200GB to 25GB: Canada gets first, bitter dose of metered Internet

[waggy]

This scares me.


Metered Internet usage (also called "Usage-Based Billing") is coming to Canada, and it's going to cost Internet users. While an advance guard of Canadians are expressing creative outrage at the prospect of having to pay inflated prices for Internet use charged by the gigabyte, the consequences probably haven't set in for most consumers. Now, however, independent Canadian ISPs are publishing their revised data plans, and they aren't pretty.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/01/canada-gets-first-bitter-dose-of-metered-internet-billing.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

[xudash]

What a stupid thing to do.

[SixFig]

I'm guessing the amount of Canadians watching porn has decreased dramatically.

[Cheesehead]

I call BS. I also have a really good idea for an alternative internet company should this practice be put into place by US companies. I woudl make a killing by having no added charges; al la Southwest Airlines.

[smileyy]

Maybe not less porn (most of that is pretty compressed), but maybe a lot less Netflix over the internet:

http://www.observer.com/2010/media/wowza-netflix-accounts-20-all-internet-traffic-during-primetime

[BandAid]

I'm guessing the amount of Canadians watching porn has decreased dramatically.


Maybe not less porn (most of that is pretty compressed), but maybe a lot less Netflix over the internet:

http://www.observer.com/2010/media/wowza-netflix-accounts-20-all-internet-traffic-during-primetime

Sh*t! No Netflix! No porn! If they took away xavierhoops I'd have nothing left to do on the Internet!

God bless (the United States of) America!

[Xman95]

I'm guessing the amount of Canadians watching porn has decreased dramatically.

They've stopped watching hockey?

[waggy]

We're screwed if the inventor of the internet, and the inventor of global warming, ties two and two together...

Maybe he already has...

[Jumpy]

I've had a bad feeling ever since the cell companies went this route that it would find it's way into the home internet coneection as well. IMO, this is a complete regression from where we should be going. You know that American companies are foaming at the mouth to do this, but no one wants to be the first. Once someone gets desparate enough, they will do it and all the dominos will fall.

I'm a firm believer that the future path should be free wi-fi everywhere. As technoligies advance, this becomes more and more a possibility as connection speeds get faster, stronger and cheaper. Corporate greed will never let that happen, though.

This is one area in which I wished the government stepped in and took the forefront in innovation and direction. The internet is the power grid or highway system of our generation, and we are well behind the rest of the world in quality of connection speed already. If they don't want to create a national unified wi-fi system, they could at least mandate that the private corporations meet various technological milestones on a timescale they manage, like they did with digital television.

[X-band '01]

Haven't some companies like ComCast already experimented about usage billing, or at the least tell customers what their download usage is? We've known for some time that this is coming, although I have to admit that having usage being cut from 200 GB down to 25 GB has to be like a lightning bolt for Canadian porn fanatics, eh?

[Masterofreality]

Honestly,

I travel to Canada- A LOT.

It is interesting how people make it up there. Their taxes are off the charts- 48% of income with ridiculously high property taxes while the price of a house- on a postage stamp lot with maybe 10 feet between the two structures- is about 20% to 25% higher than in the states.
On top of that, they pay HST- the National Sales Tax of 14% on anything they buy.

Despite all that, there are millions of new cars all over Toronto, the restaurants and bars are packed and their housing market is healthy.

I've talked to number of Canadians about how they make ends meet. A) No cost for health care. (Despite what some claim down here, they LOVE their health care system), B) Both spouses HAVE to work. There are no stay at home Moms. C) They do not save as much in a retirement plan because of their very generous national pension (like our Social Security). D) Own your own business and just charge more- like everybody else does.

I do know one thing. They have a very ingrained "entitlement mentality" where they will pay a lot, but they expect a lot more to be given to them in return. The service I have to give to my Canadian contacts is much more intense and constant than the US.

This internet thing will be interesting. They spend a lot of time in the cabins in winter. There are only so many moose that you can shoot.

[Jumpy]

Haven't some companies like ComCast already experimented about usage billing, or at the least tell customers what their download usage is? We've known for some time that this is coming, although I have to admit that having usage being cut from 200 GB down to 25 GB has to be like a lightning bolt for Canadian porn fanatics, eh?

There have been some small market tests to prepare for the day of nickel and diming us to death, but no one has the balls to do it yet. This Canadian effort just might be the last straw.

[coasterville95]

We were talking about this last night. The part we find most interestIng is the overage insurance. If you opt for it, you pay for wether you need it or not (that's why it's called insurance) and the insurance benefit is 40gb. That's more than the base quota. If you don't take the insurance there are severe overage charges In short it sounds like they are going to virtually scare you into the insurance. Cash grab.

I admit I have no idea what my usage is, so I can't get a handle on how big 25gb is.

[Snipe]

Canadians also have radically different demographics MOR. If you want to have a model based upon a Scandanavian Socialist state it might help to have Scandanavian demographics. The minorities that they do have are largely Asian, who don't tend to welfare or the government dole. They do not have our third world Mexican / Latin American problem. Their immigration department has found that those recruits do not do well in Canada and they don't welcome them. They go after the Asians and educated recruits that can hit the ground running. They import productive people that can help pay for the system, as opposed to importing third world poverty that strains the system.

[Jumpy]

25gb is quite a lot for a month's usage. The average user shouldn't ever reach that limit, even if they play occasional online games and watch a handful of netflix movies a month. whe you start talking about families, though, it will be a cap that could very well be broken on a routine basis. If you have teenagers who are heavy gamers and watch lots of youtube videos, you could go over 25 gb quickly.

[Snipe]

"Like our customers, and Canadian internet users everywhere, we are not happy with this new development," wrote the Ontario-based indie ISP TekSavvy in a recent e-mail message to its subscribers.

But like it or not, the Canadian Radio-Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved UBB for the incumbent carrier Bell Canada in September.

Look at the ISP provider complaining. This happened because of government involvement for sure. Beware "Net Neutrality" in the United States. Our internet works fine without the government. Get the government involved and you are asking for trouble.

[Snipe]

I've had a bad feeling ever since the cell companies went this route that it would find it's way into the home internet coneection as well. IMO, this is a complete regression from where we should be going. You know that American companies are foaming at the mouth to do this, but no one wants to be the first. Once someone gets desparate enough, they will do it and all the dominos will fall.

I'm a firm believer that the future path should be free wi-fi everywhere. As technoligies advance, this becomes more and more a possibility as connection speeds get faster, stronger and cheaper. Corporate greed will never let that happen, though.

This is one area in which I wished the government stepped in and took the forefront in innovation and direction. The internet is the power grid or highway system of our generation, and we are well behind the rest of the world in quality of connection speed already. If they don't want to create a national unified wi-fi system, they could at least mandate that the private corporations meet various technological milestones on a timescale they manage, like they did with digital television.

Free Wi-Fi Everywhere! Free The People!

Why stop there? Why just free Wi-Fi? Technology has made food cheaper, why not free food? Why not an assortment of free goods for everyone? Everything would be free if it wasn't for that corporate greed! You crack me up.

They give free drinks in Vegas. Why not free drinks everywhere? Free Wi-Fi, free phones, free cable. Many people already use the internet for phone and cable, so free wi-fi would lead to all of that. Why not? Let's make everything free.

Would somebody have to pay for that? Would that make it not free? That free drink in Vegas is usually the most expensive free drink that you will ever have.

With the debt we have it is amazing to me that people think that government spending for more "free" stuff is still the answer. Slap yourself in the face already and wake up. Our internet is one of the few things that the government hasn't f-ed up. Do you really need free wi-fi that badly that you would like to sacrifice what we have today.

And what about the dark posibilities of the government controling the "free" communication and news distribution sector of the economy? You really want to sign up the country to that possibility?

[XU-PA]

free wi-fi is virtually here for some people living in large metro areas. I know many people who are linking to the neighboring networks and using it free. These things will continue to grow, and will probably have advertising that comes along with them, some will require sign ups to link your email addresses with those tiresome email ads.
IMO that will continue to happen, and expand, eliminating the possibility that any kind of metered internet would catch on.
Too many states are regulating and requiring providers to expand high speed access for this to ever be a real issue in the US.
as an example, look at the internet availability for wireless phone users. The providers are increasing access, and lowering costs because of the competition between them. When internet access via smart phones first became available you paid dearly for access, often by the MB. Now those MB deals are still out there, but the trend is toward unlimited use for a monthly fee just like home use.

[Jumpy]

Let go of your paranoia for just a minute Snipe. A government led effort to create a national wireless grid will not lead to fascism, communism, taoism or even buddhism. I'm one of the last people to expect government handouts, and the government doesn't necessarily have to control the wireless grid, but they are the only ones with the ability to lead such an expansive project.

Like I said before, this is our generation's version of the highway system. Like it or not, always on connectivity is the future and sitting by the wayside and watching private enterprises build their own networks is not the best idea IMO. An organized effort to create the national grid is needed and I have less faith in the private sector, concerned with their bottm lines, creating it than I do the government.

[Jumpy]

When internet access via smart phones first became available you paid dearly for access, often by the MB. Now those MB deals are still out there, but the trend is toward unlimited use for a monthly fee just like home use.

Actually, the trend is the exact opposite, and that is what worries me. AT&T went to data caps with the iPhone 4. Verizon just announced data caps and it is rumored that Sprint will do the same by the year's end. This is what worries me. Companies concerned with increasing profits are leading a trend in the exact opposite direction from where we should be going.

[XU-07]

That's because they are having infrastructure problems. Smart phones in general are notorious bandwidth hogs. This is also why some telcom companies go with the data plans or caps because they have to build up the grid and put pressure on people to limit their use.

[Jumpy]

Which is exactly why we need an organized, concentrated effort to expand and upgrade the wireless infrastructure. We are already far behind European and Asian countries in both the quality of our connnection speeds (for home internet usage, not necessarily mobile) and the price we pay for them.

[Porkopolis]

Which is exactly why we need an organized, concentrated effort to expand and upgrade the wireless infrastructure. We are already far behind European and Asian countries in both the quality of our connnection speeds (for home internet usage, not necessarily mobile) and the price we pay for them.

When I was in the UK I was blown away at how far behind them we are in regards to wireless capability.

[Snipe]

Let go of your paranoia for just a minute Snipe. A government led effort to create a national wireless grid will not lead to fascism, communism, taoism or even buddhism. I'm one of the last people to expect government handouts, and the government doesn't necessarily have to control the wireless grid, but they are the only ones with the ability to lead such an expansive project.

Like I said before, this is our generation's version of the highway system. Like it or not, always on connectivity is the future and sitting by the wayside and watching private enterprises build their own networks is not the best idea IMO. An organized effort to create the national grid is needed and I have less faith in the private sector, concerned with their bottm lines, creating it than I do the government.


Which is exactly why we need an organized, concentrated effort to expand and upgrade the wireless infrastructure. We are already far behind European and Asian countries in both the quality of our connnection speeds (for home internet usage, not necessarily mobile) and the price we pay for them.

For one, I don't know why you have such confidence in the government to do it better. Our system works very well. I was unaware that we had a major problem here. I am on the internet every day.

For two, at what cost? It is not like we have the money. Right now people pay for their access. Our government doesn't have money sitting around, what sort of tax do you think will be required to do this?

What about the size and scope of this new government handout? I am not being delusional. People already watch TV from their internet all over the nation. They already use the internet as a phone all over the nation. This trend will only continue. If the internet is free, you will basically eliminate phone companies, internet service providers, and cable companies. Now all of these will probably be merging anyway due to technological shifts, but what you propose is rather drastic. The government would in essence be picking winners and losers in who it chooses to work with, and you would have a few big companies highly regulated by the government controlling the dissemination of information.

That isn't paranoid, that is how it will play out. A situation like that would have the potential to be rife with political abuse.

I should also note that this new problem in Canada originated with government and not the internet service providers.

Lastly, I love the way you demonize the greedy corporations. I love my computer. I love my android phone. I love my internet service. Some morons might agree with you when you promise them a free bag of goodies, but we have a pretty good situation right now and with technology it is getting better all the time. This good situation and all these great products were brought to you by the private market, not Big Government. Unless you didn't get the message, our Government is under multi-generational crushing debt and this is not time to look to government to solve your problems. Grow up and pay for your own damn bandwidth.

[Jumpy]

So, your entire lengthy argument boils down to this: technological advancement could hurt or even possibly put some industries out of business, so we shouldn't do it. All the while, we are being passed by competing nations. Sounds a little backward thinking, doesn't it?

And again, trying to belittle me as looking for a handout is not an argument in the debate, it's a copout. I'm not looking for a handout. I'm looking for our country to take the initiative to stay on the leading edge of technological advancement, not get passed by because "things are ok the way they are".

EDIT: Why do you believe that if the government gets involved, they will automatically begin to control the information that flows through the network? They just put the net neutrality law (which flies directly into the face of your argument) into place and there is still a thing called the Bill of Rights they have to contend with.

And you admit yourself that you didn't know there was a problem, but you have no problem going on one of your rants supporting an ill-informed opinion that everything is fine the way it is?

[Jumpy]

This article from Wired does a good job of explaining why I don't trust the private sector in upgrading our national data network systems:

http://wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/02/iphone-verizon-sucks/

[GuyFawkes38]

I hate Time Warner Cable. I don't really have a choice outside of them. Lots of people hate their cable companies but don't have viable choices to switch.

People who do have other options tend to get better, cheaper service.

I definitely think people aren't happy with this situation and wish the government would get more involved like with other monopolistic utilities.

Seriously, I understand that cable companies have powerful lobbyists, but why aren't more politicians combative towards them.