CRTC Internet Metering in Canada

[aimeeandbeatles]

Children shouldn't be on the internet, anyway.

She's not a "child." She's 16 or 17. I don't remember.

 

[Bill3000]

She's not a "child." She's 16 or 17. I don't remember.

Children shouldn't be on the internet, anyway.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Children shouldn't be on the internet, anyway.

So a year ago I shouldn't have been on CFC?

 

[SG-17]

So I've seen Alaska made reference to twice. What is the state of internet access there? What about Hawaii.

 

[Skwink]

Children shouldn't be on the internet, anyway.

Exactly. This is no place for kids.

 

[Mise]

So a year ago I shouldn't have been on CFC?

I waited until I was 18, I don't see why everyone else can't either.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

The U.S. is closely watching developments in Canada. If this goes forward here, you guys will probably eventually get crappy mandated metered internet too.

By the way, the CRTC is delaying the decision for 60 days, hoping that everyone forgets about this. They will then likely sneak it into legislation. Right everyone is pretty upset, but in 60 days? Who knows

The budget is scheduled for February 24. Depending on whether or not it's passed, we could be in the middle of an election campaign in 60 days.

Exactly. The local newspaper only caught on today and the sum total was a few inches in the editorial section.

Aimee, you need to subscribe to cbc.ca. There have been all kinds of articles and video on this issue there for awhile now. I signed the petition (which is over 400,000 names now).

I got this email from OpenMedia.ca:

The CRTC just announced they will reexamine metered billing practices. They are seeking public input right now! This is a huge opportunity to stop Internet metering, and to ensure Canadians have access to an unlimited Internet.

Please take a moment to send the CRTC a message here: http://openmedia.ca/crtc

OpenMedia.ca asked Canadians to send Ottawa a message about Internet metering, and wow did you ever respond – over 420,000 signed the petition!

The CRTC's move to review the imposition of billing practices through a public process is in direct response to our petition - they even cited the "public outcry".

At the same time, we all know a Big Telecom-friendly compromise is being pushed behind closed doors. To avoid another industry crafted solution we urgently need to send a message to the CRTC HERE.

We must sway the CRTC now to make our previous victories stick. If we don't convince the CRTC, all could be lost - all Internet users could face a metered Internet and pay up $4 per gigabyte!

We’ve already moved politics in Canada and made it easy for politicians to champion the Internet. Let’s force the CRTC to do the same.

http://openmedia.ca/crtc

We’ve come this far, let’s not stop now,

~ The OpenMedia.ca team

Support this campaign by making a small donation to our Stop the Meter Fund at: http://openmedia.ca/drive (this donation will cost you a lot less than UBB)

SOURCES:

Strombo Talks Internet Metering

http://openmedia.ca/strombo

Vancouver Sun - How B.C. activists fought off the Internet billing plan

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/activists+fought+Internet+billing+plan/4222362/story.html

Georgia Straight - Geek Speak: Lindsey Pinto, OpenMedia.ca

http://www.straight.com/article-373231/vancouver/geek-speak-lindsey-pinto-openmediaca

Globe And Mail - A metered Internet is a regulatory failure

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ternet-is-a-regulatory-failure/article1881250

Canadians Just Became World's Biggest Internet Losers

http://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2011/01/26/InternetLosers/

TorrentFreak - Massive Protest Against Canadian Bandwidth Caps

http://torrentfreak.com/canadian-bandwidth-caps-110131/

CBC Visits OpenMedia.ca

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZSq5Gh0uo8

Never thought I'd actually want one of Harper's budgets to pass just so we don't end up in an election... at least until this internet issue is settled.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Moderator Action: And putting on my moderator's hat: Cool it with the "children shouldn't be on the internet" stuff. That's not a productive contribution to the conversation.

 

[wolfigor]

Legally, there is nothing stopping Bell, or Telus, or TekSavvy, or any ISP from lowering your flat rate cap to 5GB, and then charging you per GB after that.

I never understood why ISP are allowed to change contracts and price plans without any penalty.
If the user want to change or terminate the contract, there are plenty of penalties.


(anyway I am in Norway where my ISP not only is efficient and cap-less, but also raised my bandwidth for free and lowered my bill at the same time)

 

[Mise]

Yeah, if they charge you to change to a different supplier or cancel your contract, then they shouldn't be allowed to change the terms of service. They should be locked in for as long as you are.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Yeah, if they charge you to change to a different supplier or cancel your contract, then they shouldn't be allowed to change the terms of service. They should be locked in for as long as you are.

Or they should be made to give you free internet for a few months if they switch it on you.

 

[wolfigor]

Yeah, if they charge you to change to a different supplier or cancel your contract, then they shouldn't be allowed to change the terms of service. They should be locked in for as long as you are.

Completely agree with you.
At the time being, contracts with ISPs are extremely asymmetric and horribly slanted in favor of the ISPs, without any protection or guarantee for the end-users.

If my contract says that I have to pay to cancel a contract and wait 3 months to do so, the same should apply to the ISP.

If the ISP change the terms of contract, the user should be:
- continue to use the service as originally stated for 3 months
- allowed to cancel the contract without any penalty
- be compensated for the trouble of switching ISP


It's time to start lobbying in favor of users!

 

[Zelig]

Well, it looks like it won't matter what infrastructure they use.

Eastlink owns their own cable infrastructure.

And because of the competition from Eastlink, Bell doesn't have caps in the east.

I've ran up nearly 1tb transfer in a month on Bell Aliant, with not a word from them.