Bandwidth is only used up while you are playing the game, so giving a time frame like that is pointless. Now I cannot be certain if this applies to AOM, but I do know that Empire Earth, a 3D rts that has a hell of a lot more units and so probably more info to transfer, only used up about 200k of my bandwidth. I am on 512k cable so this isn't bad at all. I can download, etc, while still playing the game and it will not cause significant downgrade of performance.
If you are on a 56k modem then playing games online will always slow down your machine, but once you stop playing these games the bandwidth will have freed up. If there are constant problems on your line you should consult your isp and find out what is going wrong. If you are on a network try seeing if the problem is caused by you and your brother trying to do things on the internet at the same time (play aom + download porn movies). Also some networks may have trouble allocating bandwidth between the different computers on the network if done through a router, so try using the more powerful of the machines.
All in all if you are on a single PC and are having internet problems, phone your internet service provider.
I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that[This message has been edited by HAL 9000 (edited 01-18-2003 @ 05:09 AM).]