Grapevine frequently asked questions

6.  Broadband on National network

6.1  What are the benefits of the new Grapevine ISP plans on the National network?

Grapevine's new plans provide:

• greater savings across all plans
• more choice as our plans are now split into two categories
• a wide variety of shaped plans for you to choose from
• a lower overrun charge per MB if you choose one of the two plans with overruns

The benefits of these plans are as follows.

1. Shaped plans
   • There is NO overrun charge on any of the shaped plans, which means you can download as much as you like, whenever you like.
2. Pay for what you use plans
   • Speed is only shaped/slowed once you reach a certain quota as outlined in the service schedule.

 

6.2  How do the Shaped plans work?

You can download as much as you like, whenever you like, up to the monthly limit provided. Once you reach the monthly download limit, you can continue to download but your connection speed will be slowed to 72kbps.

 

6.3  How do the Pay for what you use plans work?

You can download as much as you like, whenever you like, up to the monthly limit provided. Once you reach the monthly download limit, you can continue to download at full speed but you will have to pay an overrun charge for each MB you download.

You will be charged up to the quota outlined in the service schedule. After you reach this quota, your speed will be shaped/slowed to 72kbps for the remainder of the Download Measurement Period.

 

6.4  Examples of how the plans work

• Example:
  Plan you're on: ADSL 256K 200MB (Pay for what you use plan)
  You've downloaded: 210MB
  Result: You will be charged 10MB x $0.10 of overrun charges.
• Example:
  Plan you're on: ADSL 256K 10GB Shaped
  You've downloaded: 10050MB
  Result: Your speed will be shaped as you have reached 10000MB total. No overrun charges apply to this plan.
• Example:
  Plan you're on: 8Mbps 25GB (Pay for what you use plan)
  You've downloaded: 25050MB
  Result: Your speed will be shaped as you have reached 25000MB total. You will also be charged 50MB x $0.10 of overrun charges.

 

6.5  I'm on a plan with overrun charges, how can I avoid a bill with large overrun charges?

We recommend choosing the best plan that suits your broadband needs, and which gives you a higher included download limit a month.

Grapevine will send you usage notifications via email so you can monitor your download usage to avoid overrun charges. These notifications will be sent to your primary Grapevine email address, unless you notify Grapevine of a different email address you would like the notifications sent to.

We’ll notify you when your estimated usage reaches 50%, 80%, 110%, 130% and 150% of your monthly download limit – so that you can remain in control of your monthly spend.

As a guide, here's an indication of file sizes for various media:

• A standard webpage: 50-150kb (depending on number of pictures)
• A standard email (text only): 50kb
• A small photo attachment on email: 100kb
• An average digital camera photo attachment on email: 500kb
• A standard music song file: 4MB
• A standard music CD: 110 MB
• A DivX movie file: 700 MB
• A DVD-quality file: 4000 MB

 

6.6  How can I upgrade to a new Grapevine broadband plan?

For just $30, you can upgrade your current broadband plan.

 

6.7  Do I get shaped on the National Network Pay for what you use plans?

Yes, shaping applies on Pay for what you use plans (ADSL 256K 200MB and ADSL 8M 25GB). You pay for whatever you use after you reach your included monthly download limit (up to 10GB on ADSL 256K 200MB and 5GB on 8M 25GB). If you only use what’s included in your plan quota, you only pay for your plan fee.

 

6.8  What do the terms on your National Network broadband plans mean?

• Overrun range
  If you've used up your included peak download limit, all data downloaded that falls after this limit will be charged per MB until you've reached the quota at which your speed is slowed/shaped.
• Overrun charge for excess downloads
  The amount charged for each MB downloaded within the overrun range.
• Speed shaped to 72 kbps at...
  This is the total amount of data you're allowed to download, before your speed gets shaped /slowed to 72kbps.