# Fair usage policy (FUP)

> A fair usage policy (FUP) is a set of rules that limits how much high-speed data you can use on an unlimited or large plan before speeds are reduced.

Source: https://viasimo.com/glossary/fair-usage-policy/
Also known as: FUP, fair use policy, acceptable use policy

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A fair usage policy (FUP) is a set of rules that limits how much high-speed data you can use on an unlimited or large plan before speeds are reduced. It exists so that a small number of very heavy users cannot degrade the network for everyone else.

The most common place travellers meet an FUP is on plans marketed as unlimited. In practice, unlimited almost always means unlimited volume at reduced speed after a threshold: you might get a daily allowance at full speed, after which the connection continues but is slowed for the rest of the day. The slowing itself is called [throttling](/glossary/throttling/), and the reduced speed is usually still enough for messaging, email and maps, though not for video streaming.

Fair usage policies can also cover behaviour rather than volume. Typical clauses prohibit reselling the connection, running the plan in a router as a home broadband substitute, or continuous machine-to-machine use. Some plans restrict or cap [mobile hotspot](/glossary/mobile-hotspot/) sharing under the same policy, so if tethering a laptop matters to you, read that clause before buying.

The biggest confusion is the word unlimited itself. An unlimited plan with a daily high-speed cap and a fixed-data plan of similar size can behave very differently: the unlimited plan never stops working but slows down, while the fixed plan runs at full speed until it runs out. Neither is automatically better; it depends on how you use data.

Concrete example: a traveller on an unlimited plan streams video all morning, passes the daily high-speed allowance by lunchtime, and spends the afternoon on a slower connection that still handles WhatsApp and Google Maps without trouble. At midnight the allowance resets.

Before choosing a plan, estimate your real needs with our guide to [how much data you need for travel](/magazine/how-much-data-do-i-need-for-travel/), and see [how to avoid roaming bill shock](/magazine/avoid-roaming-bill-shock/) for the wider picture on limits and charges.