Canada Gets First, Bitter Dose of Metered Internet

[bonnie]

200GB to 25GB: Canada Gets First, Bitter Dose of Metered Internet

By Matthew Lasar

Metered Internet usage (also called "Usage-Based Billing") is coming to Canada, and it's going to cost Internet users. While an advance guard of Canadians are expressing creative outrage at the prospect of having to pay inflated prices for Internet use charged by the gigabyte, the consequences probably haven't set in for most consumers. Now, however, independent Canadian ISPs are publishing their revised data plans, and they aren't pretty.

"Like our customers, and Canadian internet users everywhere, we are not happy with this new development," wrote the Ontario-based indie ISP TekSavvy in a recent e-mail message to its subscribers.

But like it or not, the Canadian Radio-Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved UBB for the incumbent carrier Bell Canada in September. Competitive ISPs, which connect to Canada's top telco for last-mile copper connections to customers, will also be metered by Bell. Even though the CRTC gave these ISPs a 15 percent discount this month (TekSavvy asked for 50 percent), it's still going to mean a real adjustment for consumers.

This is going to hurt

Starting on March 1, Ontario TekSavvy members who subscribed to the 5Mbps plan have a new usage cap of 25GB, "substantially down from the 200GB or unlimited deals TekSavvy was able to offer before the CRTC's decision to impose usage based billing," the message added.

By way of comparison, Comcast here in the United States has a 250GB data cap. Looks like lots of Canadians can kiss that kind of high ceiling goodbye. And going over will cost you: according to TekSavvy, the CRTC put data overage rates at CAN $1.90 per gigabyte for most of Canada, and $2.35 for the country's French-speaking region.

Bottom line: no more unlimited buffet. TekSavvy users who bought the "High Speed Internet Premium" plan at $31.95 now get 175GB less per month.

"Extensive web surfing, sharing music, video streaming, downloading and playing games, online shopping and email," could put users over the 25GB cap, TekSavvy warns. Also, watch out "power users that use multiple computers, smartphones, and game consoles at the same time."

You need "protection"

Here's the "good" news: TekSavvy users can now buy "insurance," defined as "a recurring subscription fee that provides you with additional monthly usage." For Ontario it's $4.75 for 40GB of additional data (sorry, but the unused data can't be forwarded to the next month).

There are also "usage vault" plans—payments made in advance for extra data. Consumers can buy vault data for $1.90/GB up to 300GB in any month.

Where once TekSavvy consumers could purchase High Speed Internet Premium at a monthly base usage of 200GB for $31.95 a month, now they can get about half of that data (if they buy two units of insurance) at $41.45 a month.

[Dottie]

The USA is sure to follow...

[Woody]

I believe Obama is trying to get permission as we speak.

[Norman Byers, N.D.]

Being Canadian, I can tell you that things like this has been going on in Canada for years. For example one day we were paying 6% or 7% provincial tax and then one day they (the government.... and conservatives at that) added another 7% Goods and services tax. So taxes essentially doubled. What did Canadians do? Wine and complain and then get on with life.

That's one thing (besides the cold) that I did not like about Canada, people just let themselves get pushed over by the government.

I don't think that will go over too well here if it is attempted. Americans are way too Internet dependent and that might cost someone an election. Americans don't just complain, they do something about it. And that's what I like about the USA (Besides the warm weather)

[Stan]

Norman..

I was in retail then, and we used to have to hide 13.5% federal tax, which we paid on most things, that dropped and we paid a 7% tax on retail. Several items, most items dropped in price overall.

That whole plan was headed up by an Adventist from Oshawa. Most oppostion parties yelled about the 7%, that was political everyone knew about the 13.5% on whole FST (Federal Sales Tax)

I perfer the way the internet is changing.. you use less, you pay less, you use more, you pay more.

Just like how we purchase gas.