I realised after I posted that I was a little ambiguous: When I said "you", I meant it in the plural, not to just yourself. Indeed, I meant it in reference to whoever is doing the downloading.
Some people do download the equivalent of a gauge. Others of us just check our ISP's web site occasionally.
I'm not aware of any ISP's doing shaping by the minute. Probably once a day your ISP's billing computer adds up your usage for the month to date and, if it's over the limit, marks you for reduced speed. If I run over my limit at any time of day, shaping will happen on my line at sometime early the following morning, giving me as much as a full day of full speed while I'm actually over the limit. If I go over on the last day of the month, it's already the new month by the time the calculation takes place.
no subject
Some people do download the equivalent of a gauge. Others of us just check our ISP's web site occasionally.
I'm not aware of any ISP's doing shaping by the minute. Probably once a day your ISP's billing computer adds up your usage for the month to date and, if it's over the limit, marks you for reduced speed. If I run over my limit at any time of day, shaping will happen on my line at sometime early the following morning, giving me as much as a full day of full speed while I'm actually over the limit. If I go over on the last day of the month, it's already the new month by the time the calculation takes place.