it should be as easy and as seamless as possible. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*] What is your policy on user log retention? What is the position of Indian Law in this aspect? How safe is the user's privacy on your network?
A1. We comply with Indian law to the extent that is required.
A2. Indian law requires that we do maintain (somewhat extensive) user logs for all access. This is also one reason why we have added WiFi to all of our equipment - it save you having to register the equipment with us and allows us to have a convenient central authentication system so that you may use your account anywhere you can find someone with an access point.
A3. As we must only comply with the laws of India and any international treaties it may sign with other countries, we have no intention of responding to queries from foreign agencies unless an order is issued by an Indian court.
[*]What is your policy on blocking websites?
A. If we are required to block a website per a directive from the DoT, we will make that information public.
[*]Q. If the customer wants to use his own Wireless Router... Is it allowed?
A. You can, but since our equipment will include WiFi capability, why would you want to? However, if you still have one of your own that you wish to use, it must be registered with us (it's a legal requirement), and it must be secured. If an unprotected WiFi network is discovered on our network, we reserve the right to suspend your connection. (updated 24/07/2011)
[*] What happened to 1Gbit/s?
A. All areas are being enabled with at least 1Gbit/s access. We can't advertise this just yet, but this speed should be attainable *at least* on the Hayai network itself, if you are on one of the fully-FTTH connections and if your network card supports it.
[*]If the installation prices are so 'low' how long would the customer be required to stay connected to your network? Is there a minimum period? It's hard to enforce of course here in India... Of course, you own the hardware provided to the customer... But you would still bear the expenses on wiring and logistics.
We think 3-months would be a reasonable minimum term, although currently there is no minimum contract. Perhaps the installation fee would be waived completely and/or some other incentive would be provided for those wishing to stay on a 12 or 24-month contract.
The way we see it is that customers shouldn't want to switch away - if they do for reasons other than they literally can no longer afford the service or other unfortunate circumstances which may arise, then chances are that there is a problem with our customer service or the service itself which would need rectifying.
Data plan subscribers may buy more data at any time: if they buy 100Gbytes one month and 5Gbytes the next month, this is no issue and there is no penalty. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*]As a broadbandforum.co member, will I receive a discount to Hayai Broadband services?
Yes. The only rule on this is that you must be active within the community (in other words, a regular patron of IBF).
[*]Is there any other way I can get a discount on Hayai Broadband services?
Yes. Referrals can help your account balance (they must mention your User ID when they subscribe).
Occasionally we may do special deals for people who switch their ISP over to Hayai. (updated 09/02/2011)
[*]Is there any kind of port blocking planned/implemented?
Yes and no. Some ports will be blocked for security reasons (25 outgoing and so forth) per typical practices.
Things like Bittorrent and DC++ will work fine. We're implementing a large P2P cache, and we're even experimenting with running a private torrent tracker for Hayai customers only (this way you can be sure that you are only using "Hayai Zone" bandwidth).
[*]Is there any kind of traffic shaping planned/implemented?
A1. Traffic shaping may occur on flat-rate plans under certain circumstances:
[*]Certain types of traffic (such as BitTorrent) during peak hours (although this can be mitigated by using our torrent tracker, as peers within the network would not be subject to any kinds of traffic management).
[*]Traffic to certain customers who are deemed to be abusing the network (especially if one customer's usage is "ruining" the experience for other customers).
[*]During certain types of network upgrades.
[*]In cases where there is a sudden spike in demand for resources.
[*]Any other time where it is deemed necessary to maintain a high quality experience on the network for all customers.
[/list]We feel that this should prevent us from having to introduce fair usage policies with a hard cap on usage. (updated 09/02/2011)
A2. Hayai Lite will have a limit on the number of half-open connections in order to prevent problems with throughput (wireless can be finicky enough as it is without the access point's CPU being saturated).
[*]Speaking of which, what exactly *is* your fair usage policy?
A. Fair usage works both ways. We provide you with a flat-rate price and high speeds in exchange for reasonable use of the network. Use the network in a responsible manner, don't hog or waste bandwidth.
Users who intentionally, maliciously and consistently abuse the network will be dealt with on an individual basis - if you're identified, we'll try and work with you to remedy the situation, first by asking you to adjust your usage to more reasonable levels, and secondly by recommending an alternative plan. If all else fails and we can not come to an amicable arrangement, we reserve the right to ask that you shift to another provider.
Remember, we advertise our plans are flat-rate (as in pricing), not unlimited (as in usage) - we consider this to be a subtle, yet significant difference.
If you want a very approximate guideline as to what we consider reasonable use, take the plan's price and divide by 10.
(updated 10/02/2011)
[*]So there's no fair usage policy where my speed will be reduced to 256kbit/s after a certain amount of download?
There IS a fair usage policy, but there aren't really any hard numbers applied to it: just don't abuse the resources and choose a plan appropriate to your needs. If we think you're abusing the network, we'll let you know and we'll try to resolve it with you directly.
[*]What about these numbers that you've been talking about, like if we take the price of the 20mbit/s plan, we would come out with 200GB, for example?
They're more for our reference than anything else. Guidelines and nothing more. As an end user, you shouldn't have to worry about them. They're calculated as an average across all users of a given plan - if AVERAGE usage across all users of the 5mbit/s plans were to exceed 200GB then we might have to re-think either pricing of the plan, finding ways to manage traffic or better still, reducing out costs.
This 200GB of course does not include Hayai-Zone traffic, so DC++ and things of that nature don't come in to play here.
[*]What happens if I'm on the 20mbit/s plan and I use more than 200GB?
Nothing.
[*]What happens if I'm on the 20mbit/s plan and I use more than 500GB?
Still nothing, BUT... If your usage is consistently this high, we will take an average over the course of 3 months and suggest that you either reduce your usage or change your plan to something more suitable. If it were to continue, we would force the upgrade and you would have no option to go back to a lower plan for 6 months.
[*]What happens if I'm on the 20mbit/s plan and I use more than 1000GB?
A. Still nothing - but does that sound like "reasonable usage" to you? Does that sound like you're being fair to us? Fair to other customers? We think that by offering fairer fair-usage policies and reasonable pricing, we hope to keep such abuse to a minimum. If you're really that desperate to transfer that much information, we recommend that you use the Hayai Zone in every way possible. It's also much faster, so you don't have to leave your PC on 24/7.
[*]So there is a fair usage policy, then?
A. Yes and no. As in the previous answers, we expect users to choose a plan suitable to their needs. For example, 500-1000GB or more per month every month on our lowest flat-rate plan would exceed what could be called "reasonable usage" in anybody's book - this would cause the experience to be detrimental for everyone, and it's not just unfair to us, it's unfair to your fellow users. If you're not willing to "play nice" on the network, then we reserve the right to take action, including but not limited to forced plan upgrades account suspension but to be fair to our customers, we don't think that anybody using this much bandwidth would be doing it unknowingly. All we ask is that you have some consideration - we don't think we can be fairer than that.
[*]How the heck do I pronounce "Hayai"?
Like this... http://twitpic.com/1li0hr
[/list]----
This information is subject to change without notice but is accurate to the best of my knowledge at this time.
Add your questions below and I would edit this list for mgcarley to answer.
Help me compile the data in this thread and I would post all the latest info in this first post itself. Since, mgcarley is a moderator of this forum... he would be able to do the edits himself as well.
Location of servers: Mumbai (Bhandup and Mahim)
Location of office: Mahim
[*] Hayai Broadband Website
A. Hayai Broadband | India's FASTEST Broadband
[*] Hayai Broadband Terms and Conditions
A. Plan Definitions, Terms and Conditions | Hayai Broadband
[*] Hayai Broadband Plans and Packages
A. Residential plans PDF currently available at: http://www.hayai.in/maintenance/hayai_in.pdf - mirrored here: Hayai Broadband Plans and Packages (India Broadband Wiki) (may be out of date) (updated 30/10/2010)
[*] Advantages of Hayai Broadband over others
A. Several:
[*]Up to 1000mbit/s (1Gbit/s) connectivity with other Hayai users throughout India at no extra cost (on most plans).
[*]Option to pay per GB at 1000mbit/s (1Gbit/s) speeds.
[*]Cheaper high speed unlimited plans.
[/list]
[*] Are uploads counted in data transfer consumption?
A. For Data plans, whatever you buy down, you also get up, eg 100Gbytes Download + 100Gbytes Upload.
[*] Is uploading speed the same as the download speed in all the packages?
A1. Within Hayai's network, always, speeds are synchronous at up to 1Gbit/s.
A2. Outside of Hayai's network, it depends on the plan you have subscribed to:
Residential connections upload speeds are 25% of the download speed (rounded to the next upper megabit), so 5mbit/s down, 2mbit/s up; 10mbit/s down, 3mbit/s up; 100mbit/s down, 25mbit/s up.
SME connections upload speeds are 50% of the download speed (rounded to the next upper megabit), so 5mbit/s down 3mbit/s up; 10mbit/s down, 5mbit/s up, 100mbit/s down, 50mbit/s up.
Business connections (Corporate & MNC) are synchronous in speed, and come with certain SLAs (not unlike a leased-line).
We will not provide a residential connection to a business premises under any circumstances. For the varying levels of business connection, we differentiate which kind of connection is required based on the number of seats in the organization. People wanting to run a cyber-cafe would have to avail a connection according to the number of PCs in the place. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*] What are the installation charges?
A. This may depend on what is required, but our pricelist for residential customers currently says Rs1100 including tax. We may also run specials (including but not limited to free installation) in certain areas if we are doing a subscription drive or something. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*] What is the modem-rental charge?
A. Does not apply. While there will be a security deposit, our equipment is not useful on any other ISP (as input is fed by Fiber, not CO-AX Cable or Ethernet), and so it is easier for us (and you) if the CPE remains property of Hayai - we take care of the warranty etc except in the instance of something like intentional damage or misuse, in which case you would have to pay for a replacement. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*]Installation charges of Rs. TBD include: Wiring and Hardware? Including Wi-Fi Router? What if the hardware goes bad (not because of customer's mishandling)
Yes. Hardware remains property of Hayai. If it goes bad, that is our responsibility and we get the warranty replacement. If the router goes bad, we provide a spare (either new or refurbished - depends on what is in stock), however as previously mentioned, if there is intentional damage or misuse, then you would have to pay for a replacement. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*]In case a customer manages to damage the hardware provided to him by Hayai... What would be the possible replacement charges?
This varies depending on the hardware - they're not exactly cheap. If I've got my costs & conversions right (tax, duties, shipping), Rs5,500 for residential units, Rs7,000 for the SME units (the main difference between the 2 being the number of ports each has) (updated 11/03/2011)
[*] What kind of hardware does Hayai provide?
A. Alcatel-Lucent. Models I-120G-P for residential and I-240G-P for SMEs. We will keeps standardized platform nationwide for wired access, while wireless equipment is under review. (updated 11/03/2011)
[*] Which cities and areas are covered right now?
A. See Coverage Map | Hayai Broadband
At the moment we can provide a "blanket" of coverage between Vikhroli and Mulund, however anywhere in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai & parts of Thane should be possible. Areas which we *may* not be able to provide for one reason or another (at least until our Wireless network comes online) currently includes 7 Bungalows, Sion, Kandivili and New Panvel. Generally speaking, most other areas are fine. (updated 30/10/2010).
Pilot areas of Pune and Delhi are underway in the planning/infrastructure stages. (updated 09/02/2011)
[*] Will you expand to my city/town/village?
A. If we can justify it, yes, probably. That is, there needs to be enough people in your city/town/village to justify us rolling out services. Chances are, if your city/town/village is between two other city/town/villages that have access, then chances are we can roll out services there anyway. If there is NO competition (as in, your only options are BSNL and cellular services such as Tata Photon+ or Reliance Netconnect+) then we may even prioritize your area. (updated 24/07/2011)
[*]When will you expand to my city/town/village?
A. Hayai will be operating on a class A pan-India ISP license. We are anticipating entry in to Pune almost immediately following the Mumbai launch, and very shortly thereafter in NCR. Other major centres (as well as some minor ones) within anything from 3 months to 10 years, but the timelines for some places depend on far too many variables than we can go in to here. We will launch as quickly as we can in each metro (albeit with a limited coverage area) and expand as demand dictates. (updated 18/09/2011)
[*]When will you expand to (my specific locality)?
A. As demand dictates.
[*]For pete's sake! When the heck is Hayai going to launch? We've been waiting for ages!
A. We're aiming for Diwali, 2011, subject to our new license having been successfully granted by September as we are expecting. (updated 24/07/2011)
[*]How much time would it take to install the connection at my place?
A. It depends on your area, as we are connecting people based on the area - partially for efficiency and partially because demand in some areas is stronger than others.
[*] What are the charges of migrating from one plan to another (upgrading/downgrading)?
A. None. (updated 11/03/2011)
[*] Can I migrate from one plan to another in the middle of a billing cycle?
A. Yes, but once again, this would really only apply to flat-rate plans. Should take effect within 1 hour of the change (depending on how it is submitted). Users on data plans may purchase more data at any time or up their bill limit anyway. (updated 09/02/2011)
[*] On a data plan... Can data be purchased at any given time online using netbanking or credit cards?
A. Of course. In my view, it would be silly and inconvenient to NOT allow such a facility. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to pay your bill or top-up your account, so if there is a payment method we don't offer and we see enough demand for it, we'll try to integrate it. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*] Prepaid, postpaid or both options available? (Frame this question in a better way)
A. Yes. Prepaid for all data plans (where you buy data in advance). Prepaid and Postpaid for flat-rate and data plans using the bill limiter facility. We want to eliminate the possibility of there being any nasty surprises in your bills. (updated 09/02/2011)
[*] Price differences between prepaid and postpaid?
A. Plans are pretty much all prepaid, except for the bill limit plans. Flat-Rate plans can be given on a postpaid basis at management's discretion. Currently, we're looking at Rs10/GB including tax on data plans, plus Rs550/month for the infrastructure (in either case). Flat-rate plan pricing is all inclusive. (updated 09/02/2011)
[*] What are the payment options available for prepaid/postpaid account?
A. All of the standard payment options available in India - Cheque, Cash, Net-banking etc, and we are looking to operate Kiosks and other forms of payment including mobile card payments. Suggestions welcome here also - it should be as easy and as seamless as possible. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*] What is your policy on user log retention? What is the position of Indian Law in this aspect? How safe is the user's privacy on your network?
A1. We comply with Indian law to the extent that is required.
A2. Indian law requires that we do maintain (somewhat extensive) user logs for all access. This is also one reason why we have added WiFi to all of our equipment - it save you having to register the equipment with us and allows us to have a convenient central authentication system so that you may use your account anywhere you can find someone with an access point.
A3. As we must only comply with the laws of India and any international treaties it may sign with other countries, we have no intention of responding to queries from foreign agencies unless an order is issued by an Indian court.
[*]What is your policy on blocking websites?
A. If we are required to block a website per a directive from the DoT, we will make that information public.
[*]Q. If the customer wants to use his own Wireless Router... Is it allowed?
A. You can, but since our equipment will include WiFi capability, why would you want to? However, if you still have one of your own that you wish to use, it must be registered with us (it's a legal requirement), and it must be secured. If an unprotected WiFi network is discovered on our network, we reserve the right to suspend your connection. (updated 24/07/2011)
[*] What happened to 1Gbit/s?
A. All areas are being enabled with at least 1Gbit/s access. We can't advertise this just yet, but this speed should be attainable *at least* on the Hayai network itself, if you are on one of the fully-FTTH connections and if your network card supports it.
[*]If the installation prices are so 'low' how long would the customer be required to stay connected to your network? Is there a minimum period? It's hard to enforce of course here in India... Of course, you own the hardware provided to the customer... But you would still bear the expenses on wiring and logistics.
We think 3-months would be a reasonable minimum term, although currently there is no minimum contract. Perhaps the installation fee would be waived completely and/or some other incentive would be provided for those wishing to stay on a 12 or 24-month contract.
The way we see it is that customers shouldn't want to switch away - if they do for reasons other than they literally can no longer afford the service or other unfortunate circumstances which may arise, then chances are that there is a problem with our customer service or the service itself which would need rectifying.
Data plan subscribers may buy more data at any time: if they buy 100Gbytes one month and 5Gbytes the next month, this is no issue and there is no penalty. (updated 30/10/2010)
[*]As a broadbandforum.co member, will I receive a discount to Hayai Broadband services?
Yes. The only rule on this is that you must be active within the community (in other words, a regular patron of IBF).
[*]Is there any other way I can get a discount on Hayai Broadband services?
Yes. Referrals can help your account balance (they must mention your User ID when they subscribe).
Occasionally we may do special deals for people who switch their ISP over to Hayai. (updated 09/02/2011)
[*]Is there any kind of port blocking planned/implemented?
Yes and no. Some ports will be blocked for security reasons (25 outgoing and so forth) per typical practices.
Things like Bittorrent and DC++ will work fine. We're implementing a large P2P cache, and we're even experimenting with running a private torrent tracker for Hayai customers only (this way you can be sure that you are only using "Hayai Zone" bandwidth).
[*]Is there any kind of traffic shaping planned/implemented?
A1. Traffic shaping may occur on flat-rate plans under certain circumstances:
[*]Certain types of traffic (such as BitTorrent) during peak hours (although this can be mitigated by using our torrent tracker, as peers within the network would not be subject to any kinds of traffic management).
[*]Traffic to certain customers who are deemed to be abusing the network (especially if one customer's usage is "ruining" the experience for other customers).
[*]During certain types of network upgrades.
[*]In cases where there is a sudden spike in demand for resources.
[*]Any other time where it is deemed necessary to maintain a high quality experience on the network for all customers.
[/list]We feel that this should prevent us from having to introduce fair usage policies with a hard cap on usage. (updated 09/02/2011)
A2. Hayai Lite will have a limit on the number of half-open connections in order to prevent problems with throughput (wireless can be finicky enough as it is without the access point's CPU being saturated).
[*]Speaking of which, what exactly *is* your fair usage policy?
A. Fair usage works both ways. We provide you with a flat-rate price and high speeds in exchange for reasonable use of the network. Use the network in a responsible manner, don't hog or waste bandwidth.
Users who intentionally, maliciously and consistently abuse the network will be dealt with on an individual basis - if you're identified, we'll try and work with you to remedy the situation, first by asking you to adjust your usage to more reasonable levels, and secondly by recommending an alternative plan. If all else fails and we can not come to an amicable arrangement, we reserve the right to ask that you shift to another provider.
Remember, we advertise our plans are flat-rate (as in pricing), not unlimited (as in usage) - we consider this to be a subtle, yet significant difference.
If you want a very approximate guideline as to what we consider reasonable use, take the plan's price and divide by 10.
(updated 10/02/2011)
[*]So there's no fair usage policy where my speed will be reduced to 256kbit/s after a certain amount of download?
There IS a fair usage policy, but there aren't really any hard numbers applied to it: just don't abuse the resources and choose a plan appropriate to your needs. If we think you're abusing the network, we'll let you know and we'll try to resolve it with you directly.
[*]What about these numbers that you've been talking about, like if we take the price of the 20mbit/s plan, we would come out with 200GB, for example?
They're more for our reference than anything else. Guidelines and nothing more. As an end user, you shouldn't have to worry about them. They're calculated as an average across all users of a given plan - if AVERAGE usage across all users of the 5mbit/s plans were to exceed 200GB then we might have to re-think either pricing of the plan, finding ways to manage traffic or better still, reducing out costs.
This 200GB of course does not include Hayai-Zone traffic, so DC++ and things of that nature don't come in to play here.
[*]What happens if I'm on the 20mbit/s plan and I use more than 200GB?
Nothing.
[*]What happens if I'm on the 20mbit/s plan and I use more than 500GB?
Still nothing, BUT... If your usage is consistently this high, we will take an average over the course of 3 months and suggest that you either reduce your usage or change your plan to something more suitable. If it were to continue, we would force the upgrade and you would have no option to go back to a lower plan for 6 months.
[*]What happens if I'm on the 20mbit/s plan and I use more than 1000GB?
A. Still nothing - but does that sound like "reasonable usage" to you? Does that sound like you're being fair to us? Fair to other customers? We think that by offering fairer fair-usage policies and reasonable pricing, we hope to keep such abuse to a minimum. If you're really that desperate to transfer that much information, we recommend that you use the Hayai Zone in every way possible. It's also much faster, so you don't have to leave your PC on 24/7.
[*]So there is a fair usage policy, then?
A. Yes and no. As in the previous answers, we expect users to choose a plan suitable to their needs. For example, 500-1000GB or more per month every month on our lowest flat-rate plan would exceed what could be called "reasonable usage" in anybody's book - this would cause the experience to be detrimental for everyone, and it's not just unfair to us, it's unfair to your fellow users. If you're not willing to "play nice" on the network, then we reserve the right to take action, including but not limited to forced plan upgrades account suspension but to be fair to our customers, we don't think that anybody using this much bandwidth would be doing it unknowingly. All we ask is that you have some consideration - we don't think we can be fairer than that.
[*]How the heck do I pronounce "Hayai"?
Like this... http://twitpic.com/1li0hr
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This information is subject to change without notice but is accurate to the best of my knowledge at this time.
Add your questions below and I would edit this list for mgcarley to answer.
