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amigo_boy
join:2005-07-22

amigo_boy to charles0000

Member

to charles0000

Re: Bah Humbug

said by charles0000 :

The customer should be paying 100% of this as it is 100% their fault and their problem.

They charge about $1 per gig for the plan, up to 30gig. It seems like the ISP could charge the overage at $1 per gig instead of $4.50.

When you look at how the cost-per-gig drops as plans/caps increase, it seems like they could have charged her .60 per gig.

I agree users should be responsible for securing their networks. But, charging normal overage fees as if the user misjudged their requirements (and is persuaded to move up) seems unjust.

Edit: Also, the article says the ISP plans to implement a monitoring and alert system within 12 months. That indicates they realize they have some responsibility to confirm abnormal activity. I think that's another reason for them to charge the user only true cost. Not punitive overage charges designed to "persuade" people to move up.
nitzan
Premium Member
join:2008-02-27

nitzan

Premium Member

said by amigo_boy:

They charge about $1 per gig for the plan, up to 30gig. It seems like the ISP could charge the overage at $1 per gig instead of $4.50.

When you look at how the cost-per-gig drops as plans/caps increase, it seems like they could have charged her .60 per gig.

What is this pricing based on though? wholesale internet bandwidth is dirt cheap - we're talking 1 Mbps for something like $1-2/mo. 1 Mbps equals over 300GB a month. I know the last mile costs a bit more, congestion, etc. - but come on. This couldn't have cost Videotron more than a few bucks. They could have reduced the overage fee to $50 and still make a profit on the whole thing.

Per-GB billing is just another scheme to suck more money out of consumers. Instead of raising prices they just put overage fees and lower caps, and voila you end up paying $200 for the same service you got before for $50. It's not about congestion or fair pricing - it's about sucking consumers dry. $4.5/GB? a GB costs them more like 4.5 *cents* to deliver.
« Usage cap
This is a sub-selection from Bah Humbug