[wellylug] telstraclear nz usage reporting script

Bruce Hoult bruce at hoult.org
Sat Aug 16 13:46:42 NZST 2008


On Sat, Aug 16, 2008 at 12:57 PM, Jethro Carr
<jethro.carr at jethrocarr.com> wrote:
> On Sat, 2008-08-16 at 08:53 +1200, Bruce Hoult wrote:
>> On Fri, Aug 15, 2008 at 11:55 PM, Jethro Carr
>> <jethro.carr at jethrocarr.com> wrote:
>> > If you're a user of the Telstraclear cable network, I've written up a
>> > basic perl script for generating reports of the amount of data used, and
>> > left in the current billing period.
>>
>> "it is handly to be able to recieve emails reporting your data usage
>> so you can plan your usage so that you don't run out during the
>> month."
>>
>> Gosh.  If I don't "run out during the month" then I figure I've paid
>> them for something I haven't used.  There's no "running out" .. they
>> just happily bill you for whatever you do use, and at a considerably
>> lower rate per GB than you pay for the minimum charge GBs included in
>> your plan.  e.g. on the 40 GB plan I'm on, the first 40 GB effectively
>> cost $2.75 each if you use them all (more if you don't), while extra
>> GBs cost only $1.50.
>
> Well, maybe it should say "so you don't go over your cap" rather than
> "so you don't run out during the month" since Telstra will happily bill
> you for excess usage.

I really do object to people's use of terms such as "cap", "limit",
"excess" (or, worse, "excessive") here, when the situation is really
that of a "minimum purchase", much like when you go to a club with a
"two drink minimum" in the cover charge.

Do the ISPs encourage the use of such terms in order to fool people
into committing to pay for a plan sized to their maximum usage rather
than their minimum or average usage?


> Some people are on a budget and don't want to go over a set
> amount each month.

I'd say that everyone has limited money.  Committing to pay the same
amount every month may well limit your spending if you have the
willpower or the ISP enforces it, as some do with "reduce to dial-up
speed" after a certain point plans.  But it also removes the
possibility of spending *less* in months when you use less.  For
example, in my case, in months when there is no Formula 1 and BSG
isn't on either.  Or when I'm on holiday or a business trip or
whatever.


> This script is also useful for people who *do* go over, so they know
> what to expect their bill to be at the end of the month. If you suddenly
> find that you're downloading 10GB a day, this script will help you curb
> your usage before you get a shockingly high bill. :-)

If I'm accidentally using 10 GB a day once I'm past the included
minimum purchase of GB, I find that the emails from TC every 3 or 4
hours pretty quickly let me know :-)



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