Q. Do Rakuten Broadband Premium restrict bandwidth or otherwise throttle file-sharing and P2P traffic?

A. A bandwidth limiting system was implemented at the end of November 2010 for users of file sharing and P2P software (Winny, Gnutella, Bittorrent, etc.) This was implemented in order to allow all users of our internet services to connect and browse the internet without being affected by file sharers using large amounts of bandwidth.

This restriction was ultimately introduced as a result of heavy bandwidth users exchanging large and continuous amounts of data via file-sharing and P2P software. This will mean that users of file-sharing software will be prevented from using the maximum amount of bandwidth available to them but will not prevent the software from working entirely.

The restrictions to file-sharing software users will not affect users of email services, web browsing (http/https traffic) and FTP uploads and downloads. In addition, there is no need to change the settings in your own browser, email client or the connection setup itself.

Start date
End of November 2010 

Customers affected by the restrictions
Customers using file-sharing and P2P software such as Winny, Gnutella, Bittorrent, etc

We thank you for your understanding of this matter and would like to thank you for continuing to use our internet services.

Tags: bandwidth, connection, file sharing, internet, p2p