CRTC Usage Based Billing Timeline
The CRTC has released its timline for consultations on Usage-Based Billing (UBB). We’ve been following the story at Slaw here and here. A good source for updates on the issue is Lindsay Pinto’s blog at Open Media.ca, and of course Michael Geist is providing excellent commentary.
The whole issue is particularly interesting because of the strong reaction the proposal has provoked in Canadian consumers. If I had to guess, I’d say that UBB is irksome to Canadians mainly because of the unreasonable caps proposed, and the transparently anti-competitive character of the caps (and this on multiple fronts). Most of the commentary I’ve seen focuses on the limitations that caps impose on “access to content” and the opportunity to “consume” media. However, any bandwidth caps also limit participation in online culture. This point is central to Tim Wu’s Guardian column yesterday. It is a great introduction to what Mr. Wu calls “a critical period for the internet.”
Another thing that rankles is that it’s changing the rules after the game is in play. Our original ISPs, specifically including UUnet Canada*, sold you a certain amount of of time at a fixed speed, and provided a somewhat better deal if you bought the 24/7 package. This they called “unlimited, for unlimited connect time at a given speed.
The johnny-come-latelys started with the same unlimited-time offer, at various speeds and prices, but now want to charge you if you actually use more than a fraction of what you paid for.
That particular kind of unreasonableness resonates with anyone who’s read Wu’s “Master Switch”: the dinosaurs take over, squeeze out their smaller competitors, raise the cost of entry and milk their now trapped customer base for as high a rent as possible.
The public policy effect is to make an open marketplace into a walled garden, in which you can play only if you’re prepared to let your new masters set the rules, and change them at their whim.
–dave
* Full disclosure: I once worked for UUnet, after having been a customer.
I believe the internet should be available to all Canadians and it should be unlimited for everyone. If you have to put price caps then they should be based on taxable income so the less income someone makes the cheaper it should be!This will allow the children of less fortunate parents to have the resources to learn and grow!
Question: will users of Skype be affected as we are not downloading?
Hi Bre,
Yes, Skype would consume considerable bandwidth, and that would go towards your monthly total. If your total usage goes over the limit set by Bell, you would be charged extra.
Interestingly AT and T in the states made the case recently that they should be allowed to buy TMobil because they are having trouble keeping up with demand on their network of fibre optic cables, and need more. I gather since the iPhone network usage has increased dramatically. But at the same time the costs of providing service continue to drop, reportedly.
To my mind, the real issues arise when pricing models start to infringe on the freedom to choose our sources of information. Not that we live in a very balanced world right now, as traffic shaping is a given in the Canadian context. But whenever we have a chance to improve the neutrality of the networks, and this pricing issue has raised that possibility, we should make the most of it.
I just noticed that Shaw has removed its internet usage from their user access area. This was a handy tool that allowed the user to monitor their usage. Apparently it was removed until they make a decision on usage based billing. Boo to them!