Canada Imposing Usage Based Internet Billing?

blackacidevil said:
Interesting that on the online form for registering Internet complaints with the CRTC, they actually mention themselves "The CRTC does not regulate the rates, quality of service or business practices for Internet service providers. So we can’t pursue complaints about these services for you.
For more information, including where to send your comments or complaints, go to...

http://crtc.gc.ca/RapidsCCM/warning.asp?page=internetEng.htm&lang=E
Click to expand...
That disclaimer is so funny. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

I left my complaint anyway. I didn't put tons of effort into my complaint, but it basically captures why I'm pissed off.

my complaint:

Whereas Canada used to be a leader in Internet service, in recent years we've been falling behind other countries, including the USA, which itself is not exactly a world leader in Internet service.

My problem with the ruling is not the idea of UBB itself. If I put more strain on the network than my neighbor, then OF COURSE I should pay more. Paying "per GB" after a certain amount of data transfer isn't a bad idea, but the cost per GB should have some relationship to the ACTUAL COST of providing the service. A ridiculously low cap combined with $1/GB (or more) for "overage" is simply CRAZY. It's so OBVIOUSLY crooked to anyone who has a clue what it costs to provide this service.

The CRTC's UBB ruling ..:

1) .. is anti-competitive. It will bring in massive amounts of unearned revenue for the big service providers, while making it impossible for firms such as Netflix to operate here. The consumer is a big loser with this ruling.

2) .. effectively kills Internet service in this country. Anyone that enjoys playing online games, or watching HD videos on YouTube, or legally downloading HD movies from iTunes can basically forget about doing this stuff in the future, unless they're prepared to pay ridiculous fees for it.

3) .. reflects a serious problem with the CRTC as a whole. I don't know whether this problem has to do with idiocy or corruption. One thing is clear: the CRTC isn't working for the common person in this country, whereas it works EXCEEDINGLY WELL for big companies.

Why can't the CRTC be a positive force in this country? Why can you not respect the common person? I would vote for any party that promised to SERIOUSLY REFORM the CRTC to create a new commission that actually works for Canadians.

Thank you for listening to my concerns.​
I wanted to say "DIAF you fuckers!!!", but I tried to be more rational ;)
 
Do any of those nutballs realize the government owns the telcos in Canada?
 
fatrat said:
Do any of those nutballs realize the government owns the telcos in Canada?
Click to expand...
:confused:
Bell, Rogers, Shaw, Telus... these are all publicly traded companies. If anything, they are controlling the CRTC. Not all that different from special interests' influence over any government, really.
 
man...
isn't data transfering a fix cost for ISP?
how can they even justify charging for the amount of data we transfer?
like once you have the wires and server set up you just need to pay for utilities
not like if you need to transfer 100GB to india your data will be taxed to cross the boarder
 
Its an anti-competitive act by Bell Canada. It's no coincidence that their application to cap bandwidth amounts on independent ISP's (TPIA - third-party internet access) that use "their" infrastructure just happened to be at the same time NetFlix started offering services here (unlimited movie downloads for $8/mo.)
Bell has recently started their own fibre-optic network and offers TV over it (called FibeTV). Obviously, allowing TPIA's to offer "unlimited" data plans would cause Bell to potentially lose money from subscribers NOT using FibeTV. Interestingly enough, Bell admits that any bandwidth used by FibeTV is not applied to the subscriber's overall bandwidth usage. (Hmmmmmmmmm)

I had considered switching from Rogers (cable internet) to Bell's Fibe, but not after this. In addition to signing the petition, contacting your local MP's, and filing complaints with the CRTC, Canadians can also make their voice known with their wallets. As much as we love to bash Rogers' network, Bell and TPIA DSL-based users should switch to a cable-based ISP.
 
@ Americans:
Already happening.

Read through the thread, note the explanations "it started with wireless"

AT&T charges you $X for <1gb/month on your phone, then bills you extra per mb/gb
Tmobile has started doing the same.
Verizon, despite their high $$$ is a little better, allowing 4gb/month before "excessive useage" kicks in
Sprint does the same as Verizon, 4GB then "Excessive Useage"

Also, iirc Comcast has been exparimenting with these plans (or maybe it was charter, it was one of the 2 big cable providers)

Keep in mind that America has this "kill the piracy" mindset (when ultimately just means embracing "Big Brother") so if the Govt calls this a "tactic to stop piracy" most americans will support it!

It's only a matter of time before it hits the USA (and ultimately worldwide) Anyone who has an unlimited plan (especially a cellular one you can take with you if you move like the old "SERO" plans from Sprint) better hold onto it for dear life (streaming videos away from home one week I used 10gb, 12gb, 8gb, etc (every day >4gb) and sprint didnt even blink because I'm on SERO.

One counterpoint that is semi-legitimate for PPU billing:
if we start at 0 and pay per GB we use, then yes, granny checking her email and occasionally downloading new knitting patterns will be paying almost nothing while massive torrent-ers will pay through the nose. that *IS* legitimate billing (and likewise if said torrenter goes on vacation, his bill will drop) BUT this is _NOT_ how the system is set up.

Also:
Everyone can say goodbye to public wifi, wheather just an illsecured network or a coffee shop. Everyone will go there to download torrents/videos/etc and they wont be able to pay the $$$ (even Starbucks with it's $5/cup coffee wont be able to afford it (is there internet even free? seems like the 1 time I went there it was PPU...)

Other things to forget:
-logmein.com (and related services)
-VPNs (no more telecommuting!)
-Webcasts (podcasts may survive using really low bitrates and short 'casts)
-Xbox Live/PSN (same as steam, $$$ for DLC)
-Teamspeak/etc (same argument as Skype)
-Home servailence when on vacation (including many home alarm services)
-off-site backup (mainly businesses but we all at some point have something, not to mention "The Cloud" is comming...)
-Dropbox (and similar sync'ing programs --- though these may just devolve into "LAN-only" sync)
-Casual online games (yeah, your mom/dad/dog/whoever that plays MSN games will eventually get bit)
-Art sites (Deviant Art) though these may become "view thumbnail only, PM me for email of full pic"
-4chan (though arguably this might be a good thing...)
-Internet Radio
-Online Shopping (didnt see that one didja? but all those fancy eBay listings with 500 graphics will slowly errode your bandwidth)
-Email may even get hit, if you receive lots of spam!

In essence we'll be thrown back to the days of dialup, as far as what websites offer, but with that annoying nagging knowledge that it is more than possible for it to be better (as it is now)

Other than holding onto our plans, what else can we do? Honestly nothing. Do you people really think a few (thousand) angry letters will do anything? the only reason civil rights and anti-prohibition worked is because they were violent and threatened to send areas into anarchy. Nobody today has the guts to do anything, so we're all just lambs headed for the slaughter.

Enjoy the ride, the end is in sight...
 
Looks like this may come our way in the US too. Better yet the MPAA will likely soon play a much larger role in internet regulation and usage.

Are we heading for another dark age? Corporations want us to dumb down the technology we have created so that only the wealthy can afford to use it?
 
10e said:
First report of the "new billing" for those on third party internet companies that were making use of Bell's network:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...t-bitter-dose-of-metered-internet-billing.ars
Click to expand...

This pretty much sums up what's happening over at Teksavvy. Everyday hundreds of users were jumping ship from Bell over to us. Better pricing, no contracts, a 200G cap with our cheapest service proved to be more than fierce competition. To think this switch could be made with NO cost to the consumer as far as activation went. Why wouldn't you?

Now, the playing field has levelled. Our pricing hardly differs from Bell's pricing. I've had customers calling in claiming it looked like Bell copied and pasted our services.

The one thing this article failed to mention is that we are a prepaid service, and because of this if a customer goes over their alloted UBB for the month, their line slows to a 64kbs crawl until it eventually goes dead after a couple of days. To prevent this customers will need to have money set aside in a vault, so that when you do go over your usage, the $1.90 can be pulled from that vault so your connection doesn't die.

Things just got a whole lot more complicated at Teksavvy. Before you could pay your $31.95 a month without worrying about overages or rationing your bandwidth. We need to protest this to the fullest. Take action and voice your opinion. Teksavvy's response and links to petitions are on our homepage.

Also, please read the articles and google this nonsense before calling us. The call volume since this ruling has been fucking ridiculous.
 
Yeah, people should google this first and not spamming you on this decision.

They should be informed and stop being typical Canadians who take it up (you know where) and just roll over with an open orifice looking for more.

I've been tracking this since December, and it's abhorrent that this is being done, and that TekSavvy, Acanac, and all the smaller players are being driven to facelessness by greedy companies that have duped the idiots at the CRTC into this. I laugh when I read the CRTC page and see that they are "representatives of the Canadian consumer."

What's even funnier is like other big monopolizers, a great amount of government funding was helped in the implementation of a lot of the supporting infrastructure for all the big players, and yet people are being hit again in questionable ecomomic times. Yeah the Canadian ecomomy is showing some recovery but do we really need another shot in the wallet.

And all this ranting from me, an unlimited Bell internet Customer.

Yeah, they ban the song "money for nothing" for the use of the word "faggot" on Canadian Airwaves because of 250 complaints, but with 230,000 petitions and counting, they have not budged on this stupid UBB (more like behavior based billing). The more I read, the more I become incensed.

Here's another great article on this:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/2010/01/rogers-cable-to-hike-internet-overage-fees-by-100/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top