Stop The Meter On Your Internet Use

[TheDogFather]

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are about to impose usage-based billing on YOU.


This means we're looking at a future where ISPs will charge per byte, the way they do with smart phones. If we allow this to happen Canadians will have no choice but to pay MUCH more for less Internet. Big Telecom companies are obviously trying to gouge consumers, control the Internet market, and ensure that consumers continue to subscribe to their television services.

These Big Telecom companies are forcing small competing ISPs to adopt the same pricing scheme, so that we have no choice but to pay these punitive fees.

This will crush innovative services, Canada's digital competitiveness, and your wallet.

We urgently need to send a clear message to Ottawa, saying that we won't stand by while some of the most profitable companies in the country indiscriminately add news fees to our Internet bills. Enough is enough.

UPDATE: The CRTC is set to make a critical decision about Internet metering in a matter of days!

Please sign the petition here (http://openmedia.ca/meter).

Thanks!

-TDF

[Funky_Fish14]

Signed.

[phi delt reefer]

signed - I use Teksavvy (bell reseller) but the owner Rocco is also trying to derail the motives of the big 3 and their monopoly on the country.

[lastlight]

Done.

I so wouldn't be surprised if I just signed up to get telemarketing calls at 10pm at night and more junk mail in both my email and mail box. That's the *real* beauty of playing on the internet.

[hillegom]

I signed up for those late night calls as well lol

[TheDogFather]

I signed up for those late night calls as well lol

Please, this is a serious issue and insinuating that the petition will sign you up for telemarketing calls does not help the issue.

That being said, thanks for taking the time to sign it and please forward the link to anyone who cares about fair competition for ISP's in Canada!

-TDF

[ALang]

Signed, and forwarded this to all my contacts. Hopefully they'll sign, too.
What a crock of sh*t this is. We are forever paying more for less. Thanks for the thread.

[randallino]

Done, thanks for the heads up!

[mseepman]

Signed...thanks for passing the info on.

[Coleus]

wow this is horrible idea. Good for IPSs and very bad for consumers. Signed and forwarded to others

[lastlight]

Please, this is a serious issue and insinuating that the petition will sign you up for telemarketing calls does not help the issue.

That being said, thanks for taking the time to sign it and please forward the link to anyone who cares about fair competition for ISP's in Canada!

-TDF

I was the one that made the joke you can be serious with me if you'd like lol.

[globaldesigns]

I have a different take on this, and do agree with the ISP's in many ways.

Here is an article about it on CBC:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2011/01/07/internet-expensive-surfing-canadians.html

I think the problem is that the ISP's will make it a cash grab and screw everyone, but in reality they should apply the fees to the abusers only.

If the ISP's were smart they would provide packages. If you are a small user, surfing the occasional website and doing email... Then no change or even better a lower price, but if you use Netflix for 5 hours a night, download tonnes of music or whatever, then you pick a higher usage package, if you need more bandwidth then again you pay more. I see no problem with that, based on that is the major cost to all ISP's, Hosting companies and so on...

Lets see what happens, but most likely as I already stated, the ISP will take advantage of the basic usage and gouge them some extra cash.

[Carrera75]

Signed, thanks for the heads up.

[MitchM]

If the ISP's don't charge more for city internet usage (especially heavy users), how are they supposed to fund expansion of reasonable rural broadband service?

:mrgreen:

[lastlight]

If the ISP's don't charge more for city internet usage (especially heavy users), how are they supposed to fund expansion of reasonable rural broadband service?

:mrgreen:

No LFS and no high-speed. Sort it out Mitch!

[Lampshade]

I don't want to be the big negative on this one.. but i think it's be good. Why am i paying for other people to download movies? It's like your electrical bill, if we all paid an average rate i'd be ****ed that my house is heated with gas. My theory is that most people only use a fraction of their internet, others download 60GB+ a month(max on shaw). I download some movies, but no where near the amount some other people run, so why do i pay the same as them?

Anyways, my 2 cents, there's always 2 sides to an argument.

[MitchM]

No LFS and no high-speed. Sort it out Mitch!

You don't want me to move back to the city do you?

...hmm, maybe you need a new neighbour?:twised:

[lastlight]

Anyways, my 2 cents, there's always 2 sides to an argument.

Yeah the side of me that wants to download movies still signed the petition as a gut reaction. If this change actually meant users who download less would pay less than their CURRENT amount (I doubt that will happen) I'd sorta support it because I still don't use all that much bandwidth with a movie here and there.

[Parker]

I agree with Lampshade,

I don't see a problem with paying for a service as used.

[bignose]

I signed the petition because there are only a few ISP companies to choose from and they make a lot money. All companies lose money in someway or another, everyone knows that. We as consumers who already pay high prices for services should not have to pay these new fees. I'm not sure what the percentage of abusers there are but I'm sure it's no where near the percentage of people who don't abuse the service. IMHO it's huge cash grab and they will take full advantage and integrate these new fees into everyone's monthly bill, abuser or not.

[DiverDude]

I think the problem is that the ISP's will make it a cash grab and screw everyone, but in reality they should apply the fees to the abusers only.

I'm with Rick on this one. Why should my mother who uses maybe a couple of Gig a month suddenly pay more for internet because somebody sits on their couch all day watching movies on Netflix ?

I think Rick's got it nailed -the big companies are looking to apply moderate rate increases across the board -and this will bring them MUCH more cash than simply billing the abusers. Of course, that detail will never see the light of day; they'll just point out that bandwidth usage is increasing all the time (and it is) and that everyone has to pay more.

I'll sign the petition because I know that's what going to happen and that's not right. However, I approve of (and would support) a proper initiative to see them cover their additional costs on abusers.

[TheDogFather]

I have a different take on this, and do agree with the ISP's in many ways.

Here is an article about it on CBC:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2011/01/07/internet-expensive-surfing-canadians.html

I think the problem is that the ISP's will make it a cash grab and screw everyone, but in reality they should apply the fees to the abusers only.

If the ISP's were smart they would provide packages. If you are a small user, surfing the occasional website and doing email... Then no change or even better a lower price, but if you use Netflix for 5 hours a night, download tonnes of music or whatever, then you pick a higher usage package, if you need more bandwidth then again you pay more. I see no problem with that, based on that is the major cost to all ISP's, Hosting companies and so on...

Lets see what happens, but most likely as I already stated, the ISP will take advantage of the basic usage and gouge them some extra cash.

The problem is that small ISP's that resell DSL cannot compete on a level playing field. Bell set's the wholesale pricing and is free to under cut the little guy with individual promotions. This effectively wipes out the small players leaving you no other option but Bell or Rogers who are then free to impose tiny caps so you can't enjoy services such as Netflix without paying exorbitant band width charges. The actual cost of 1GB data transfer is about $0.02. Bell and Rogers will charge you $1-$2 per GB raking in huge profits and stifling innovation.

[corpusse]

I can't remember a time when I didn't have a cap. I have no idea what unlimited use feels like anymore.

In the old days sympatico used to cap at 5 gigs up 5 gigs down!! I'd be done in a couple of days.

I'm now capped at 125 gigs which is pretty reasonable on rogers. The only problem is I can't use the bandwidth for what I want. My primary bandwidth use was sharing live (not copywritten) music on Bit Torrent. I realize the majority of BT traffic is for pirated stuff but there are plenty of legit uses for it too.

[lastlight]

I was young and living at home and we had cadvision dial-up. I downloaded my first 2 gigs of mp3s...some were actually mp2s lol by secretly leaving the computer ON at night. My dad had this thing about us shutting it off at night. Anyways we all found out about the limits on the account that month and the next month I was the first of my friends to have their own dedicated high speed connections haha. My folks had dial-up upstairs for a couple more years.

[ponokareefer]

This has the potential to be extremely bad for people in general in Canada. Who typically uses the most internet? Businesses! They already pay higher fees than personal consumers, so if they have a to a lot more, they are going to be raising their prices to their consumers. What it will amount to is inflation for the country as a whole.

[JMes]

Impossibe to abuse your ISP. ISP monitor every byte you download and upload,every website you surf on is logged. Why do you think hackers use proxies. If you abuse your ISP by hammering the server you will get a phone call from the Shaw police,if you continue they will shut you down.(been there done that). For the cost effective package on Shaw you have 70gb data transfer limit per month.
Shaw already offers different internet packages. I switched to the business over 10 years ago as I am a heavy downloader off the news servers.
It's faster and my transfer limit is alot more than the cheaper package they offer. I still pay less today then I did 16 years ago on dial up.
This is just an excuse to raise the rates. In reality it's because internet has become so mainstream and integrated in everyday life. Look how we access and use the internet via from 10 years ago.(ipods,iphones,wireless,utube,facebook ect). For most people the reason they have a computer is to access and communicate on the internet. With all the advancements there's a downside. Sure,the IPS make money,but costs alot of money to upgrade their system,upgrade the speed,and
maintenance. If ISP raise rates are you going to stop using the internet? At the end of the day it's going to be the consumer that has to pay. It's inevitable.:(

[lastlight]

It's crack that's legal. Everyone will pay.

[albert_dao]

This is a crock of s--T.

Cable/media content providers should never be intertwined with ISP's. That's a serious conflict of interest and should never have been allowed in the first place.

[TheDogFather]

This is a crock of s--T.

Cable/media content providers should never be intertwined with ISP's. That's a serious conflict of interest and should never have been allowed in the first place.

Agreed. Because the CRTC is staffed with former telecom executives virtually every ruling will benefit the telcos and almost never the paying public. :twised:

One of the greatest examples was when the CRTC put Bell Canada in charge of the telemarketing do-not-call list. That is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house...

-TDF

[albert_dao]

Or Fox News in charge of keeping the American public informed... Oh, wait... That's a reality also. Rats.

[freezetyle]

The problem is that small ISP's that resell DSL cannot compete on a level playing field. Bell set's the wholesale pricing and is free to under cut the little guy with individual promotions. This effectively wipes out the small players leaving you no other option but Bell or Rogers who are then free to impose tiny caps so you can't enjoy services such as Netflix without paying exorbitant band width charges. The actual cost of 1GB data transfer is about $0.02. Bell and Rogers will charge you $1-$2 per GB raking in huge profits and stifling innovation.

I agree with the 100% look at canada's cell phone plan rates compared to the us and Europe. We are getting overcharged for the same service. A basic cell phone plan with data starts around 80 dollars a month thats with 350 daytime mins unlimited evening/weekend , and 500 mb of data. just checking verizon website you can get unlimited calling and unlimited data for 20 dollars more.


I am willing to give a little credit to canadian suppliers because don't get nearly as many dropped calls. Its still unfair

[fishytime]

Signed!

[Doug]

Or Fox News in charge of keeping the American public informed... Oh, wait... That's a reality also. Rats.

In your opinion. Please leave the politics out.

Thanks

[albert_dao]

In your opinion. Please leave the politics out.

Thanks

Oh pish posh, I wasn't trying to be divisive. Consider it ill-motivated, residual humor stemming from a previous coffee machine-side conversation. A million apologies to the powers that be - may my ancestors forever scowl upon my shame.

[Doug]

Oh pish posh, I wasn't trying to be divisive. Consider it ill-motivated, residual humor stemming from a previous coffee machine-side conversation. A million apologies to the powers that be - may my ancestors forever scowl upon my shame.

:lol: I cant speak after all that. :lol: I know you did not throw it in to be divisive. I was just taking a poke at your post. Your million apologies are accepted, {on behalf of the power that be}. :mrgreen:

[Skimmerking]

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are about to impose usage-based billing on YOU.


This means we're looking at a future where ISPs will charge per byte, the way they do with smart phones. If we allow this to happen Canadians will have no choice but to pay MUCH more for less Internet. Big Telecom companies are obviously trying to gouge consumers, control the Internet market, and ensure that consumers continue to subscribe to their television services.

These Big Telecom companies are forcing small competing ISPs to adopt the same pricing scheme, so that we have no choice but to pay these punitive fees.

This will crush innovative services, Canada's digital competitiveness, and your wallet.

We urgently need to send a clear message to Ottawa, saying that we won't stand by while some of the most profitable companies in the country indiscriminately add news fees to our Internet bills. Enough is enough.

UPDATE: The CRTC is set to make a critical decision about Internet metering in a matter of days!

Please sign the petition here (http://openmedia.ca/meter).

Thanks!

-TDF

its for the persons living in ONTARIO. must suck high power rates and now internet rates for you guys are going up .

[The Grizz]

Done and done, I am on Platinum for rural Alberta. It is a flat month rate and is unlimited usage so this is just another way for the MAN to take more $$$ out of my pocket.

[Doug]

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/01/31/technology-internet-usage-based-billing.html

Does this mean the write in failed to stop it ?

[Veng68]

Just checked the petition......... ~190K people signed.............. out of ~34 million that's not even a drop in the bucket.

Cheers,
Vic

[reefermadness]

Guys....unless you have a third party reseller of rogers,bell etc. that offers an uncapped package this will likely not affect you. Anyone buying service from Bell, Rogers, Cogeco etc are already metered and those rates are likely not to change..infact you will be getting more and more over time as the networks are getting faster and cheaper to build. Think about it...most of us payed the same price for dial up years ago as our high speed today. Than we had 5gig cap....now I have a 60gig cap.

As someone who is in the telecommunications industry and knows how the internet works I have to say.....are you upset that you would have to pay more for a faster connection? If not than why are you upset that you would have to pay more for more bandwidth? The internet is shared, speed and bandwidth both cost the provider...it would only make sense that we pay for both as well.

I think the problem in Canada is the lack of competion....but to me this has nothing to do with that.

Also another issue that is way more important in my eyes is net neutrality. Once speed and bandwidth are payed for it should only be my business as to how I use the public internet.

[TheDogFather]

This smells like a victory to me... :biggrin:

Ottawa to reverse CRTC decision on Internet billing (http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/932571--ottawa-to-reverse-crtc-decision-on-internet-billing?bn=1)

[Megalodon]

This smells like a victory to me... :biggrin:

Ottawa to reverse CRTC decision on Internet billing (http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/932571--ottawa-to-reverse-crtc-decision-on-internet-billing?bn=1)Hehe, I was just going to post that.

Awesome!