'Metered' Internet in Canada

[DiscoBoy]

A metered Internet is a regulatory failure - The Globe and Mail

But tell that to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the body supposedly responsible for regulating electronic media for our well-being. The CRTC has decided to allow Bell and other big telecom companies to change the way Canadians are billed for Internet access. Metering, or usage-based billing (UBB), will mean that service providers can charge per byte in addition to their basic access charges.

...

This is not what a lot of small Internet providers who use Bell Canada’s infrastructure wanted. But they are now subject to Bell Canada’s requirements, and will be forced to usage-bill their own customers. That’s how it’s already rippling out to create an entirely different economy of Internet use in Canada. That’s what the big telecoms wanted and the CRTC is in the process of giving it to them.

George Strombo explains here.

If you're Canadian, feel free to sign the petition to prevent this.

 

[bicuriousbc]

Nice...........

 

[Gillette]

service providers can charge per byte in addition to their basic access charges

Apparently it's not can charge but will charge.

The CRTC has ruled that all service providers must use the same rates so that there isn't a mass exodus to competitors not using UBB. It's to apply to ALL Canadian ISPs at the same rate with the exception of Francophones in Quebec who will be charged 2.5 times more.

WTF?

All the free wifi at Starbucks or wherever we can kiss goodbye.
Pirating wifi is going to skyrocket.

 

[DiscoBoy]

WTF?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[lucky8]

This type of service is absolutely TERRIBLE! I used to have a provider, mind you it was also the ONLY provider in the city I was living in, that charged by usage. Me and my roommate's bill was over $200 a month on average. It was insane. Every month we would call and complain and they said we were probably downloading too much via P2P programs. So my roommate and I both uninstalled every program we had that could be responsible for this. We even upgraded to the *gold* package and still no change. Sadly we do need government intervention on this one because ISP's across the globe are about the start raping us. The biggest problem is there's really no way to prove the ISP messed up, it's also really hard to monitor your monthly data usage. It's a one way mirror that completely fucks the consumer while lining the pockets of communication companies.

 

[DiscoBoy]

160,000 Strong Petition to Stop Internet Metering to Become Largest Online Action in Canadian History | OpenMedia.ca

UPDATE: Just got an email from them, so I'll post it here:

"Internet Metering Goes to Parliament

Dear Internet Supporters,

Last week the CRTC made a decision that, while disappointing, was nevertheless a small a step in the right direction. It rolled back 15% of the usage fee profits big telecom wanted to extract from indie ISPs. This is a big deal, and it shows that we’re turning the tides on this issue.

But the decision does leave Internet metering in place. The unnecessary fees charged to Canadians for Internet “overuse” will stifle innovation, ground-up entrepreneurialism, and social progress.
You responded to the CRTC’s weak-kneed decision by helping the Stop The Meter petition reach unprecedented numbers – 160,000+ signatures!

To stop new punitive fees from being imposed on us we need to get the Government to overturn the CRTC’s decision. Now that the NDP has come out against metering, the next step is the get the Liberals to adopt our position.

We think the Liberals are on the verge of coming out with a position on Internet metering and there can be little doubt that they’re facing a barrage telecom lobbyists at the moment. In response, we’ve made it so each petition signature triggers an email message to Michael Ignatieff and the Liberal Digital Critic Pablo Rodriguez. The best way to stop the meter is to get as many petition signatures as possible today.

Email the link: http://stopthemeter.ca

Share it on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/45nmvcv

Tweet it: http://tinyurl.com/4nxd52y/

We’ve definitely turned some heads in Ottawa already. Imagine what could happen if all 160,000 of us reach out as far as we can today.

You can find other resources to spread the word here:
http://openmedia.ca/meter/resources

For the Internet,

Steve and the OpenMedia.ca team

Support this campaign by making a small donation to our Stop the Meter Fund at http://openmedia.ca/drive. (This donation will cost you a lot less than a metered Internet)."

 

[DiscoBoy]

CRTC will rescind ‘unlimited use’ Internet decision – or Ottawa will overturn it - The Globe and Mail

The Harper government will overturn the CRTC’s decision that effectively ends “unlimited use” Internet plans if the regulator doesn’t rescind the decision itself.

Industry Minister Tony Clement made the surprise announcement late Wednesday night via his closely-followed Twitter account.
“True. CRTC must go back to drawing board,” he tweeted after being asked if it was true the government would act “if the CRTC does not back down."


Given this ultimatum from the Tories, the options facing the independent regulator are to reconsider the ruling of its own volition or see the cabinet use its power to reverse it.​

+1 to consumers.

The fight ain't over yet, however:

If the Harper government is forced to act, it would mean that independent Internet service providers would not be forced to switch to per-byte billing from “unlimited access” accounts.
It would not prevent the big Internet providers from continuing to use metered billing as they have for years. But the fact that smaller providers could offer unlimited accounts has likely acted as a competitive check on the market and helped keep prices from rising.