Liberal Party Proposal on UBB
The Liberal Party of Canada has submited a proposal to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission in regards to Usage Based Billing.
This five page submission was authored by Industry, Science and Technology Critic and former Astronaut Mark Garneau and includes a statement against the throttling of VOIP telephone service to “preferentially advantage home phone lines“. It also includes a statement against UBB fees that would “disadvantage live-streaming from Netflix while leaving Internet Protocol television such as IPTV exempt from caps“.
According to this document, the Liberal Party of Canada believes that network congestion should be addressed with further investment in infrastructure and location specific measures that are limited to peak periods.
For example, if congestion persists in Toronto they believe that people in Saskatoon should not be forced to pay for it, especially those who use the internet off peek from 10pm to 7am.
I’m guessing that most of the political parties in Canada agree with the major points of this document. But those that agree may co-sign this submission here.
Maclean Magazine Scorns Canadians
Appearently Maclean believes that Canadian consumers are being unfair about usage based billing, and that we all want free access to the internet.
This Rogers Communications owned publication thinks that because they believe average users aledgely only use 16 gigabites per month that anyone going over this amount should be subjected to higher fees, just because some 2% of users download “hundreds of gigs worth” per month.
Is this what they call “Fair” ? And where did they get that 16 gigabite per month figure ?
My average use is at about 40 gigs per month at the moment because of Youtube and i’m sure Netflix users have a similar rate. I am not an “average user” ?
It’s obvious that legitimate online television and film content streaming have resulted in a hike in average use and that 16 gig figure will not cut it.
There are already hundreds of internet ready devices, including televisions and blu-ray players, that enable families to view film and television from the internet. And these devices are getting more and more affordable each day so the “average” use will likely surpass 50 or 60 gigs per month soon, if it hasn’t already.
Cloud computing will also drive some of these transfers up, as more and more people use this new technology from their home, so usage based billing is no response.
Stop The Meter – National Day Of Action
On Saturday, the 26th of February, several protests against usage based billing will take place across the nation.
Details on your local events can be found at http://openmedia.ca/local.
Bell Internet Usage Error
Bell has found a fault in their online internet usage meter that caused 0.1% of their customers to get overcharged.
I had suspected there was a problem because my router’s usage data never matched the usage data provided by Bell.
In a statement to the CBC, Bell stated that they will fix the problem “certainly before the end of the week” and credit the accounts of those who were affected.
Such errrors of course place usage based billing in doubt as errors can occur resulting in unsubstantiated overcharges.
The CRTC has decided to review their usage based billing decision and this incident will probably be mentioned as a reason why usage based billing is questionable.
Public Consultations on UBB
Both the CRTC and Shaw are holding public consultations on Usage Based Billing :
Response From Government on UBB
In response to the political and consumer backlash, the Minister of Industry has promised to investigate usage based billing.
In a statement issued on Monday, Tony Clement said “The Harper Government is committed to encouraging choice and competition in the wireless and Internet markets. Increased competition can lead to more choice, lower prices and better quality services for Canadians.”
The online petition had grown to over 160,000 signatures, doubling in less than 72 hours and I suspect his office has been flooded with letters, emails and faxes on the subject.
It is vital for taxpayers to voice their opinions on the matter because it is the taxpayer that paid for most of the infrastructure on which the internet operates in Canada.
Please discuss this issue with your local Member of Parliament.