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Overview

Throttling is a speed limitation applied to data after a user has consumed their full-speed data allowance. It allows continued data usage at a significantly reduced speed rather than cutting off service entirely. Throttling is currently supported on two labels:
  • LAMBDA
  • TAU

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How throttling works

When a throttled plan is created, it defines two distinct data pools that are consumed in sequence:
  1. Full-Speed Pool: A defined data allowance (e.g., 1 GB) delivered at unrestricted speeds.
  2. Throttled Pool: Additional data (e.g., 100 GB) available at a reduced speed (e.g., 5,120 kbps) once the full-speed pool is exhausted.

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Example plan structure

Once the user consumes their 1 GB full-speed allowance, data continues seamlessly from the 100 GB throttled pool at the throttled speed.

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Key concepts

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Throttle speed as a signal

The presence of a throttle speed value in a plan configuration is what tells the system that throttled data is available. It is not merely a speed cap — it activates the throttled data pool.
Throttling does not split a single data pool at a midpoint. For example, a plan with 10 GB does not throttle the user after 5 GB while keeping the remaining 5 GB throttled. The full-speed and throttled pools are always defined as separate, independent allocations.

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Label support

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TAU-specific subscription rules

TAU subscriptions with throttled plans follow specific rules regarding plan attachment:
  • Once a recurring and throttled plan is set on a TAU subscription — whether in Active or Pending state — no additional plans can be attached to that subscription.
  • This restriction is lifted once the recurring throttled plan is Suspended.
  • After suspension, any other TAU plan can be added to the subscription as normal.
Plan state reference:
  • Active — Plan is currently in use on the subscription.
  • Pending — Plan is queued and will activate when the current plan expires.
  • Suspended — Plan is paused; the subscription is no longer bound by its restrictions.

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Usage tracking

The dashboard and API return usage data for the latest plan iteration only — not cumulative daily iterations. This affects how throttled usage is monitored:
  • Daily consumption figures reset each day on the dashboard.
  • To calculate total usage across a multi-day throttled plan (e.g., a 7-day plan), a CDR (Call Detail Record) fetch is required.
  • The monthly CDR provides complete usage data per ICCID across the entire billing month and is the recommended source for usage verification.

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Unsupported scenarios

The following throttling configuration is not currently supported on the Bondio platform:
  • Mid-pool throttling: Consuming part of a single data bucket at full speed, then throttling the remainder (e.g., a 10 GB plan where the first 5 GB are full-speed and the last 5 GB are throttled).