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CRTC Finalizes ISP Usage-Based Billing
Canadian Broadband Gets Even More Expensive & Confusing
As we noted recently, a lack of real competition in Canada and well-lobbied Canadian regulators have allowed incumbent ISPs to forcefully implement an entirely new system of usage-based broadband (UBB) for both consumers and wholesalers. Competing ISPs proclaim this new pricing isn't based on real world economics, and is instead focused on cashing in on Internet video, and killing off Canada's last few remaining independent ISPs. As users in our Canadian forum notes, the CRTC came down with their finalized ruling today, which among other things caps wholesale UBB rates at 85% of retail UBB rates (aka gives indie ISPs a small discount) and sets March 1 as the formal date for full UBB to be implemented nationally. By and large, the CRTC has delivered Bell Canada largely everything they wanted, and judging from consumer reaction in our forums and regional editorials (Globe and Mail, BCLocalNews) Canadian consumers aren't too thrilled with their increasingly expensive and complicated national broadband price structure.
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bobobird
join:2008-06-08

bobobird

Member

UBB

This sort of CRTC behaviour cannot have gone through without the backend approval of the Government.

When Harper leaves office and even when long dead, he will forever be cited in history as the PM who killed the Internet in Canada.
ErikRP
join:2004-11-06
Winnipeg, MB

ErikRP

Member

Re: UBB

This has nothing to do with the Harper government and everything to do with the CRTC.
MaynardKrebs
We did it. We heaved Steve. Yipee.
Premium Member
join:2009-06-17

MaynardKrebs

Premium Member

Re: UBB

CRTC gets its marching orders from Industry Minister Tony Clement, who in turn is Harper's marionette.

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

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: UBB

said by MaynardKrebs:

CRTC gets its marching orders from Industry Minister Tony Clement, who in turn is Harper's marionette.

Bureaucracies have their own agendas and over time become independent of their political designers. The big problem when independent government agencies are created is that they do indeed become independent and become less and less responsive to the politicians that created them. The CRTC bureaucrats are now dominated by ex-telco employees that want to preserve that era when they made all the calls.

Short of changing the law that created the CRTC and set out it's authority, politicians have little say in the matter. They have their nuclear weapon - veto, but little else to influence the decision. And the pols will be reluctant to issue that veto else they be accused of interfering in an independent agency.

jam
@ox.ac.uk

jam to MaynardKrebs

Anon

to MaynardKrebs
And it was all part of Harper's hidden agenda to take the Dire Straits off the air!

James B
@on-track.com

James B to ErikRP

Anon

to ErikRP
B.S! Harper has long voiced his displeasure of the CRTC, as well as the senate in it's current incarnation. The CRTC is irrelevant in todays' globalized media world. I'm all for keeping Canadian heritage alive and well, but have long maintained: Create a good product, and people will buy. The CRTC are completely wrong on this.
It's the independent governing bodies that rule the day. The PM's just a figure head. You're forgetting the Martin Liberals were the ones with the bright idea of sending around sattelite sniffing contractors around neighborhoods and to be given free reign to enter homes and confiscate suspected illegal sattelite hookups.
Far more invasive government policy IMHO.

koira
Hey Siri Walk Me
Premium Member
join:2004-02-16

koira to bobobird

Premium Member

to bobobird
This is really a huge step backwards for Canada. Society as a whole has evolved for 30 year or so on personal networked computing. This decision is life changing and the CRTC has not realized the backlash they will hear once the general population of Canadian internet users hear this news.

I already cancelled my Bell "high speed" account. So where will we be in a year or two ? Can the independents like Teksavvy survive on this UBB + capped pricing model ?

For me a long time ago there was life before the internet. I'm going to start building model cars again or something like i did back in the 60's and 70's. And listening to the radio and records. I can get my two day old news by reading a newspaper.

Hell will freeze over before I vote conservative, not that I ever did.

Hell will freeze over before I pay overage charges for internet use.
Kommie2 (banned)
join:2003-05-13
united state

Kommie2 (banned) to bobobird

Member

to bobobird
Vote Green next time!

jdoe
@mts.net

jdoe to bobobird

Anon

to bobobird
Yes, Harper is just like Hosni Mubarak. Perhaps you should use your internet access (assuming you didn't cancel it) to look at Egypt and see what killing the internet and freedom of speech actually is.

andyb
Premium Member
join:2003-05-29
SW Ontario

andyb

Premium Member

Still Time

But not alot.A petition to the governor in council can still be brought but will there be one?Thats what nobody knows.Clement can also step in after tomorrow and do something but I dont hold out much hope on that even thou he is very into the digital age.The wealthy dont usually give a shit about things like this

Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

Re: Still Time

said by andyb:

But not alot.A petition to the governor in council can still be brought but will there be one?Thats what nobody knows.Clement can also step in after tomorrow and do something but I dont hold out much hope on that even thou he is very into the digital age.The wealthy dont usually give a shit about things like this

Clement did step up and overruled the CRTC when they tried to stop Wind Mobile. While I'm not holding my breath, I wouldn't count him out just quite yet.
bobobird
join:2008-06-08

bobobird

Member

Re: Still Time

Or maybe Clement made a deal during his Wind discussions with the incumbents saying if they did not kick up a fuss about Wind, he would then let them do anything they wanted on the internet end ? Remember that the UBB things was more then live about that time.
said by Gone:

said by andyb:

But not alot.A petition to the governor in council can still be brought but will there be one?Thats what nobody knows.Clement can also step in after tomorrow and do something but I dont hold out much hope on that even thou he is very into the digital age.The wealthy dont usually give a shit about things like this

Clement did step up and overruled the CRTC when they tried to stop Wind Mobile. While I'm not holding my breath, I wouldn't count him out just quite yet.


Gone
Premium Member
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON

Gone

Premium Member

Re: Still Time

said by bobobird:

Or maybe Clement made a deal during his Wind discussions with the incumbents saying if they did not kick up a fuss about Wind, he would then let them do anything they wanted on the internet end ? Remember that the UBB things was more then live about that time.

Doubt it, especially since the Department of Industry and Tony Clement have been musing over the idea of lifting foreign ownership requirements to allow for more competition in the telecommunications sector. I'm not saying that cabinet will automatically overrule all of these CRTC orders, but saying that Clement was somehow complicit in this is something I'd have a very hard time believing.
grunze510
join:2009-02-14
Cote Saint-Luc, QC

grunze510

Member

The CRTC - They're here to protect...

Canada's incumbent cable and phone providers.

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

KrK

Premium Member

Re: The CRTC - They're here to protect...

said by grunze510:

Canada's incumbent cable and phone providers.

Have they been modeling themselves after the FCC of late?

Duramax08
To The Moon
Premium Member
join:2008-08-03
San Antonio, TX

Duramax08

Premium Member

Poor Canada

The best of luck to you

Rambo76098
join:2003-02-21
Columbus, OH

Rambo76098

Member

Re: Poor Canada

Time to move to the states! Lol.

If I were up there I'd instantly cancel my service out of protest, and encourage friends/relatives/neighbors/co-workers to do the same.

Duramax08
To The Moon
Premium Member
join:2008-08-03
San Antonio, TX

Duramax08

Premium Member

Re: Poor Canada

said by Rambo76098:

Time to move to the states! Lol.

If I were up there I'd instantly cancel my service out of protest, and encourage friends/relatives/neighbors/co-workers to do the same.

Americas open for busines =D

Fr0
join:2008-01-16
Chatham, ON

Fr0

Member

Re: Poor Canada

In may ways, that's really tempting Dura... Just something else you guys have better, this is a crock of shat.

Duramax08
To The Moon
Premium Member
join:2008-08-03
San Antonio, TX

Duramax08

Premium Member

Re: Poor Canada

Dont forget to leave that UBB behind you if you guys leave. We dont need it here.

saneblane
@teksavvy.com

saneblane

Anon

what nonsense

Everytime i hear the that the "CRTC" make a decision, i always know that it won't benefit me and the rest of Canada, and lo and behold it never does. i just changed from bell to teksavvy cable like 2 months ago to get away from this nonsense, if only for a little while, and here comes the "people's defender the CRTC" with their big decision. we all know that this is in response to netflix in Canada.
The people in the CRTC are so out of touch with what's going on, it's not even funny. with everything now going over the internet they want to give these companies the right to over tax the citizens. The truth is the CRTC as been a branch of the main telcos in Canada for a while. with rogers writing the Cable laws in Canada on behalf of the CRTC and bell getting anything their board wants to be done. LOL WHAT A JOKE.
The truth is when wind mobile came to Canada and freed up the wireless market after years of market fixing and extortion from the telcos.They are not going to let that same thing happen to their tv. so as soon as netflix said they coming,the CRTC jumped fast to make sure that the major telcos put the rope around our necks before we can even think about having a choice. i have bell satellite and let me tell you, it is a piece of shit. I have to pay for the same channel twice just to get it in HD.and let's not talk about rogers.Canadians love to bend over and take it too much this is why all this is happening.

anon4
@start.ca

anon4

Anon

Re: what nonsense

true. That's the problems with Canadians and the rest of the world. We are too goddamn peaceful and submissive. We take everything up the ass because we have NO backbone. If it was any other country or state there would be LITERAL riots and breakouts and people would try and oust the CRTC or at least force them to make changes. We Are A Pussy Nation. Europe would never have this. Japan wouldn't never have this. The U.S would never have this. China would never have this.. so why us? Becuase we take shit and never complain.. it's because of the lack of action that Rogers and Bell got to where it is today. They are fully aware of what they can and can't do. The can't list is extremely small..

Dones
join:2008-02-14
Toronto, ON

Dones

Member

I'm Done.

Today, I officially die.

realitybytes5
Premium Member
join:2002-07-15
Ottawa, ON

realitybytes5

Premium Member

Bells Friends at CRTC win!

Anyone looking to do business, in Canada look elsewhere, our country is anti-competitive, the government and it's commissions are corrupt and serve the interests of large incumbent corporations that will use their governmental powers to ensure you can't compete against them in any way. Oh and the people here are sheep.
moes
Premium Member
join:2009-11-15
Cedar City, UT

moes

Premium Member

Re: Bells Friends at CRTC win!

I think our country will be next. I will go without, my money speaks and they will start losing customers. greed it's plain and simple what is happening here.

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

KrK to realitybytes5

Premium Member

to realitybytes5
Everything you said pertains to the USA as well. /facepalm

Ncrdrg
@videotron.ca

Ncrdrg

Anon

Time to dismantle the CRTC

They're not even serving their role: regulating internet, TV and radio so we consumers don't get screwed by an oligarchy.

And what do they do? They validate the oligarchy, willfully help them to kill off competition, consolidate their stronghold on the market by approving deals screwing every consumer and to top it off, block outside competition as to make sure we have no alternative for the crap they give us.

It's time to dismantle them and open the market to real competition.
Ncrdrg

Ncrdrg

Anon

One last thing

The party that promises to fix the CRTC and/or outright dismantle them... has my vote.

Right now, I already voted for the NPD and I'm not surprised to see they're against this whole mess.
ilovegaming
join:2010-12-13

ilovegaming

Member

When?

Oh when will this madness end?

anon3rd
@174.94.11.x

anon3rd

Anon

just like the 3rd world countries

just like the 3rd world countries it's government for profit, and NOT for the public. this decision, while bell is using tons of bandwidth to sell tv service is very unfortunate. the reason they want to block /limit usage is ONLY to save their TV revenue. (this being said, it is already a lost battle..)

canada (and the modern world as we know it) resembles 3rd world countries more and more everyday.... where the rich gets richer and the poor, even poorer.

unfortunately the poor (and uneducated)people usually vote for the party that benefits the most from their pain.

troof
@12.39.202.x

troof

Anon

Re: just like the 3rd world countries

You haven't noticed the 1st world empires being run for profit as well? Boy, is your head in the clouds...

timerider2
join:2010-12-19

timerider2

Member

Sad

This is a sad day for Canada, and the saddest part of it all is most Canadians don't even know about it.

•••
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

chgo_man99

Member

How is that

Government works totally backward ? Even some gov agencies like that work better in developing countries. Can't like canada and the us do something more than nafta and integrate more ecOnomic cooperation that would open more competition On both sides of the border? Can u imagine more American companies doing business not just in the us but also there?

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

KrK

Premium Member

The thing that really just takes the cake here

Is how the national provider, mandated by law to provide service,
can also provide end user service, thereby competing with the ISP's that are required to connect to them--- and then they can FORCE UBB on those ISP's against their will to raise their costs so that they can beat them when it comes to end users.

In other words, your very business is at the whim of your direct competitor, and this is the law, and you can't do jack about it. They can bend you over, as an independent ISP, forcing you to raise costs and charge UBB on your customers, so that they will leave and switch service back to the company that's guilty in the first place.

This is so morally, ethically crooked, it ought to be illegal, but isn't.

I feel sorry for our northern brethren.... and I don't think it will be long before we'll be joining them in the same boat. I think they named it the Titanic....

MrNobody
@rogers.com

MrNobody

Anon

This means WAR!

fuck it. I'm dumping the internet soon as they shaft me with the next rate increase.

Btw, time to start looking for some cheez dialup and join the line at the library for the public access comps.

By by the way...dump your cells and go back to land line only. Choke their fucking money supply. Assholes.

••••
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

chgo_man99

Member

Canadian consumers have also wall garden in addition to caps

Rogers website plan reflects restricted web usage but unlimited use for social networking (facebook or twitter)

Kinda like what Boost is trying to achieve in states with its LTE plans.

chuckcar
@174.142.39.x

chuckcar

Anon

I can't afford it

That's right even with 3 yes 3 full time jobs i can't afford internet service in Canada. I'm back to using dial-up from America and thank goodness American dial-up is about 3 times cheaper than Canadian dial-up with real newsgroups and *real email*.

heat84
DSLR Influencer
join:2004-03-11
Delray Beach, FL

heat84

Member

We've become too civilized

In olden times everyone would've broke out the pitch forks and torches and lynched the owners of these companies. But now we've be come pacifistic and sit back and let corporations walk all over us while expecting corrupt governments do to something about it.

Its the same with the economy crash in 2008. All the bankers, Wall Street people who caused it and the idiot home owners who bought houses with sub prime mortgages should've been lynched too.

We need to get primitive again. As crazy as that sounds, I see no other solution to dealing with corporate greed.

•••••
tjsnide4
join:2004-07-26

tjsnide4

Member

What will Telus do?

I wonder what Telus is going to do now.

Are they regulated to enforce and collect on hard caps now?

nobody00
@sasknet.sk.ca

nobody00

Anon

Re: What will Telus do?

Roger's current CEO used to affiliated with Telus. Do not be surprised if Telus tries any rate hikes.
ssavoy
Premium Member
join:2007-08-16
Dallas, PA

ssavoy

Premium Member

What does this mean?

Can someone clarify what exactly this means? Does this mean that if you're using the lines of Bell but providing your own service that you have to bend over to these new rules? What if your ISP purchases backhaul from a global/international fiber provider and bypasses any ILEC? Do these rules still apply to them?

•••
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