Fair usage policy

Meaning

A fair usage policy, or FUP, is a provider rule that places a threshold on heavy use, after which speed is usually reduced for the rest of the billing cycle. It lets a plan be called unlimited while still managing heavy use, so the word unlimited must be read together with the policy that follows it. The connection keeps working, but video may buffer and large downloads may take far longer. Ask for the exact threshold, the reduced speed and the day the counter resets. See also: Data cap, and the guide Data Caps and Fair Use Policies Explained.