1. Most popular broadband plans

When you first connect your computer to a broadband service, it’s easy to get carried away and start downloading lots of movies, songs and other media. These files chew up your usage quota in no time (not to mention space on your computer's hard drive!). If your broadband plan has a usage cap, you need to stay within your limit otherwise you could incur excess download fees, and they can quickly add up.

We offer a number of options to better manage your usage.

STOP ME - access to internet is stopped when you reach your usage quota until service is automatically renewed in the new month. You have options to buy additional top ups from Unwiredto carry you forward to the end of month.

THROTTLE ME - once usage cap has been reached, your speed plan will be throttled to 64kbps for the reminder of your billing cycle until its renewal, excess usage will be charged at 15 cents per MB.

CHARGE ME - service plan remains the same when data cap has been reached. Usage in excess of your quota will be charged at 15 cents (VIP) per megabyte.

Please note that only your download is measured. Upload is FREE on all Unwired serice plans.

2. Choosing the right DATA LIMIT

Often its hard at first to knw what download limit you or your family will need. If you want to download music, movies and let the kids play online games, then you will need a higher-end plan, at least 5G on our 4G Unwired Xtreme 5G.

But if you just want to use email, do some research and abit of share trading then a lighter plan will be sufficient. Keeping Windows and other software update can use a fair amount of data too, this is important to consider when choosing a data limit.

When you are talking to your Unwired sales executive please let them know what you want to use the internet for and they will recommend the right plan for you.

3. Sharing a broadband connection with housemates / family

If you are sharing a broadband connection in a household, you need to be wary of everyone's web surfing habits. If they're downloading movies and mp3's fairly constantly, you'll either be left with a slow internet connection after your ISP has shaped* it back to snail's pace or a hugh bill at the end of the month.

4. Firewalls and Antivirus Software

A broadband connection is constantly connected to the internet, so a firewall and up-to-date antivirus software are essential. A firewall helps block unwanted threats like hackers from getting into your system.

Many people believe once you install antivirus software on your computer, thats all you need to do, thats not right. It needs to be kept up-to-date by downloading regular virus definitions from the software manufacturers website. This should be automatic or done manually at least once a week.

Please note if this is not done you may suddenly find yourself hitting your usage limit, as the spamming, virus and Trojan softwares will be sending and recieving data from your PC to everyone on your address book and you will end up hitting your limit within days, or get a huge excess bill in the new month.

5. Monitor your usage

Most ISP's have tools that let you monitor your usage. Sometimes there are downloadable tools that sit in your taskbar, or you just login to the ISP's website to check monthly or daily summaries. If you find you are burning through your quota,crack down on the offending parties or consider changing plans. You can check your usuage online at any time at our portal page: http://portal.unwired.com.fj or by clicking on Usage Quota link on our home page.

6. File sharing software

Many people don't understand the danger of programs like LimeWire, BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer(P2P) sharing applications. Not only do they leave your PC open to attack from viruses and spyware, people can download files from your computer instantly increasing your usage. Remember, usage is any traffic to and from your PC.

P2P programs can also transform your PC's into a 'super node'. This means other users can upload file lists to your machine, so when people search for files, they send the request to a super node - increasing unwanted traffic to your PC and using up your data limit.

7. Sites with high data usage

Video streaming and online gaming sites use alot of data transfer. You need to bear this in mind, because watching YouTube videos or online news bulletins can very quickly use up your allocated data. The graphical nature of interactive online games also plough through your download limits, using anywhere between 10MB and 80MB an hour.

These are some hints and tips to better manage your data usage caps and should you require more information please feel free to contact us at unwired at helpdesk@getunwired.com.fj

*Shaped or shaping means an ISP has reduced the speed of your internet connection (Throttling) after you've reached your data limit. The meter resets at the next billing cycle.