Usage Based Billing for Internet Connections

[FishBuddy]

I think the folks over at the CRTC should give their heads a shake!  Limiting the bandwidth to 25G /month?  You've got to be kidding me!  I've backup more data on a blu-ray disc in one setting!

This is like asking all of us to scrap the computer hard drive and start using the 1.44MB floppies to store data again. 

If this goes thru, it'll put us back to the stone age!  With today's advanced graphical websites and streaming multimedia, 25G/mo is like a drop in the bucket....  If they are to impose a limit on usage, at least put it to something reasonable; like 200G/mo or something like this.

Our levels of government are spending millions of dollars on promoting literacy each year.  Since most of the information today can be found on the internet (even grandpas & grandmas are using the internet these days!), putting such a restriction is another way of telling people 'not to read' anymore...

In the end, I think it all boils down greed! Bell and others just to make more and more money at the expense of the everyone as they have the monopoly.

Remembered what happens to long distance rates when Bell no longer a monopoly?

[Severum]

The wheels of the people are in motion. Tony Clement speaks...

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/powerplay#clip411156

[HappyGuppy]

I think the folks over at the CRTC should give their heads a shake!  Limiting the bandwidth to 25G /month?  You've got to be kidding me!  I've backup more data on a blu-ray disc in one setting!

This is like asking all of us to scrap the computer hard drive and start using the 1.44MB floppies to store data again. 

If this goes thru, it'll put us back to the stone age!  With today's advanced graphical websites and streaming multimedia, 25G/mo is like a drop in the bucket....  If they are to impose a limit on usage, at least put it to something reasonable; like 200G/mo or something like this.

Our levels of government are spending millions of dollars on promoting literacy each year.  Since most of the information today can be found on the internet (even grandpas & grandmas are using the internet these days!), putting such a restriction is another way of telling people 'not to read' anymore...

In the end, I think it all boils down greed! Bell and others just to make more and more money at the expense of the everyone as they have the monopoly.

Remembered what happens to long distance rates when Bell no longer a monopoly?

Two thumbs up FishBuddy.  That is well put... multiple good points.

[Severum]

Not sure if anyone cares about these links but Teksavvy just pwned O'Leary and Bell's Bibic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEIls-iZtx0

[Brent Shaver]

Kevin O'Leary is such an arrogant person, greed driving to the point of sickening.  Hard to believe he worked right here at mall beside me not so long ago.  There is so many people that are against this including many small providers that I can't see it ever taking hold.

This really does shine hard on how much truth there is behind big business running the CRTC.  Otherwise how could an organisation geared to work for the people come out in the back pocket of not one but two major companies.

[Rémi]

How does this affect Netscape & online TV?  Wasn't that supposed to be the "future"?

Man, I am so making a coat hanger antenna!

I have a feeling Netflix and other internet based sites of the sort will take a big hit. It affects their business because every movie or tv show you watch from the internet takes up some of your bandwith. So someone that has a netflix membership and watches 1-2 movies a week and a few shows will be paying a lot more for internet since every movie and show you watch online will take from whatever amount of internet you are paying for.

For example, 1 movie takes 1-2gig (give or take) and if you are paying for 25gig a month, you can only watch a few a week. Even less if you watch shows, youtube, etc.

[salvini55]

how would $300 be cheaper than $50 max overage charge? maybe I missed something

I was unaware of the $50 cap, thought it was $2 all the way up per extra gig. That saves me from renewing my library card

[Rémi]

I don't believe there is a cap of 25go/month. From my understanding, there is just no more «unlimited plan». I just checked my plan and I still get 65go for the same price as before. The only change is the cap is now 2$/extra go up to 60$ cap instead of a 30$ cap.

[Darth]

I was unaware of the $50 cap, thought it was $2 all the way up per extra gig. That saves me from renewing my library card

I know at rogers the cap is $50 because it always shows what I would have paid and then a credit so I pay $50 in overage been this way for quite sometime now

[Severum]

Ontarios has a 25 GB cap. Quebec has a 60 GB cap. According to Bell that is.

[Brent Shaver]

If it ever comes to where any company can sell there service, both Rogers and Bell will be in chapter 11 with in a year or two.  This is the main reason they have such a strong hold on the market, if they actually admitted how badly they rip people off they would be shut down.

I can't wait until the market opens because Rogers will be a thing of the past, if I could have a satelite I would be using an US based provider already.

[Nerine]

We have a 25GB cap...and we use it 45 a month....we end up paying $80ish for internet instead of $30. It's just Bell's way of making more money because they won't upgrade us to the next package so we can 'save' money Thanks Bell. I love you too. 

Was there ever an "unlimited" plan???

[Darth]

do they not have a bigger plan then 25 gb, I don't get it, that makes no sense some companies stink (was looking for a much harsher word but had to keep it pg =) )

[mseguin]

We pay for a bigger bandwidth usage (up to 65gb), its not expensive. Nothing is changing with this decison if you're with Bell, it affects their wholesale/resell customers. The larger issue that it may force is the ridiculous fees that Bell and Rogers charge for going over usage limits, that by their own admission are many times out of proportion to how much the delivery of the extra service costs them.

[HappyGuppy]

Here is a copy of the email Acanac, my isp, sent out today.

Dear Acanac Customer,

The CRTC just decided to allow Bell Canada to charge independent ISPs, like Acanac Inc., what's called "usage-based billing"(UBB)on our customers.

This means that Bell will force us to pay usages fees similar to those that Bell charges to its own retail customers, when you exceed certain limits. Bell and other Big Telecom companies are obviously trying to gouge consumers, control the Internet market, and ensure that consumers continue to subscribe to their television services.

If we do not fight this you will have no choice but to pay MORE for LESS Internet. This will crush innovative services, Canada's digital competitiveness, and your wallet.

250,000 people across Canada have already signed the petition to stop these companies from charging you more. Signing the petition automatically sends Industry Minister Tony Clement an email. This is our best chance to stop usage-based billing.

Please Sign the Stop The Meter petition at: http://stopthemeter.ca/ Please also help us spread the word to your friends and neighbors.

Please make your voices heard. If we don't stop UBB, as of March 4th, 2011,  Acanac will make the following changes to accommodate the charges that will be FORCED on us and subsequently you, our valued customers:

Ontario Residential 5Mbps DSL Plan:
First 25GB at up-to 5Mbps. Beyond 25GB your speeds will be reduced to 100Kbps with unlimited transfer.

If you wish to remain at up-to 5Mbps, you can buy an additional 100GB of transfer for $9.95 per month. Beyond 125GB, speeds will be reduced to 100Kbps with unlimited transfer.

Quebec Residential 5Mbps DSL Plan:
First 60GB at up-to 5Mbps. Beyond 60GB, your speeds will be reduced to 100Kbps with unlimited transfer.

If you wish to remain at up-to 5Mbps, you can buy an additional 100GB of transfer for $9.95 per month. Beyond 160GB speeds will be reduced to 100Kbps with unlimited transfer.

Ontario & Quebec Residential MLPPP DSL Plans:
Same as above but multiply it by the number of lines you have. If you have 2 lines or Home 10Mbps in Ontario, you would get 50GB included and you can buy an additional 200GB for $19.90. Once you reach your allocated transfer, your speeds will be reduced to 100Kbps per line with unlimited transfer.  In this scenario you would have a total of 200Kbps after 250GB of usage.




What if the transfer options above are not enough?

Priority number one is to sign the Stop The Meter petition at:
http://stopthemeter.ca/

In addition to signing the petition you can use an Online PC as a bypass to the imposed usage-based billing on you by Bell and the CRTC. In partnership with http://www.zazeen.com/, you can continue downloading at over 1TB or 1000GB a month for as little as $23.95 per month.

How does this work?
Instead of downloading your data directly to your local computer, it is downloaded onto your Online PC located in our DATA Center. Your Online PC is connected to multiple Fiber optic lines capable of over 30Gbps or 30,000Mbps. This will bypass the Bell copper lines and the imposed usage-based billing.

Once the Data is downloaded onto the online PC how do I get it to my local computer?

Secure overnight DATA Shipment.

Step One:
Copy or move the Data that is to be shipped into an encrypted file container that only you have access to. (Provided within the Online PC)

Step Two:
Ship Zazeen a SATA Hard Drive with enough capacity to hold your encrypted DATA content. If you ship a hard drive that has more space than your Online PC, we can hold on to it until you fill it up completely. With Hard Drives currently passing over 2TB or 2000GB, you can continue to download without  any additional UBB fees.

Step Three:
Zazeen will now copy your encrypted data onto the supplied Hard Drive. At this point, we will ship it overnight via FedEx: Acanac subscribers get 1 free data shipment per month.
More info at http://www.zazeen.com/Data-Shipment.html

Click below for an in depth video presentation of Zazeen's Online PC service. http://www.zazeen.com/Zazeen-Intro/Zazeen-Intro.html

Bandwidth Transfer tracking:
On Feb 20th, 2011, Acanac Inc. will have a new Internet usage section in the Management Area of our Web Site located at https://www.acanac.com/Login-Section.html In this location you will be able to pre-purchase additional usage blocks and check your daily bandwidth usage.

Once again please DO NOT FORGET TO SIGN the Stop The Meter petition at: http://stopthemeter.ca/



Best Regards,
Acanac Inc.
www.acanac.com

Telephone: +1 (866) 281?3538
Toronto 1-416-849-8520
Montreal 1-514-667-4304
Vancouver 1-778-786-4196
Ottawa 1-613-686-5217
Calgary 1-403-451-6156
Corporate Office
1650 Dundas Street East. Unit 204,
Mississauga, Ontario,
Canada
L4X 2Z3

Here is a copy of an email that is currently been forwarded and making the rounds.  I and my wife have forwarded this to many of our friends.  Am posting this here as a message for anyone who wants to use it to send to their friends.  I removed the name of the guy who wrote it though, as I know who he is, but don't think this letter to friends was meant to be posted on the internet.  Note that it does have a bit of a political bias, and I am not posting this here to rock the boat with anyone.  I have signed the petition about an hour ago myself.  Personally I hope that this is stoped... otherwise that's the end of watching fish on youtube!

My Dear Friends,

In case you have not yet become aware of it, the Canadian Government is about to implement an absolutely stupid (yes, I am choosing to use the word "stupid" here deliberately, and it is still as softer word than what I would authentically state) decision that could cripple Canada in many many ways.  However during the month of February we Canadians have the chance to fight the decision, and thus it is imperative that you read this email now, and to *TAKE ACTION NOW*.

The CRTC has decided to put sever restrictions upon how YOU use the Internet.  Everyone in Canada is imposed a sever restriction on how much they may download, and then be required to pay additional fees.  Right as we're facing a media revolution and Canadians are now using higher bandwidth for regular daily use.  The crazy thing is that this restriction has absolutely no valid reason for being, except to increase the profits of Bell & Rogers.  We are not experiencing Internet shortages, there is no crisis, no one is losing money (in fact they are already highly profitable)... there is NO reason for this!  It is sad to realize that the CRTC, which is supposed to be an unbiased government for the people, has obviously been bought off.

Fortunately higher levels of government are currently "reviewing" this decision, as they see that something is wrong here.  We have until the end of this month to voice our concerns about this issue and I would strongly URGE you to sign the petition at http://stopthemeter.ca/  and to urge all your friends to do the same.  Better yet do this http://www.antiubb.com/what-can-i-do/

Why is this so bad for us?  Well go here to read why http://www.antiubb.com/why-should-we-oppose-ubb/ but in a nutshell it will have a crippling effect upon Canada in many ways - our education, our businesses, our technological advancement, our entertainment, and this WILL have a negative effect upon YOU directly in how you enjoy the media revolution that Canadians would have to drop out from.

My friends, remember the history of the Avero Aero.  Remember how Canada was so foolish, no sorry, actually stupid, to abolish that?  Well, I believe that the silliness of that airplane is nothing in comparison to the stellarly idiotic change Canada is about to make.  Folks, I'll admit it, I've voted Conservative.  People are already voicing that this should be an election issue.  Liberals & NDP have already decided that they are against this nonsense.  Now I'm not saying that either Liberals or NDP are better, I won't even touch that with a 100 foot pole, but if this indeed becomes an election issue then I would urge you to vote against Conservatives because of how damaging this is to Canada as a whole.  If they don't reverse the CRTC decision in March 2011 then I wish upon them zero seats in Parliament in the next election.

Thank you for having read my short rant.  Now please take action by signing the petition and do what you can to add to the voice of the people crying out to the government to reconsider this foolishness.  Please feel free to copy & paste this email to your friends... all of them.  The window of opportunity is very short to save our Country from a huge mistake.

Sincerely,


P.S.  I apologize to anyone offended by my use of the word "stupid".  In times of outrage I take off my gloves.

P.P.S.  To anyone who is aligned with the Conservative party of Canada reading this... please contact the highest person you can reach to ask them to contact the right people who can influence these matters to give them a good shake.

P.P.P.S Please take at least an hour some time this week to do something for this cause.

P.P.P.P.S If you are either a Bell and/or Rogers customer then please consider switching your services to another provider, and be sure to tell them that the reason for the switch is to oppose their actions on this issue.  Your wallet is the loudest voice that they will listen to.

[Rémi]

Bell and Rogers haven't had unlimited internet packages for a number of years now. Other companies (such as tekksavy) used to have unlimited plans (pre-ruling). There is no 25gb cap in Ontario.

I currently have a 25gb plan with Bell and a 40gb add on (5$ more). So 65gb total for an less then 60$ a month after taxes. I have had it for a while and it does alright for my use as I can download a fair number of movies without going over (over 40 movies a month if I wanted).

This new ruling doesn't change much for me but I'm still opposed to it.

[HappyGuppy]

Remi, I just edited my post above to include an email I received from Acanac today (my isp), and it clearly shows what their proposed new plan will be for ontario, which does have a cap at 25gb.

I posted two emails above.  If you receive emails, the viral kind or from your isp, then please post them here.  This way we can see the offers from the isp, and what others are saying too.

[Brent Shaver]

They are pushing this not to increase there rates right now, they want to kill off all the small companies so the big 2 still have control of pricing.  I worked for rogers and they are all about owning the market, nothing less nothing more.

Nothing is different now, but I assure you if this is passed and kept.  Both Rogers and Bell will jack there prices greatly within a year.  They get this through and we will all pay for it for a long time.

[JetJumper]

There is no 25gb cap in Ontario.

This is not true.  As of March 1st, there is a 25gb CAP...

[Hookup]

This is not true.  As of March 1st, there is a 25gb CAP...

A cap = NO MORE DATA at 25gb.   Are you sure you're using that word correctly? (god i hope not)...

So March 1st you download a 25gb file (or files) and then you get NO MORE INTERNET, No email, no nothing until April?  That would be a cap.

God please tell me no.