Unlimited Bandwidth in Web Hosting
Bandwidth and disk space are the main elements of web hosting plans. Bandwidth is basically the amount of the traffic that is allowed to occur during the transfer of web pages from the server to the browsers of the visitors whereas disk space is the space allocated to you on a web server in order to store the files. Bandwidth and disk space cost money and there's a limit to the amount of data that can be transferred at any point in time as the network lines that carry data around the web have finite limits.
The web hosting market has grown more and more competitive over the years and as a result, different hosting companies offer different hosting plans to lure the customers. Now-a-days, hosting companies offer hosting plans with unlimited bandwidth which is nothing more than a marketing move to attract customers. Practically, there's nothing like unlimited bandwidth as it costs money. Also, we live in a world of finite resources.
Overselling is selling more bandwidth or disk space per account than the actual capacity of the account. Hosting plans offering unlimited bandwidth are an example of overselling at extreme. Hosting companies make huge profit by overselling as it lets them offer many more accounts on the server and so, they make huge profits. However, there are risks involved with these plans. The server is likely to be under a heavy load because of the large number of websites stored on it and this can result in slow loading or even a downtime.
Hosting companies are able to oversell their bandwidth by offering unlimited bandwidth plans as most of the websites don't consume the allocated bandwidth to full extent. Sometimes, your account is suspended without any prior notice if it consumes more bandwidth even if you signed up for a hosting plan featuring unlimited bandwidth. This can result in the loss of files and can also cost you some good amount of money if you run your business online.
While signing up for a web host, you should understand the fact that everything has a limit and even servers have a limit as they can only handle certain amount of bandwidth and disk space. If you exceed its limit then you are likely to have a bad experience. Always sign up with a reputable host who offer realistic plans and not deceptive plans like unlimited bandwidth, space and more. You may end up paying a dollar or two more but it's worth it.