Charging for Traffic
Examples below, starting with easy further to more difficult, illustrate how end customers are charged for using traffic.
- Staying within traffic limit doesn't cause any overlimit charges:
Plan & Account Settings:
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Traffic consumption:
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System Behavior:
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Free = 10GB;
Recurrent = $2;
Usage = $4;
Traffic limit = Free
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By the end of the traffic month user runs up 9GB.
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- Traffic month closes.
- Traffic usage is calculated, but as user stays within traffic limit, he doesn't pay anything.
- A new traffic month opens and traffic is reset to 0.
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- Exceeding traffic limit brings overlimit (or usage) charges:
Plan & Account Settings:
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Traffic consumption:
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System Behavior:
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Free = 10GB;
Recurrent = $2;
Usage = $4;
Traffic limit = Free
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By the end of the traffic month user runs up 15GB.
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- Traffic month closes.
- Traffic usage is calculated and user is accrued usage fee for 5GB overlimit (= 15GB run up - 10GB of traffic limit).
- Usage fee accrued makes $20 (= 5GB overlimit x $4 usage price).
- A new traffic month opens and traffic is reset to 0.
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- Changing traffic limit neither closes traffic month nor resets traffic already run up.
Because of that:- when reserving more traffic than plan's free GB in the middle of the traffic month, users are immediately accrued absolute (not prorated) recurrent fee for the whole traffic month.
Plan & Account Settings:
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Traffic Consumption:
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System Behavior:
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1 month billing period starts Jan 1;
Free = 10GB;
Recurrent = $2;
Usage = $4;
Traffic limit = 10GB
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By January 15, the user runs up 9GB and increases traffic limit to 12GB.
By January 30, the user runs up 13GB.
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- Traffic month doesn't close on January 15.
- User is accrued absolute recurrent fee for 2GB over free (=12GB of new traffic limit - 10GB free).
- Recurrent fee accrued makes $4 (= 2GB over free x $2 recurrent price).
- On January 31 traffic month closes.
- Traffic usage is calculated, and user is accrued usage fee for 1GB (= 13GB run up - 12GB traffic limit).
- Usage fee accrued makes $4 (= 1GB x $4 usage price).
- A new traffic month opens, traffic is reset to 0 and user is accrued recurrent fee for 2GB over free (= 12GB of traffic limit - 10GB free).
- Recurrent fee accrued makes $4 (= 2GB over free x $2 recurrent price).
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- when downgrading account traffic limit to plan's free in the middle of the traffic month, users are refunded absolute (not prorated) recurrent fee already prepaid at the beginning of the traffic month.
Plan & Account Settings:
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Traffic Consumption:
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System Behavior:
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1 month billing period starts Jan 1;
Free = 10GB;
Recurrent = $2;
Usage = $4;
Traffic limit = 12GB
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By January 15, the user runs up 4GB and decreases his traffic limit to 10GB.
By January 30 the user runs up 9GB.
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- On January 1 user is accrued absolute recurrent fee for 2GB over free (= 12GB of traffic limit - 10GB free).
- Recurrent fee accrued makes $4 (= 2GB over free x $2 recurrent price).
- Traffic month doesn't close on January 15 and 4GB of traffic already run up aren't reset. User is refunded absolute recurrent fee for 2GB of downgraded traffic limit.
- Refund of recurrent fee makes $4 (= 2GB over free x $2 recurrent price).
- On January 30 traffic month closes.
- Traffic usage is calculated, but as the user stays within his traffic limit, he pays nothing.
- A new traffic month opens, traffic is reset to 0.
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- Changing billing period or switching to another plan neither closes traffic month nor resets traffic already run up.
At such occasions the system checks account traffic limit and if:- traffic limit = current plan/billing period free GB,
updates it to new plan/billing period free GB:
Plan & Account Settings:
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Traffic Limit and Traffic Consumption:
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System Behavior:
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- Source plan:
Free = 10GB;
Recurrent = $2;
Usage = $4;
Traffic limit = 10GB;
Traffic month starts January 1.
Target plan:
Free = 50GB
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By the time the user switches to a new plan, he runs up 14GB.
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- Changing plans doesn't close traffic month.
- Traffic charge calculations don't take place.
- Traffic already run up isn't reset.
- Traffic run up for the rest of the traffic month under a new plan is added to 14GB run up under the former plan.
- Traffic limit is upgraded to new plan's free 50GB.
- If by the end of the traffic month user exceeds 50GB traffic limit, he is charged at the new usage price.
- On January 31 a new traffic month opens and traffic is reset to 0.
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- traffic limit > new plan/billing period free GB > current plan/billing period free GB,
updates it to new plan/billing period free GB. Users are refunded the absolute recurrent fee already prepaid at the beginning of the traffic month:
Traffic Configuration for 1 and 2 Month Billing Periods:
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Traffic Limit and Traffic Consumption:
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System Behavior:
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Traffic limit = 6GB
1 month billing period
Free = 5GB
Recurrent = $2
2 month billing period
* set explicitly:
Free = 12GB
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By the time a user on 1 month billing period switches to a 2 month billing period, he runs up 10GB.
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- At the beginning of the traffic month user is accrued recurrent fee for 1GB over free.
- Recurrent fee accrual makes $2 (= 1GB over free x $2 recurrent price).
- At the billing period change, traffic month isn't closed.
- Traffic already run up isn't reset.
- Traffic run up for the rest of the traffic month is added to 10GB run up before changing to a 2 month billing period.
- Traffic limit is updated to 12GB free.
- User is refunded absolute recurrent fee prepaid at the beginning of the traffic month.
- Refund accrual makes $2 (= 1GB over free x $2 recurrent price).
- If by the end of traffic month user exceeds 12GB traffic limit, he is charged at a new usage price.
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- traffic limit > current and new plan/billing period free GB,
leaves it as it is. If the absolute recurrent fee calculated based on new plan/billing period free and the new recurrent price is bigger than the recurrent fee already prepaid, the user is accrued the difference. If it is smaller, the user is refunded the difference:
Traffic Configuration for 1 and 2 Month Billing Periods:
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Traffic Limit and Traffic Consumption:
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System Behavior:
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1 month billing period
Free: 5GB
Recurrent: $2
2 month billing period
* set explicitly:
Free = 12GB
Recurrent = $3
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By the time user on 2 month billing period with 14GB traffic limit switches to a 1 month billing period he runs up 15GB.
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- At the beginning of the traffic month user is accrued recurrent fee for 2GB over free (= 14GB of traffic limit - 12GB free).
- Recurrent fee accrual makes $6 (= 2GB over free x $3 recurrent price).
- At the billing period change, traffic month isn't closed.
- Traffic already run up isn't reset.
- Traffic run up for the rest of the traffic month is added to 15GB run up before changing to a 1 month billing period.
- Traffic limit remains 14GB.
- As recurrent fee calculated based on 1 month billing period free ($18 = 9GB over free x $2 recurrent price) is bigger than recurrent fee already prepaid ($6), the user is charged the difference of $12.
- If by the end of the traffic month user exceeds 14GB traffic limit, he is charged at the new usage price.
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