What is the Fair Usage Policy?

See below for information about the different download limits on TalkTalk, our Fair Usage Policy (FUP), and steps on how to track your download usage. For more details please see ourFair Usage Policy.

I am on the TalkTalk Essentials package, how much can I download?

With TalkTalk Essentials you have a generous usage limit of 40 GB per month. This means you can download anything up to 40 GB per month without incurring any additional costs or charges.

How much is 40 GB - what can I get with this?

Although exact quantifying is difficult as it depends on a variety of different factors, 40 GB per month represents a substantial amount of internet usage. Based on average file sizes, your 40 GB usage cap can approximately give you one of the below:

• 10,000 average web pages
• 500 digital pictures
• 500 digital music tracks
• 20 hours of YouTube usage
• 20 hours of iPlayer usage
• 30 hours of Spotify usage

During an average month most Essential customers will do a combination of the above - mostly surfing, some iPlayer and a little downloading. All of this counts towards the 40 GB limit. Remember the limit applies to your entire household, rather than to an individual user, so if you have lots of internet users in the home your usage is likely to be higher.

What is MB, GB& TB?

MB = Megabyte

GB = Gigabyte

TB = Terabyte

8 Bits = 1 Byte

1024 Bytes = 1 KiloByte

1024 KiloBytes = 1 MegaByte

1024 MegaBytes = 1 GigaByte

1024 GigaBytes = 1 TeraBytes

How do I know how much I am using?

You can check your monthly usage by logging in to My Account and selecting broadband usage.
Note: If you are not using My Account, yet you can register for My Account and enjoy many benefits including free online billing.

Who can use the Broadband usage tool?

Customers on the TalkTalk network are able to access the tool. The tool is not yet available to customers outside of TalkTalk's network footprint.

What if I want a bigger limit?

If you think you may go over the 40 GB limit, you can add the Mega Download Boost  to give you an extra 40 GB of downloads per month by logging into My Account.

If you think you can download even more, you can upgrade to our award-winning TalkTalk Plus package which gives you unlimited broadband usage with no download limits (subject to a fair usage policy).

What happens if I go over the download allowance?

If you do go over the limit, we will let you know via an email or letter. Don't worry if it is a once off, but if you exceed the limit again in the following six months, we will give you another notification. If you go over again, it means your usage is probably typically likely to be more than 40 GB per month and we will automatically upgrade you to our Mega Download Boost. If this happens, and you think you are unlikely to go over the 40 GB in a month again, you can unsubscribe whenever you want via My Account.

Why is my broadband usage high every month?

Downloading a lot of music, videos and/or streaming videos (such as watching iPlayer orYouTube) will make your broadband usage high. If you enjoy downloading you may want to consider adding the Mega Download Boost to your account.

If you are not doing any of the above, and nobody else in your household is, it might be worth getting an engineer to look at your network connection.

How can I reduce my usage?

Streaming and downloading videos and music uses a lot of bandwidth and if you reduce this your usage will decrease as well. By using the download usage monitor you will be able to track your usage monthly to prevent exceeding your limit.

How do I know if I am likely to be affected by the Fair Usage Policy?

If you don't use peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing software or stream video for extended periods, it is unlikely you will ever be affected by this Fair Usage Policy. If you do use these applications, all we ask is that you use these applications considerately.

What happens if I download a huge amount and am seen to be in breach of the Fair Usage Policy?

If you are an Essentials customer and you go over your monthly 40 GB allowance three times in six months, we will automatically upgrade you the Mega Download Boost. This gives you 80 GB of internet usage per month. However, if your usage continues to be severely excessive, unfair or inappropriate and continues to affect other users' enjoyment of our broadband service, or if your usage significantly differs from what we would expect from a typical customer, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access TalkTalk broadband.

How much can I download if I am on TalkTalk Plus?

With TalkTalk Plus you can enjoy unlimited downloads subject to our Fair Usage Policy.

How do I know if the usage is mine?

We calculate customers usage customers usage based on all data that us sent to your home from the internet. You need to ensure that your wireless is encrypted and the wireless label is not visible from outside the property.

What can I do if I think someone else is using my broadband connection?

There are some simple secruity measures you can take to ensure your broadband is kept private. Your wireless network is the most likely method that others can use your TalkTalk broadband.

1. Don't keep your wireless network in the view of the outside where anyone could see your wireless details on the label on the router.
2. Ensure your wireless router is encrypted (all of our routers with a wireless network name and password label are configured with the strongest encryption out of the box).

Does usage roll over?

No, usage does not roll over month to month. The usage allowanceis just for your broadband connection and is per calendar month, at the end of the month the allowance is reset and you start again the following month.

Why do TalkTalk have a usage limit?

TalkTalk off a generous 40GB limit to Essentials customers, far higher than most of our competitors and emphasises TalkTalk's value position within the market. To offer the best value TalkTalk needs to control its' costs and as such need to control usage. This will ensure TalkTalk continue to offer best value in its' products and serrvices. Customers can of course upgrade.

How does TalkTalk measure usage?

TalkTalk usa data accounting records to measure usage for broadband sessions. We take the total usage for each session (if there are multiple in a day) and add up the total use for that day. All traffic sent to the home is counted towards the monthly allowance.

How up to date is my usage?

When you check your broadband usage in MyAcount there can be a delay of up to three days before your usage is updated. Tosee when your usage was uploaded, check the daily view and see when usage was showing for your line.

 Can I share my usage?

Your boardband usage is just for your broadband line and cannot be shared with other lines or customers.

Can I get a refund on usage I have not used?

No, your TalkTalk usage allowance is part of your Broadband package and is not a separate chargeable item. You will not get a refund for unused allowance.