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Rogers Unveils The ISP Dream Model
In house video, caps and overage fees for using it...

Canadian cable operator Rogers has constructed what's essentially the dream business model for broadband executives. They're launching a new broadband video portal that's only available if you sign up for Rogers wireless, TV or broadband service -- avoiding a stand-alone service in order to keep users from canceling regular cable. Rogers has also imposed low caps and high overages and the new service counts against your monthly cap -- meaning Rogers is keeping content revenue in house while socking customers with per-gigabyte overages -- up to $5.00 per gigabyte -- for actually using an advertised service.

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Of course the only way this model works is if customers agree to pay overages, but with limited Canadian competition many users have no choice. The idea also falters if the video service isn't actually any good, and early impressions of the freshly opened beta from users in our forums are hit and miss.

Luckily for your bandwidth cap there's no HD option at the moment, and the available content is extremely limited -- as in a few dozen films and mostly older TV shows (CHIPs, anyone?). According to the new Rogers On Demand FAQ, only one person per broadband account can access the new service.

On the other hand it's free to existing customers of any Rogers service, unlike Comcast's looming "TV Everywhere" effort, which will only be made available to the company's existing TV customers. Obviously the beta is evolving, and according to Rogers additional functionality (like parental controls and access via smartphone) are things that are coming in 2010.

Still, it's hard to get around this idea that users already paying more than enough money for both cable TV and broadband access face additional, steep per-gigabyte usage fees for using a Rogers service designed to keep them as customers. Any Rogers users care to share their thoughts on the new service in the comment section below?
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cpsycho
join:2008-06-03
Treadeu Land

cpsycho

Member

I watch free tv

I go right to the content owners site these days, its free there and everyone can watch at once. Why would I ever pay for crappy tv these days?

tschmidt
MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH

tschmidt

MVM

Re: I watch free tv

If you are using over the air (OTA) then I agree. If you are using the Internet then you run afoul of bandwidth caps if you do much in the way of viewing.

/tom

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium Member
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

nixen

Premium Member

Re: I watch free tv

said by tschmidt:

If you are using over the air (OTA) then I agree. If you are using the Internet then you run afoul of bandwidth caps if you do much in the way of viewing.

/tom
Yeah, but in the case of Rogers, you run into those caps whether using Rogers's service or an external service. So, why would you use Rogers's service when there's so many better ones out there, free or otherwise.
tubesurfer9
join:2008-10-06

tubesurfer9

Member

Not worth it...at the moment.

All the content and more is available from other sources and at higher quality, i personally don't see and use in the service. I'm sure some will see some value in it. If i can't catch something on tv i will download it from other sources. Which will also count towards my cap, but i can archive the copy and get it in pretty much any format i want, not one dictated by my cable company.

This service may catch on with the "general public" but i think most users will continue to seek out content from alternate sources. But i guess time will tell.
Tristan
join:2006-09-10
Nepean, ON

Tristan

Member

Absolutely not interested!

Why would I want this service? It has absolutely no advantages to me, considering the other options available to me.

It's not even HD - WTF? Who gives a Standard Definition crap? I want my crap in HD - get with the 21st century Rogers!

There is so little value in Roger's TV service that I'm about 2 cm away from canceling cable TV service. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Rogers!

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Geez

The old outdoor antenna is looking like a better and better option every day.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
Netgear WNDR3700v2
Zoom 5341J

KrK

Premium Member

Re: Geez

said by pnh102:

The old outdoor antenna is looking like a better and better option every day.
With today's OTA HD, it's actually not bad at all.

I get more stations now, too. All free.
dlewis23
join:2005-04-18
Boca Raton, FL

dlewis23

Member

Just Wrong...

$5 per GB is just fucking disgusting. $2 per GB is even beyond wrong.

They pay no where near that much for it. Thats probably a 10,000 % markup per GB.

I pay $0.014 per GB with a 10,000 GB allotment plus I get a bad ass server with a 100 Mbps connection, on a network with 9 different carriers.

Even if I go over my allotment its still only 10 cents per GB over.

There is no reason at all for ISP's to be doing this.
sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

sonicmerlin

Member

Re: Just Wrong...

said by dlewis23:

$5 per GB is just fucking disgusting. $2 per GB is even beyond wrong.

They pay no where near that much for it. Thats probably a 10,000 % markup per GB.

I pay $0.014 per GB with a 10,000 GB allotment plus I get a bad ass server with a 100 Mbps connection, on a network with 9 different carriers.

Even if I go over my allotment its still only 10 cents per GB over.

There is no reason at all for ISP's to be doing this.
I wish your post was auto-posted every time a mouthpiece came on the forum to defend the carriers` practices.
chimera4
join:2009-06-09
Washington, DC

chimera4

Member

Re: Just Wrong...

From those numbers that server is most likely located in a data center or actually a logical distribution spread out across the world over a number of centers with a cumulative cap. It's true that $5 per GB is highway robbery for a wired connection, but it costs more for residential connections because there is a strong economy of scale behind all of this which is much harder to take advantage with for residential connections as opposed to data centers.

Again, I am in no way saying that $5 per GB is anywhere near fair. $0.50 per GB is a high as I would ever consider fair in this day and age, but I'm fairly certain that it costs most carriers more than a penny per GB per month on a full residential circut.

A quick run through the numbers from »www.infobahn.com/researc ··· tion.htm prices an OC3 connection at a minimum of $20,000 per month. This provides a speed of 155Mbps which translates to a cost of $0.40 per GB per month. I'm guessing that ISPs can do this for cheaper internally, but even if it costs them a quarter of this amount per month that still means $0.10 per GB per month so expecting to pay a penny per GB for a residential connection doesn't add up... for now at least. In ten years it might, which is why it's important that if caps show up we make sure that they increase with network capacity.

ReformCRTC
Support Your Independent ISP
join:2004-03-07
Canada

ReformCRTC to dlewis23

Member

to dlewis23
In Rogers' case, though, there is a $25.00 overage fee limit. So, theoretically, you shell out the 25 bucks extra over your monthly rate and you get unlimited.

The resulting total for that is expensive and sucks compared to leading broadband countries, I'll give you that.

El Quintron
Cancel Culture Ambassador
Premium Member
join:2008-04-28
Tronna

El Quintron

Premium Member

Why would they even bother launching this

No selection, high cost, accessible for free elsewhere...

I wonder how this one snuck the board...

The amount of self delusion that goes on in Canadian Telecom borders on the absurd.

TuxRaiderPen
A Warm Embrace
join:2009-06-02
Outer Rim

TuxRaiderPen

Member

Capping an advertised service?

You can access the service, but it counts against your cap? How does this benefit the consumer?
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

Mr Matt

Member

Re: Capping an advertised service?

Benefits Rogers, bleeds customers dry financially. Rogers management thinks that customers have unlimited financial resources. Makes the process easier because Rogers is a Monopoly in many areas. Conforms to the new business model where businesses demand that customers pay more for less. The packaged food industry has been using this business model for years. Pound of coffee use to contain 16 ounces, pound sand the new packages contain 12 Ounces. A can of peaches use to contain 16 Ounces but now contain 14 Ounces.

ReformCRTC
Support Your Independent ISP
join:2004-03-07
Canada

ReformCRTC

Member

Re: Capping an advertised service?

That would be called "Grocery Shrink-Ray."

user6578
@rogers.com

1 recommendation

user6578

Anon

Get the facts please

You can get this service with 'ANY' Rogers service, including just wireless, and you also DON'T have to have Rogers Internet, you be using any other Canadian internet service and their own caps. So your little story here is completely ignorant and misleading by the way...

J E F F4
Whatta Ya Think About Dat?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-01
Kitchener, ON

J E F F4

Premium Member

Re: Get the facts please

said by user6578 :

You can get this service with 'ANY' Rogers service, including just wireless, and you also DON'T have to have Rogers Internet, you be using any other Canadian internet service and their own caps. So your little story here is completely ignorant and misleading by the way...
True - the story in that regard is misleading. I just signed up because I have rogers wireless.

Selection isn't huge - but free is good. I have DSL with no caps, so no worries.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK

Premium Member

Re: Get the facts please

Bell has caps.

J E F F4
Whatta Ya Think About Dat?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-01
Kitchener, ON

J E F F4

Premium Member

Re: Get the facts please

said by KrK:

Bell has caps.
Bell does have caps but I am not with them. Bell is trying to enforce caps for all resellers but so far I am good.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
Netgear WNDR3700v2
Zoom 5341J

KrK to user6578

Premium Member

to user6578
said by RogersShill6578 :

You can get this service with 'ANY' Rogers service, including just wireless, and you also DON'T have to have Rogers Internet, you be using any other Canadian internet service and their own caps. So your little story here is completely ignorant and misleading by the way...
The only thing Ignorant and misleading here is Rogers themselves.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned) to user6578

Member

to user6578
said by user6578 :

You can get this service with 'ANY' Rogers service, including just wireless, and you also DON'T have to have Rogers Internet, you be using any other Canadian internet service and their own caps. So your little story here is completely ignorant and misleading by the way...
The point is you can have access to this unless you have Rodgers service. In otherwords you can't get it as a stand alone offer. This is like the stuff Comcrap and other US cable companies are trying to do.

gball
Master Yoda
Premium Member
join:2000-11-28
South Bend, IN

1 edit

gball

Premium Member

ok

so let me make sure I understand this.

I have to sign up and pay for cable tv and then I have the option to sign up and pay even more for this video portal service that will basically let me watch the same shows I'm already paying for but on my computer?

Am I following this right?

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: ok

said by gball:

so let me make sure I understand this.

I have to sign up and pay for cable tv and then I have the option to sign up and pay even more for this video portal service that will basically let me watch the same shows I'm already paying for but on my computer?

Am I following this right?
Did you miss the part where the service is FREE if you are a TV subscriber already.
On the other hand it's free to existing customers,

jjman
@rsmrichter.com

jjman

Anon

Re: ok

the article was poorly written and misses a critical point - THE SERVICE IS FREE FOR *ALL* ROGERS CUSTOMERS. YOU Can even be FIDO customer who pays like $10 a month for prepaid and get the service for free, and use any ISP, Bell, Shaw, Telus, whatever you want for dsl/cable connection, or go to a cafe and use wi-fi, it will work.

so for $15 that you already pay for FIDO, you can access it for free.

on top of it all, if you happen to be arogers tv customer and you order speciality tv shows/channels , then you can access these online.

milnoc
join:2001-03-05
Ottawa

milnoc

Member

Re: ok

Does that include Fido Prepaid?
bt
join:2009-02-26
canada

bt

Member

Re: ok

said by milnoc:

Does that include Fido Prepaid?
As long as you've got an account number, then supposedly yes. Might need to have a positive balance on the account for it to work with pre-paid though. Though I don't know anyone with Fido prepaid who has actually tried to access it.

pfak
Premium Member
join:2002-12-29
Vancouver, BC

pfak to jjman

Premium Member

to jjman
Doesn't work for Fido. I tried.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
said by FFH5:
said by gball:

so let me make sure I understand this.

I have to sign up and pay for cable tv and then I have the option to sign up and pay even more for this video portal service that will basically let me watch the same shows I'm already paying for but on my computer?

Am I following this right?
Did you miss the part where the service is FREE if you are a TV subscriber already.
On the other hand it's free to existing customers,
its not 'free' if you're eating away at your cap using it!

Bill Neilson
Premium Member
join:2009-07-08
Alexandria, VA

Bill Neilson

Premium Member

I will stick with my DVR if my company

does this to me

Absurd that they are begging people to use the internet MORE yet find ways to keep them using LESS in the same breath

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

maartena

Premium Member

This must be the saddest offer....

This must be the saddest offer I have seen in a long time from any company. It actually made me cry. And not in the happy tears kind of way.

n2jtx
join:2001-01-13
Glen Head, NY

n2jtx

Member

Another Name

There is a reason why many Canadian's call them "Robbers" instead of "Rogers". I have family in Mississauga and they are constantly in fear of bumping in to their monthly cap and getting hit with overages. Glad I am in Optimum Online country.

jjman
@rsmrichter.com

jjman

Anon

seems good to me - it's free!

I am a student that has only Rogers wireless, but this service allows me to use this over any free wi fi connection at a campus cafe/pub or any external wi-fi hotspot for that matter.. and i can use it on my parents Bell DSL line too it seems. i don't see the big issue - Rogers isn't forcing me to pay a dime and I can watch shows instead of downloading them and getting a virus on my computer.

•••

matt0509
@verizon.net

1 recommendation

matt0509

Anon

Wouldn't work for me

Assuming I had this service, my bill for November would have been $187.71. Instead I pay $70 for unlimited FiOS (20Mb/20Mb), I really hope Verizon keeps it this way. Between Xbox Live (downloading demos, game content and the 1080p Zune store), my Netflix subscription and my roommate uses OnLive. We're both also members of MSDNAA, have Linux boxes which pull a few gigs a month worth of updates, we stream music from Pandora, back-up both of our computers to Mozy, and sometimes have friends over to play Left4Dead (which is downloaded from Steam). Last month we transferred over 130GB and previously 170GB (this would have cost $266.99). Prices like that are unreasonable, especially when I can generate this amount of data using legitimate services.
MicaTurbo
join:2001-08-27
Ottawa, ON

MicaTurbo

Member

Re: Wouldn't work for me

Overages are capped at $25 so, while it still sucks if you only go slightly over the cap, if you go all out the cost per GB over the cap starts to decrease.

(I'm not defending Rogers, I still think they're awful, just pointing out that little tidbit)
ReneM
join:2003-07-18
Cockeysville, MD

1 edit

ReneM to matt0509

Member

to matt0509
Lucky you . I do 1.5TB/month on my 20/20 FIOS. I have a decent salary but a $3000 bill would definitely kill by budget.
Riplin
join:2002-05-13
canada

Riplin

Member

EPIC FAIL!

when will they ever learn.

DrZEUS
join:2004-01-13
Mississauga, ON

DrZEUS

Member

caps

so if you dont have rogers internet, but you do pay for tv and wireless, the monthly caps are irrelevant and condusive to your ISP's caps?
camelot
join:2008-04-12
Whitby, ON

camelot

Member

Re: caps

Subject to your ISP's caps, yes. It appears, as long as you have 1 Rogers' service you may use the service.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK

Premium Member

Corporate Wet Dream

Maybe they should just turn their wallets over to Rogers and then submit written requests whenever they'd like to pretty please get some money back.

FFS.

Talk about being bent over.
JasonX
join:2008-04-08
Houston, TX

JasonX

Member

overage fees are probably ok

I'm surprised so many people are angry that Rogers is imposing overage fees for use of this service. The alternative would be for Rogers to exempt this service from its bandwidth caps, in which case other broadband video competitors would be placed at a competitive disadvantage, and Rogers would be accused of misusing its status as an ISP. At least this way, all broadband video is on a level playing field.

•••
axiomatic
join:2006-08-23
Tomball, TX

axiomatic

Member

Walled gardens...

...have walls.

That is all.

erniewitt
@cia.com

erniewitt

Anon

Paying to stream tv?

Who's gonna pay for substandard streaming service when cable channels allow you to see it for free? And what unique TV shows does Rogers have that are must see? Talk about not doing your research.
bt
join:2009-02-26
canada

bt

Member

Re: Paying to stream tv?

If you've got cable channels from Rogers, you aren't paying to watch it online (or the view from the negative angle, you're paying regardless of if you watch it online or not).
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