The CRTC has ruled that Canadian internet billing should be based on how often you use the internet, and the opposition parties are pledging to overturn the decision. The government has said only that they would like to "probe" the ruling, and has not decided whether or not to support the measure. Today's poll question; should internet billing be based on usage?
Personally I think it is bad politics to piss off people who use the internet a lot. I have no idea how my visitors will respond to this poll, but I expect many of you are frequent users of internet services. Bloggers I'm sure use the internet as much as anybody and aren't going to like getting higher month end bills. My contention is that it is a bad idea to support this random CRTC decision, but I'm sure not all of you will agree with me.
I have a better idea. Let's scrap the CRTC.
ReplyDeleteHear Hear hatrock!
ReplyDeleteFor just about anything else we pay more if we use more. This is just the usual not in my own backyard argument. But I agree most people will not see this that way, so politically it is a hot potato.
ReplyDeleteI think that the biggest issue is that Rogers, Shaw, and Bell are loosing customers to small companies that offer unlimited downloading. They are ganging up on the little guys through the Communist Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to take away their competitive advantage.
ReplyDeleteIsn't this heavily regulated Trudeaupian paradise that caters to monopolies wonderful?
The argument I heard is that we are asked to pay for hydro based on usage except now hydro has added a delivery charge which on my bill varies from month to month anyone else
ReplyDeletewe also pay our phone bill based on usage after a set monthly fee
one difference I would like to mention is when I put my stove on I don't have to wait while 5 advertisers try to convince me to buy their product
my son lives in Switzerland no advertisements on TV
I object to the unreasonable CRTC demands for more of my money
fh
The answer is to increase the infrastructure and encourage competition from oh say Netflicks.
ReplyDeleteDoes the use of electronic health records in doctors offices and hospitals use the internet?
What about all those programs that bring the teachers to the classroom via the internet.
Expansion of these services is the way to go...
I suggest using the $1.5 Billion in handouts to the CBC to build more infrastructure.
So when we internet bank, and pay our bills electronically,
ReplyDeletewill those companies that benefit from consumers doing so, like Telus and TD Canada Trust, pick up the extra costs for usage billing?
The Financial Post makes a compelling argument for the Government to butt out.
ReplyDeleteI am afraid this will be the election issue. As silly as it sounds there is lots of traction with this issue. Working in the industy Bell & Rogers are the two cheapest buggers in Canada. Always cutting corners and refusing to invest in their own company. I don't have a problem with usage billing, my problem is the bar has been set so low before the higher billing kicks in!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @ 11:00am has it EXACTLY RIGHT... having worked for one of the telcos, and now in the overall IT industry, the problem is that A) the telcos have set the limits arbitrarily too low, and B) they're looking to get the Government to stifle their competitors, rather than address their own packaging and marketing mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anon @ 11:00AM and Christian Conservative: these large telcos got large because of protected markets. Usage-based billing is fine so long as competitors have the right to offer flat-fee services.
ReplyDeleteAlso, any over-the-limit charge above a few pennies per gigabyte is price gouging. $1/gigabyte is ridiculous since cost to telco is about one penny!
I pay $2.50/gigabyte for excess charges--250 times one's cost is a hell of a mark-up for a protected/regulated industry of any kind.
The small ISPs already pay for what they use - they buy large blocks of 'bandwidth' and resell it to their subscribers. It should be up to the ISPs how they bill their subscribers and how much. The usage is already paid for - the large ISPs just don't want competition in the end-user market.
ReplyDelete