Telstra has backtracked on its intentions to introduce three-gigabyte 'capping' and 'additional usage' options for broadband Internet users, but refuses to say whether it's canned the idea completely.

Scheduled to kick in on 1 October, the capping option would have seen the telco heavyweight suspend Internet access for broadband customers who downloaded in excess of three gigabytes a month, with those who exceeded the limit charged an additional usage fee for each extra megabyte.

The 3Gb limit remains set in stone, as Telstra's about-turn simply leaves users to manage their download capacity to fit within that allowance. The penalties for excessive downloading, however, are now unclear.

"Telstra reserves the right to take action it deems appropriate for those customers who exceed their allowance," the telco behemoth says in the 'frequently asked questions' section of its Web site where it outlines its updated Acceptable User Policy (AUP).

"Members on the Freedom Plans must continue to manage their usage according to the current 3GB allowance. Failure to do so may result in Telstra taking action under clause 5.4 of the Acceptable Use Policy."

Telstra said it has been deterred in its actions - widely regarded in the broadband community as being unreasonable - by the extent of customer feedback on the subject. However, it refused to admit it has bowed to customer anger.

"We've had a lot of feedback and we're still assessing that to see where we go in the future," Telstra representative Stuart Gray told ZDNet Australia.

However, Dan Warne of broadband community Web site whirlpool.net.au sees Telstra's move as a clear-cut backdown to customer dissatisfaction of a -draconian measure".

-It is clear that the volume of customer anger has been noticed by Telstra, and with a pending class action by broadband Internet customers Telstra is back-flipping on a range of issues," Warne said.

Other broadband users are angry at Telstra's latest exploit.

-The protest continues...the latest move by Telstra to change the AUP again has only frustrated users further," said broadband customer Blair Ryan, pointing to Telstra's usage meter that is perceived by many in the broadband community as being inaccurate and unreliable.

-The latest AUP change makes it the users full responsibility to remain under an unreasonable limit but gives the user no reliable tools with which they can measure their usage...it's like asking someone to juggle and then putting a blindfold on them," Ryan said.

Telstra has given broadband customers another opportunity to cancel their contracts without incurring a financial penalty and remains tight-lipped about how long it will be before it's assessed customer feedback sufficiently to make a permanent decision on the controversial issue.

Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive, a CBS Company. All Rights Reserved.
ZDNET is a registered service mark of CBS Interactive. ZDNET Logo is a service mark of CBS Interactive.