Hey, we get mad too. It actually happens sometimes. It just takes a lot longer to make us drop the polite veneer and break your nose with a hockey stick.
Canadians React With Anger to New Internet Usage Caps
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
I struggle to sympathise with this. In the UK some plans have a 1 or 2 Gb monthly limit. 20Gb is condidered unlimited by some companies. I've found that heavy browsing uses about 2Gb a month, so that still leaves 18Gb from a UK limit. I don't really see the problem!?
I'm not sure what is worse, that people actually live in Canada or that they think they should be allowed unlimited to access the internet.
I'm joking of course.
So how would Canadians go about fighting this? They don't have a military to speak of to fight it. You really can't boycott your ISP as then they don't have Escapist access. I don't know that Canadians are capable of rioting.
Again... I'm joking.
I'm damn happy I don't live in our 51st state. This internet cap thing would really get under my skin.
I'm probably atleast partially joking there. I haven't decided.
I'm joking of course.
So how would Canadians go about fighting this? They don't have a military to speak of to fight it. You really can't boycott your ISP as then they don't have Escapist access. I don't know that Canadians are capable of rioting.
Again... I'm joking.
I'm damn happy I don't live in our 51st state. This internet cap thing would really get under my skin.
I'm probably atleast partially joking there. I haven't decided.
There are a lot of smaller ISPs that offer unlimited bandwidth for fairly cheap, though the speeds are typically lower than capped service from the bigger ISPs. What this decision essentially does is tell the smaller ISPs they can't do that anymore and have to offer capped service with overage charges once a rather low bandwidth cap is exceeded. This kinda ruins the competitive market because it means there's less incentive to go with a smaller ISP since they're now stuck offering essentially the same service as the larger ISPs. I could probably go on, but a lot has already been said elsewhere and I'd encourage you to look for it yourself if you're so inclined.yesjam said:
It's a matter of preference, honestly. I would rather have unlimited bandwidth and be able to download as much data as I could possibly want, and maybe have to wait a little while longer to get it because of lower download speeds. With the amount of data I've downloaded in a month on numerous occasions, I'd have paid through my nose with low bandwidth caps and excessive overage charges.squid5580 said:
I know right? Canada was my backup plan.mad825 said:
But in all seriousness, as someone getting a degree in game design, there is a very good chance I may have to move to Canada for work given their low taxes on the industry.
NOT GOOD.
Good I echo this man's statement; the more people that e-mail their MPs, the more they will realize that this is an issue. Don't just ***** on this site, e-mail your MPs.Vivace-Vivian said:
I am already on a system like that. I am with Accesscomm and they have a cap on their plans. Thing is they don't charge overages, they just "raid-shape" your connection until you get back below the cap. The problem I have is that they might very well charge me overages because of their point system. With Accesscomm, if you download or upload anything between 3 pm and 12:59 pm you get dinged 2x rates. Because it is Primetime. What this means is that when I watch an HD video on Netflix (which is very new to me). I am getting dinged 2 GB for a 1 GB download. That's not including any data that might have been uploaded. That and with all the digital content I have through steam, the chances of reaching the overage is to great. I've went over it a few times already in fact, and that was with observations.squid5580 said:
I'm over my limit right now anyway, thanks to Netflix, lol! Still, I disagree with UBB in general.
Am I reading this right? Are you guys not able to get "flat rate" internet (ie. unlimited bandwidth at a certain speed)? If so, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard and yeah, they're just rushing to cash in because non-flat rate internet is always a scam. You either don't use up the bandwidth that you're paying for or you go over the limit and pay a higher price. Either way, they fuck you over. Kinda the same thing with postpaid phone service, which is why I still happily stick with my prepaid.
If I'm understanding this right, I really, really hope they kill this bill with fire. I have an intention of moving to Canada in a few years and this would be a MAJOR downside for me considering even my dear ol' crappy Serbia is willing to provide flat rate internet that I have enjoyed ever since I got broadband.
If I'm understanding this right, I really, really hope they kill this bill with fire. I have an intention of moving to Canada in a few years and this would be a MAJOR downside for me considering even my dear ol' crappy Serbia is willing to provide flat rate internet that I have enjoyed ever since I got broadband.
I worked for Bell Canada through a third-party contract for about a year and a half. I have a lot of symapthy for them. They've done a lot. They've laid the entire DSL network for Canada and have been striving towards fibre-optics in major cities across Canada. They've been forced to sell out their lines to smaller companies because, apparently, Cable internet doesn't count as true competition to DSL and they're considered a monopoly. They've had to maintain not only their own company, but those like Teksavvy, Primus, Acanac and all those other small companies that take advantage of having, essentially, free server throughput for their customers at the expense of a flat fee and getting the lower grade equipment that Bell Canada has to offer. They've put a lot of money into infrastructure because nobody else wants to put the money forward! It's that simple.
HOWEVER...
Does Bell Canada deserve the money they get for their service? Absolutely not. With this new initiative, Canada has become the worst country in the world for internet in comparison to any other country who has a country wide network (or close to). We were already about 36th out of 60 or so, so we weren't even that high up. Why? Low bandwidth caps for extremely rediculous prices. ISPs in Canada need to be forced to change their pricing structures to fit with a reasonable amount of usage in this day and age! We pay around $60 (that's 60 USD, 37.5 GBP, 43.8 EURO, 59.7 AUD!!!) for 60 GBs a month on a 10 meg download, 1 meg upload plan. Simply put, that's insane! And to think that people complain about customers getting $15 off their first year because nobody gives a better deal! What's the alternative? Go to a third-party company, where you're sitll paying about $40 ($40 USD, 25 GBP, 29.2 EURO, 39.8 AUD) who get shafted every which way in technology, services and repair because they have to rent lines from Bell, who's already pissed about it.
The CRTC is our only chance to straighten things out by putting tighter, but more reasonable, regulations. They need to force telecommunications companies to smarten up or the average canadian is going to have to choose between phone, internet or television, because they'll only be able to afford one! Canadians, write, e-mail, or schedual meetings with your MPs to get the word out there. This has to end!
HOWEVER...
Does Bell Canada deserve the money they get for their service? Absolutely not. With this new initiative, Canada has become the worst country in the world for internet in comparison to any other country who has a country wide network (or close to). We were already about 36th out of 60 or so, so we weren't even that high up. Why? Low bandwidth caps for extremely rediculous prices. ISPs in Canada need to be forced to change their pricing structures to fit with a reasonable amount of usage in this day and age! We pay around $60 (that's 60 USD, 37.5 GBP, 43.8 EURO, 59.7 AUD!!!) for 60 GBs a month on a 10 meg download, 1 meg upload plan. Simply put, that's insane! And to think that people complain about customers getting $15 off their first year because nobody gives a better deal! What's the alternative? Go to a third-party company, where you're sitll paying about $40 ($40 USD, 25 GBP, 29.2 EURO, 39.8 AUD) who get shafted every which way in technology, services and repair because they have to rent lines from Bell, who's already pissed about it.
The CRTC is our only chance to straighten things out by putting tighter, but more reasonable, regulations. They need to force telecommunications companies to smarten up or the average canadian is going to have to choose between phone, internet or television, because they'll only be able to afford one! Canadians, write, e-mail, or schedual meetings with your MPs to get the word out there. This has to end!
Can we have one country left?
Australia has the Firewall, Canada has the Watchdogs, UK has the CyberWar, US has the Game bannings...where else do we have?
Australia has the Firewall, Canada has the Watchdogs, UK has the CyberWar, US has the Game bannings...where else do we have?
I dunno I think that if you use alot that you should be expected to pay a bit more. Sure $2.50 a gb for overages up to 60 bucks is extreme without a doubt (that is my Bell plan). But a simple phone call and I had my bandwidth doubled for $15 bucks. To me it seems like Hydro. I mean you use it you pay for it. You don't use it and you don't. To me it seems like they are just saying use it a bit more responsibly. Make sure you want that movie or music before you download it. Don't leave JTV up when you go for a coffee.karashata said:
And believe me with the company I had with the unlimited there was no way I could download everything I wanted within a month. It was about as fast as old school dial up. When I complained about the speed and the technician came by he told me my download speed was about 1.5-2mb. I was waiting minutes for an average patch on a 360 game. Not the few seconds it takes it normally.
Out of curiosity how does it work in the States? Do all of your companies have unlimited?
2 TB?! I fear phone calls from my ISP when I get to 50 GB (they never did object, though). How did you even manage that just from Steam?Citizen Snips said:
Also, just to put in perspective how ridiculous and backwards this idea is - I live in Eastern Europe and still we have unlimited traffic (though the speed is kinda meh). Canadian ISPs will therefore be somewhere on the level of Somalia.
I cried a little when I read "only 25 GB per month in Ontario". Damn Australian internet means that this is the best I can hope for atm.
But wow, I thought Canada had more sense than this. Major suckage.
But wow, I thought Canada had more sense than this. Major suckage.
