Can anyone suggest strategies for coping with a 200MB/day Internet quota? I have a satellite Internet connection (because I have no other choice, that's why :-) which has a quota of 200 MB per day (that is not a typo).

As you can imagine, we can very easily go through that quota and end up severely throttled for the next 24 hours (starting when the quota is exceeded, even if the quota was only minutes from 'rolling over').

I am trying to figure out ways to minimize usage.

My first thought was to use something like GlimmerBlocker on the iMac (which is our media server, so it is already on 24/7), and point all of the other devices to use it as the proxy.

But I am looking for other ideas as well. I do not know of many applications out there which might be of use for this.

Technical details of the network and devices

Our household has 3 Macs (iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook) and 3 iOS devices (iPad 2, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch [current gen]).

All of the devices except the iMac connect to the network via Wi-Fi.

(There is no 3G coverage, so the iPhone or iPad must use the Wi-Fi network.)

The network is served by an AirPort Extreme 802.11n (3rd generation) which operates in 'bridge mode' connected to the satellite modem (because the modem has to be the router and DHCP server and I cannot access those controls at all).

What are my options?

I have already 'trained' myself and my family members to avoid downloading audio or video files, but even with simple web surfing it is easy to exceed 200 MB per day. A local proxy/filter like GlimmerBlocker can block ads and other cruft we can't afford to download, but that's all I can think of.

Most of the "bandwidth monitoring" apps out there will not help because they do not differentiate between local (LAN) traffic and Internet traffic.

Can anyone think of other solutions to help minimize the pain of this daily quota?
I hope you remember back to the days when 200MB/day was an incredible amount to have. :-)

There are some simple things and then some more complicated things.

Limit access by time of day

First of all, you can block times of day for connections by MAC address (advanced settings) on the Airport Extreme base station.  This can keep machines from pulling down files, updates, etc., without your permission.

Cache data with a proxy server

Second, you can install a "caching" proxy server, such as Polipo http://www.pps.jussieu.fr/~jch/software/polipo/, which will allow multiple machines to access the same content, fed from your iMac instead of the Internet.  You'll need to perform the same sort of proxy chaining as you currently do with GlimmerBlocker.  You should look around for a caching proxy that offers plugins for ad blocking, etc.

Limit your bandwidth so you cannot exceed your daily transfer limit

Third, you could perform what is called "rate limiting", "traffic shaping," or "QoS" (Quality of Service) (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_shaping).  You can do this by installing software (http://intrarts.com/throttled.html is one I have Googled but have not used) or by purchasing a home router that offers this option and putting it between your AE base station and the satellite router.  Here's a list from CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com/routers/?filter=500563_5554972_

With this option, you could do some rough math to figure out, given your peak usage, how much bandwidth to allow to your network.  I don't think the software solution will work with your iMac proxy solution since people do not connect through the iMac (but the caching proxy will help) so you may have to spend $50 or so on a router and configure the allowed bandwidth.

This will basically cause you to treat your 200MB/day satellite connection as a 18kbps modem assuming 24 hours a day usage.  If you really only use it eight hours a day, you could have the equivalent of a 56kbps modem.  Fudge up or down based on your comfort level.  It will stink but you won't have overages, and you can always "turn it off" if you need to make a big download.  

It will also allow your entire family to download video or other media.  It will be self-correcting, in that it will be so painful to download high definition video that it won't be worth doing.