What is ICE?

StarBand’s Improving Customer Experience (ICE) program was implemented in January 2006. The goal of the program is to help ensure that all of our customers receive a high quality of service. By monitoring and regulating bandwidth consumption according to consumption levels specified in the company’s AUPs, StarBand will help improve the network for everyone.

Why is StarBand implementing the ICE program?

To help ensure that all members have fair and equal use of the benefits of the service and to protect the integrity of the service, StarBand reserves the right, and will take necessary steps, to prevent excessive consumption of bandwidth. Based on StarBand records, there is a small percentage of customers who use an excessive amount of bandwidth, far beyond what is allowed according to customer AUPs. By regulating this excessive consumption, StarBand can improve upload and download speeds, congestion and VSAT capacity for all of our customers.

How will ICE affect customers?

Customers who are close to exceeding their assigned bandwidth usage for a rolling period of seven days will be sent a warning message via a web message and via their StarBand email account. Customers who exceed their assigned bandwidth usage for a rolling period of seven days will again be notified via a web message and via their StarBand email account. The web message will specify that the customers’ speeds will be temporarily reduced to dial-up speeds until the customers’ seven day rolling average drops below the ‘exit limit’. The customer’s normal high-speed access (as specified in the customer’s contract) will be restored after that time period.

Because there is a seven-day monitoring period, customers are not penalized for one-time or occasional bandwidth bumps unless the total for the entire seven days is very high. In addition, customers get one free pass to remove the restriction by calling StarBand customer service and requesting a restriction removal. Customers who repeatedly use excessive bandwidth and have received multiple warnings may be suspended from using StarBand services for a specified period of time.

What causes your system to use too much bandwidth?

Customers may or may not be aware of when they are using high amounts of bandwidth. Intended causes of high bandwidth consumption may include uploading and downloading large files and networking additional computers to access the service. Some unintended causes of high bandwidth consumption may include viruses, worms, malicious code and downloads that occur with web browsing. By monitoring activity, StarBand can identify when customers are using excessive bandwidth, whether it is intentional or not.

How can customers view their bandwidth usage and limits?

StarBand has created an automated process that enables members to see real-time bandwidth utilization reports. Customers can see how much bandwidth they have used and how close they are to their limits simply by logging into the StarBand customer portal (starband.net) and clicking on My Account. Customers can also call StarBand technical support with any questions.

What are customer AUPs?

View the customer AUPs here.