Fair Access Policy (FAP) and Traffic Management

No matter where (or from whom) you buy a satellite broadband service, it is almost always the satellite operator (owner) that manages the traffic on their satellite.

The satellite operator is responsible for managing the collective data (or traffic) that all customers are downloading or uploading.
To help them do this they may apply a FAP and/or Traffic Management policies.

Below you will find an overview of how and why FAP and Traffic Management is used.

Summary – What is a Fair Access Policy ?

When any network is busy, if no action is taken by the (satellite) operator, all users will see their speeds reduced as the network capacity is shared across all users. This does mean that users that have already consumed a high proportion of their monthly data allowance, would still receive the same performance as a very low user.

Some operators will manage their network capacity such that, after certain relative use, higher users will be given a lower priority than lower users when the network is busy – this is commonly referred to as a Fair Access or Fair Use Policy (FAP or FUP).

Hence, the purpose of the FAP is straightforward – to share the available satellite broadband network fairly across all customers. So customers that have used lower amounts of data recently are given preference over customers that have already recently used higher levels of data. This means that the lower use customers will see faster speeds than those customers that have already enjoyed a share of the available network and whose speeds will slow down. This seeks to ensure that the available network bandwidth is shared as fairly as possible over time amongst all users.

How each individual satellite operator chooses whether and how to implement any such measures gets a little more complicated. We have set out below links to the two main operators that we currently use.

 

Avanti Services

This section covers the following current Avanti services.

• There is no Fair Access Policy applied at any time.
• There are no standard traffic management policies that apply to time based or application based restrictions other than peer to peer and associated activities as set out below in the Acceptable Use Policy.
• There is an Acceptable Use Policy that is designed to ensure that if a user attempts to use the service for what are generally considered to be unacceptable activities, their usage can be suspended or if required, terminated.

Put simply, you are free to use the monthly data allowance associated with your package as and when you wish to do so.

Any variation in speeds will simply be due to the overall use of Broadband For Africa’s Avanti customer base on Hylas 1 or Hylas 2 (the two Avanti satellites that we use).

Acceptable Use Policy (the “Policy”)

The Acceptable Use Policy forms a part of our Terms and Conditions of Service. By using our Avanti service, you agree to this Policy

• General Terms and Policies.

  Avanti Broadband Limited is a private company providing a commercial gateway to the Internet. Avanti Broadband equipment and facilities may be used to send electronic mail, conduct commercial transactions, access the World Wide Web, newsgroups and private networks, engage in on-line chat sessions, transfer files, enjoy audio and video programming, and otherwise participate in all legal aspects of the Internet (these uses are referred to in this document as “the Service”), subject to this Policy. Any use of the service is subject to any restrictions listed below.

• Coverage.

  This Policy applies to all users of the Service. A violation of this Policy and Policies by anyone using your account will be treated as a violation by you.

• Grounds for Termination.

  You agree to comply with this Policy, as well as the applicable rules, regulations and policies of any network, bulletin board, newsgroup, web site or Internet Service Provider accessed through the Service. Any violation of this Policy or the other rules, regulations or policies noted above may be seen as a breach of this agreement which may result in the temporary suspension or permanent termination of your Service. In the event of a Termination, you may also be liable for additional charges as set out in any prevailing Terms and Conditions of Service.

  • a) Using the Service in a way which constitutes violation of any applicable statute, law, court order, tariff, regulation, or treaty (including, but not limited to, intellectual property, communications, privacy, criminal and international law);
  • b) Using the Service in a manner intended to abuse or violate the privacy or property rights of others, including but not limited to sending of unsolicited bulk e-mail (“spamming”);
  • c) Using the Service in an attempt to break security, or so as to actually break security of any computer network (including the Service itself), or to access an account, message, or file to which you have no legitimate rights of access;
  • d) Using the service for peer to peer and any similar file sharing activities which Avonline considers to be detrimental to any other user of the Service;
  • e) Using the Service in such a way as to forge or misrepresent headers, addresses, or other identification in electronic mail or USENET postings, or using any other method to disguise the sender/s identity or location;
  • f) Posting commercial messages to a USENET group where the posting is not approved by the specific USENET group in its charter;
  • g) Using the Service for unauthorised relays through any third party systems;
  • h) Attempting, in any way, to interfere with or deny service to any user or any host on the Internet;
  • i) Using the Service for mail-bombing, which includes any instance where multiple messages are sent to a specific destination with the intent to render the recipient and/or the electronic system serving that recipient dysfunctional;
  • j) Using the Service to add or attempt to add addresses to any mailing list (yours or a third party) without the explicit positive consent of the addressee(s);
  • k) Using the Service to forward or post unsolicited “chain letters” (multiple forwarding) of any type;
  • l) Attempting to cancel, supersede, or otherwise interfere with e-mail or USENET posts other than your own;
  • m) Engaging in harassment, whether through language, frequency, or size of messages;
  • n) Using the Service in a manner which may reasonably be considered by Avonline as harmful to the business reputation or interests of Avonline, Avanti Broadband or any associated or group companies;
  • o) Using the Service to engage in sync flood attacks, which are defined as overburdening a recipient computer system by sending a high volume of spurious data which effective impedes or totally disables functionality of the recipient system(s), or any other methods of denial-of-service attacks; or,
  • p) Furnishing false data on your sign-up form, contract, or online application, including providing fraudulent credit card or other payment information.