Useless usage-based billing
p2pnet news view Freedom | P2P:- This is for anyone who’s concerned about online rights as opposed to corporate bottom lines.
Below is a letter sent to all TekSavvy customers »»»
We are writing to you today as many activities are underway to shape/reshape Internet use as you all know it. Over the last year some of you have been made aware and/or have seen activities on throttling in the news or in your daily lives. Another proceeding relating to the Internet in Canada required Telecom providers (Bell/Telus/etc.) to provide ISPs with wholesale service speeds that match those that they offer to their own retail customers.
Specifically, Bell has been directed by the CRTC to provide matching\ speeds which would allow us all to have more flexibility in our day to day online requirements. Instead of adhering to these directives, Bell decided to take this issue to the federal Cabinet and at the same time file a tariff application with the CRTC proposing to introduce Usage Based Billing (UBB) on its wholesale customer accounts.
What does this mean for you, the consumer?
Bell provides TekSavvy with last mile, wholesale DSL access services, which TekSavvy uses to provide you with your Internet access. If Bell were to be allowed to introduce UBB on this service, a cap of 60GB would be imposed on all of its users, with very heavy penalties per Gigabyte afterwards (multiple times more than our current per Gigabyte rate of $0.25/GB on overages). This would inherently all but remove Unlimited internet services in Ontario/Quebec and potentially cause large increases in internet costs from month to month.
If you’d like to make your comments/concerns known about what Bell is attempting to do, please do so here:
http://support.crtc.gc.ca/crtcsubmissionmu/forms/Telecom.aspx?lang=e
Select the word “Tariff” from the drop down list.
Add the following in Subject Line “File Number # 8740-B2-200904989 – Bell Canada – TN 7181″ and make your thoughts known!
The deadline for filing your comments is today at midnight, so hurry!
“We’re very opposed to the Usage Based Billing idea,” TekSavvy CEO Rocky Gaudrault told p2pnet. “It should serve as additional evidence that Bell attempting to control the marketplace. We have no clue why they’re attempting this as there are many other proceedings that need to be dealt with.
“Consumer concerns and rights must come first.”
April 8, 2009
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April 14th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Will send my CRTC letter this evening.
April 14th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
This is why I love being a customer of Teksavvy.
April 14th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
@Stacey B.
I’m not with TekSavvy.
I’m not with any DSL company.
I 100% refuse to use DSL because a percentage goes to Bell Canada.
I can not bring myself to knowingly, even via a 3rd party, give Bell Canada my money.
Fuck Bell.
However, I have to give TekSavvy my two thumbs up.
I have never seen a company so active with their users, informing their users, participating with their users, politically involved with their users, and helping their users like TekSavvy does.
If ever I had to bite the bullet, TekSavvy would be where I would go because of what they stand for in Canada, which is more than any ISP in this country.
They are a voice of a people, far and large.
TSI is more than an ISP.
April 14th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
+1 to the comment above.
If youâd like to make your comments/concerns known about what Bell is attempting to do, please do so here:
http://support.crtc.gc.ca/crtcsubmissionmu/forms/Telecom.aspx?lang=e
Select the word âTariffâ from the drop down list.
Add the following in Subject Line âFile Number # 8740-B2-200904989 – Bell Canada – TN 7181â³ and make your thoughts known!
The deadline for filing your comments is today at midnight, so hurry!
April 15th, 2009 at 5:46 am
how do you fell about usage based billing and caps
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/04/14/bell-unlimited-download.html
help canada be unlimited
April 15th, 2009 at 8:57 am
60GB in a month, then they charge you?
How much do people download? I may download 6gigs in a month if that.
Hell I don’t think I would have time to download 60gig in a month. Maybe if I never used my PC and just downloaded.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:23 am
@RW above
You alone admitted you do 6-gigs a month, based on what you do.
Lets take this example further to a family of 4
4×6-gigs = 24-gigs.
This is a best case scenario with people doing exactly what you do.
The kids:
The kids will be heavy into youtube, heavy into online radio, streaming and online gaming and patch updates
One of the kids will get into linux and stuff like that
One of the kids may watch WebTV (or even P2PTV)
One of the kids will like to use P2P to get music or make a music collection
One of the kids will likely use P2P to grab a game (kids are kids and do what they do)
Mom:
She sure does like to send those useless pictures of the family around to everyone
She missed her fav show, blocked from seeing it on CBS so she will download that show of Ugly Betty via P2P
Dad:
He will also grab that last season show of Corner Gas he missed via P2P
He gets a kick into trying all that freeware crap
This is probably just the regular family.
There is more outthere than this.
Some will use the net for all their TV needs using a proxy to be able to get it from the US (Telco’s don’t like this since they sell a competing TV service)
The regular nuclear family will blow through 60-gigs easy.
Who are you kidding? What are you trying to prove?
Since you only use Email, why don’t you change to dial-up?
July 4th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
SO this is mighty CANADA ? Its so overadvertised in many publications. Its so consumers enemy. Its institutions (like CRTC) bring shame on this country. Bell is a particular thief and manipulator. Those practises of Bell and CRTC are bringing us 2 levels “behind Africa”. Look at Romania for example. 10 years ago they didnt know what internet is, now they enjoy highest quality of ISP services in the world, (ultra fast, no limits, friendly service). Canada allows this mafia practises and what it will achieve? I am sure people will not like to come here any more . As for me I am fed up with those negative improvements in many fields in this country . I was so hopeful coming here but it has no sense to stay here any longer. I am coming back to Europe.
August 16th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
You might want to update the news:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2009/2009-484.htm
>The Commission approves on an interim basis, with one change, Bell Aliant’s and Bell Canada’s requests to introduce, for Gateway Access Services, two new speed options, usage-based billing rates, and a charge for excessive usage.
August 28th, 2009 at 3:39 am
I seem to be spending an absurd amount of time on my new blog http://stopusagebasedbilling.wordpress.com/ because I believe not only that this will be bad for you and me in the short term because suddenly we’ll be paying so much more for the same thing we have now, but also because it will be long term terrible for Canada.
If Usage Based Billing is actually implemented it will make Canadians change how we use the internt, which will in turn do serious damage to the Canadian economy.
Because the only major Canadian media news outlet not owned by Bell Canada or Rogers is CBC, and excepting the online commentary CBC has been the lone voice in the wilderness.
So the biggest problem is that most Canadians don’t even know that this is happening– and won’t until they get hit with a really big internet bill. Even if they’ve heard something, most of us don’t know the jargon. Possibly the single most important thing in my blog is a Usage Based Billing GLOSSARY I’ve put together (initially for my own benefit) to explain the jargon at http://stopusagebasedbilling.wordpress.com/2009/08/22/usage-based-billing-a-glossary/
But probably the most important thing that we can do right now is to let the government know that Canadians are really angry and really serious about this is to sign the online petition:
http://dissolvethecrtc.ca/