Other hosts offer "unlimited bandwidth" why don't you?

"Unlimited Bandwidth" is a lie.

Let's face it: nobody is going to allow you to monopolize a data line that costs thousands of dollars a month while receiving only $20.  It just doesn't make economic sense.  But some of our competitors try to fool you into thinking you'll get something for almost nothing, while leaving themselves a way out if you really take them up on the offer.

For example, one of our competitors advertises their "unlimited transfer allowance" on their site, yet buried in their agreement is

[We] do not set pre-defined limits on our customers bandwidth.  We expect some accounts to use more resources than others, and are prepared to offer more resources for those who need them.  We expect that all customers will use [our] resources in good faith.  If your site is very popular, please contact [us] for a Special Arrangement.

Translation: "We offered you unlimited bandwidth, but if, in our opinion, you're using too much, we'll charge you extra for our Special Arrangement."

In another case, one of our customers recently moved his site to another provider.  The next month, we got this letter:

I'd like to move my site back to your servers.  I thought I was being smart by moving to the other host because they offered "unlimited bandwidth," even though I was nowhere near my limits on your systems.  I figured I'd be growing.  But I didn't notice the clause in the agreement that allows them to charge me if I use a "disproportionate" amount of bandwidth.  So my first month, even though I used less than my allowance on your servers, it was more than their "average" user, so they said it was "disproportionate" and I got slapped with a big extra charge.

I've learned my lesson.  I'm sticking with you.

Another trick is bandwidth choking, where your site is attached to a high-speed line, but can only consume a small portion of the bandwidth.  This is like an all-you-can-eat salad bar with 1-inch plates.  Or, as in one case we know of, a host just flipped the switch, shutting down the server whenever they felt the customer was using too much, claiming "technical problems."

At RealWebs.com, we don't promise one thing and deliver another.  We tell you up-front exactly how much bandwidth you can use, so you can plan accordingly.  Keep in mind that our limits are extremely generous, less that 1% of our customers require additional bandwidth.  The average usage is less than 10% of the allowance.