"unmetered hosting"... does it exist?
 

I am putting together a site that will have high bandwidth requirements (read: video). Is "unmetered hosting" a marketing hoax or does it really exist?

Who do you think has the best dedicated hosting packages for high-bandwidth video delivery sites?

exists .... in your dreams.

Get a 10, 25, 50 ... mbps connection ... you will have a fixed cost.

Unmetered doesn't mean unlimited. Unmetered means you can use as much unmetered bandwidth/transfer as needed without worrying about bandwidth overages or extra charges. The maximum amount of transfer is limited only by your connection (1, 5, 10, 50,... mbps).

btw: check out OC3 Networks, they rock.

There are lots of shared hosting plans out there that are unmetered, but thats the first sign that they are over subscribing their network and overselling in general.

Just like oil, the connectivity has to come from somewhere - so gauge your needs well and look at the alternatives. Maybe one is to host your own server in a building with fiberoptic optic broadband. Cogent offers 100mb/s pipes for $1k a month... But you need to be in a building they have light.

Yup, managed services are easier - they handle the reundancy, some of the DR, and most likely the box itself - but in a world of video ... you have more to think about then just connectivity... Have you thought about the reduncancy, load balancing and session management against multiple systems?

Sorry - I'm an engineer at heart!

Just be careful, 'cause there are "shared unmetered" hosting deals where you have a dedicated server that's part of a pool of servers that shares one 100Mbit (or 50 or 20Mbit) port.

These are usually reasonably inexpensive, but you have no way of knowing how much bandwidth you can actually push through because it will depend on what all the other servers in your pool are using.

"Dedicated unmetered" bandwidth is a lot more expensive, but if you need the bandwidth, it's the only way I'd go. Expect to pay $300-1000 for a 20Mbps or 30Mbps dedicated port, $75-200 for a shared port.

http://desirespace.com has unmetered servers

you just simply pay for the connection speed, eg. 10mbps, then you know exactly what the charges are, and no overage costs

Host Head has some great deals on managed 20mbps to 100mbps servers.

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we have unmetered boxes, 10Mbps and 100Mbps

Do you install jre 1.5, on request, in shared hosting accounts?

hit me up to discuss your needs

no unmetered is a lie and a scam

unlimited: a lie and a scam
unmetered: not a lie, not a scam