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Usage Based Billing in Canada

K

kishy

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Messages
1,065
Location
Windsor, ON Canada
I know we have some Canadian members here, so...copying the content I posted on another forum:

There is a lot of documentation on this topic online. It has earned international attention. A sampling of the available reading, not all recent but all relevant:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r25393817-WATCH-Strombo-Talks-About-The-Impending-Metered-Internet

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...ght-be-americas-hat-but-we-dont-like-caps.ars

http://business.financialpost.com/2...ing-as-netflix-questions-its-canadian-future/

http://www.cbc.ca/spark/2011/01/ful...on-usage-based-billing-and-marketplace-drama/

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/09/21/mts-usage-based-billing-crtc-bell.html

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/crtc-decision-ubb-996533/

http://stopusagebasedbilling.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/crtc-approved-ubb/

http://stopusagebasedbilling.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/crtc-renegs-ubb-is-coming-soon/

http://arstechnica.com/telecom/news...tube-war-against-metered-internet-billing.ars

> If you believe this is the wrong direction for a developed nation with established infrastructure and, supposedly, "consumer choice" you should sign the petition against UBB.

Feel free the discuss the issue...but when I saw that the proposed caps will be 2GB on a vast number of DSL connections including my own, I kind of had to speak up. My typical usage habits rarely exceed 30GB for a month. With a 2GB cap before needing to pay more, I couldn't even do my school related work (emailing files back and forth, downloading PowerPoints and assignment related content from my school's Blackboard site, necessary research and content gathering for school work). It simply isn't possible.
 
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Yeah, I'm in and just signed the petition.

Canada is WAY down the list of value for price for internet service behind countries that aren't even in the G8 group and we are getting gouged with the government's blessing.
 
Druid6900 said:
Yeah, I'm in and just signed the petition.

Canada is WAY down the list of value for price for internet service behind countries that aren't even in the G8 group and we are getting gouged with the government's blessing.
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Me too.

Where I live, the broadband performance is beat by Africa. My provider (only one in the area) currently offers "10 gig" per month with a $10 per "gig" over charge. Assuming they mean gigaBytes, that makes the price of a DVD about $4. If their statements are true then we would basically be getting 173 hours per month at the 1.5Gbps that they offer. Luckily they don't bother metering, but I guess that will change.

I did a few more calculations and determined that if they enforce the written contract, then I can run internet radio for five hours and 47 minutes per day - if I don't browse or anything else. The price for that internet radio is 20 cents per hour up to the first 173 hours and after that it jumps to $2.00 per hour.

That is what a Canadian ISP contract looks like. Hopefully this new bill won't precipitate it's enforcement.

Edit: Good thing nobody checked my figures. A DVD costs about $14 each for the first 2.5 and then they'll be $40 each after that. Also the internet radio will not be $2 per hour after the first 173 hours but only $0.58 per hour. Still, the rates are way out of line.

I hope everybody here in Canada passes on the link to the petition. Kishi's list of links is excellent too.
 
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Of course, back in the dialup days it was common for the cost of service to be based on usage. You usually got a certain number of free hours per month as part of the plan, and then you paid an hourly fee for any usage above that threshold. Higher connection speeds (9600 BPS or higher) would cost extra, too!

I believe America Online was the one who pioneered a flat monthly rate with unlimited usage, and as a result they gained tons of users but never made a profit again. I used CompuServe, which gave you a choice: either $9.99 per month with 5 hours free (plus an hourly charge above that), or $24.99 per month for unlimited use. They were my dialup ISP until I finally got DSL in 2004.
 
The difference now is that it is an attempt to put the small and independent ISPs out of business. It is also a way for the old school content industry to control the net. So everybody wins! Depending of course on how you define "everybody".

Here is an explanation disguised as a parody. :D
 
GEnie went with a flat monthly rate for nights and weekends before AOL went fully flat fee.

I would trust a lot of these bandwidth restriction schemes with increased costs if low traffic time periods would be free or really really cheap. No congestion should mean no congestion charges.
 
I don't know how the rest of Canada works, but, around here, if you have cable internet access, you have to use whichever ISPs area you are in, so, competition is ZERO and they just, basically, charge what they think they can get away with. Your option is to switch to DSL.
 
DSL is the same deal - but with Bell Canada for most of Ontario. Only up north do you find another provider's lines, I believe.

Petition signatures are growing considerably. Good to see us Canadians standing up against this stuff.
 
Druid6900 said:
I don't know how the rest of Canada works, but, around here, if you have cable internet access, you have to use whichever ISPs area you are in, so, competition is ZERO and they just, basically, charge what they think they can get away with. Your option is to switch to DSL.
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In rural areas on the "Connecting Rural Canadians" program there is also only one choice. From the site:
Broadband internet access is viewed as essential infrastructure for participating in today's economy, as it enables citizens, businesses and institutions to access information, services and opportunities that could otherwise be out of reach.
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Since a lot of the time I don't get to participate and I get ping times measured in seconds, I thought I'd see about complaining. Here is what the CRTC says about that:
The CRTC does not regulate rates, quality of service issues or business practices of Internet service providers as they relate to retail customers. This is because there is enough competition in the market that retail customers can shop around for service packages.
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That is not correct and I see even where Druid6900 lives, it is not. Not only that but the CRTC suggests that one complain to the ISP and that if that doesn't work only then will they view your complaint. They also state that the ISP has a right to know who complained. Do they know what it is like to live in a small town and pick a fight with your neighbour? For them to suggest that is completely irresponsible.
 
NDP hopped on a couple days ago IIRC, and the Liberals have now today. It would be pretty difficult for the Conservatives to not reverse the CRTC's BS and still maintain popularity (how they got it to begin with is beyond me, but that's another issue).
 
kishy said:
NDP hopped on a couple days ago IIRC, and the Liberals have now today. It would be pretty difficult for the Conservatives to not reverse the CRTC's BS and still maintain popularity (how they got it to begin with is beyond me, but that's another issue).
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Sounds a lot like the Republican hype and misinformation against "Net Neutrality" here in the U.S., claiming that Internet providers should be given the right to block, filter, and/or slow down access to certain web sites -- or to charge more for uninhibited access to these sites -- based on competitive "free market" demands.
 
right now bell is pretty good. it only costs about $40 a month. 65gb bandwidth up to 6mb down and up to 1 up.
 
wolfie said:
right now bell is pretty good. it only costs about $40 a month. 65gb bandwidth up to 6mb down and up to 1 up.
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The fact that anyone could think that is anywhere near 'pretty good' is just evidence of how screwed up Internet access is in Canada (and indeed lots of North America).

In the context of what is available, sure, it's not bad...but TekSavvy has been doing 5Mb/1Mb (I think it's 1 up) with 200GB for approximately the same. Then factor in the 24/7 phone support with someone local (Chatham area?) to discuss ANY issue - not just lame, cookie-cutter troubleshooting steps, but account and billing issues and actual technical info if desired.
 
Never mind.

emily-litella.jpg
 
Yeah, but we aren't out of trouble quite yet - the CRTC is stating quite strongly they believe it is a proper way to charge for internet access.

We won't have anything remotely fair until there are regulations set in stone mandating minimum levels of service with maximum levels of price...but that's wishful thinking...
 
I wouldnt be able to handle capped internet. I have a 22/6 cable line that I get 30/10 on. What with netflix and 4 people using it my monthly usage typically is about 750gb a month with 1tb not being uncommon.
 
750 gb or GB? My miserable DSL service (which Qwest tells me is the best they can do) is 1.5Mb, or about 1/6th the speed of an old 10baseT network connection.

I would be very happy indeed if it were 1.5MB.
 
750GB to 1TB monthly usage. my "advertised" rates are 22Mb/6Mb. Because I'm so close to the central node, and that I made sure everyone that lives near me gets DSL ( i have cable) I OFTEN max out the modem at 30/10. I've seen torrent downloads that hit 3MB/s. Sadly the next teir of speed is a $100/mo price increase and I cant justify that for 50/20 internet.
 
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