The Truth Behind Unlimited Bandwidth

Web Hosting is a commodity. The main elements of any web hosting plan are
    - disk space and
    - bandwidth.

Disk space is the space you have allotted on the web server to store your website.
Bandwidth is an amount you have available to transfer web pages from the web server to the browsers of visitors to your site.

Web pages and graphics consume bandwidth or capacity on the web and it is the Bandwidth , Disk Space and their efficient administration that costs money.

Be aware that there are physical limitations to both disk space and bandwidth. The network lines that carry data around the web (optic fiber, cable, copper wire etc) have a finite capacity. There is a limit to the amount of data that can be transferred at any point in time. Likewise, the hard drive of a web server has a limited amount of space determined by the physical size of the hard drive.

Many hosting companies claim to offer "unlimited" plans (both disk space and bandwidth), but Before you buy an "unlimited" plan, know what you're getting into for there are risks with purchasing unlimited plans.

The Reality Behind Unlimited Plans.

To tell you in one statement , it's just not possible for any provider to actually provide an unlimited amount of bandwidth or disk space.

Most websites only consume a very small amount of bandwidth and disk space.Web hosting companies that provide unlimited anything as a plan feature are banking on the fact that you won't use very much. Unlimited is a marketing trick to get your business. The web hosting market is very competitive. Although hosting company that pretend to provide unlimited provide good service BUT their concept of Unlimited is quite different from yours. So do check in the hosting company's Terms of Service:

The Limitations of the so-called Unlimited Plans.

Most plans that offer unlimited will have some restrictions such as no audio or video downloads. The reason audio or video downloads are typically not allowed in unlimited hosting plans is because these types of files consume significant bandwidth and disk space which exposes the host to the risk of having to add more hard drive space and bandwidth, which costs them more money. If you choose an unlimited plan and you know your needs won't be very intensive then you won't run into any problems but that can hardly be the case with a good standard site.
If you intend to have a lot of visitors to your site, lots of downloads, including audio or video files, DO NOT choose an unlimited plan hoping to get unrestricted bandwidth. You will find yourself with problems. Your web host is not going to run at a loss for long - they could shut down your website or even charge you extra (read their terms of service).

So What Is The Best Thing To Do?

Only consider an unlimited hosting plan if you know your disk space and bandwidth requirements are very low. If, on the other hand, you have an ecommerce site or a site that you expect to grow in size and bandwidth in future, avoid any plans that offer unlimited bandwidth or disk space.
The best course of action is to plan ahead. Calculate what type of bandwidth and disk space you will need for your site then multiply it by 2 just to allow for expansion. Remember, you can always buy more bandwidth or disk space if you need - often for only a few dollars a month extra. Look for plans that meet those requirements. Another article "Bandwidth Explained" does a good job explaining the details behind bandwidth.