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Old 02-02-2011, 10:50 PM  
Axeman
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Swamp
Posts: 5,201
Quote:
Originally Posted by MediaGuy View Post
Bah it's bullshit... my plan included 8 or ten gigs bandwidth and when I exceeded that they called me and offered 40 gigs for an extra five bucks - they've had UBB for a few years now and it works...

Maybe I'm wrong but it seems like an over reaction now that I learn more about it...


:D
You're wrong.

The problem with this is the CRTC is making it acceptable for the incumbent Bell to force their business model and pricing on their wholesale customers. So that forces their competition to have to drop their existing plans of 200gb and unlimited, and now have a cap of 25gb for all of Canada except Quebec, who got special favors and their new cap will be 60gb. Overage will cost you $2 a gb up to $60. Unless you use over 300gb and then its an addition $1 a gb. Keep in mind the cost of delivery per gb is between $0.01-$0.03 a gb.

Forcing their business model on their wholesalers kills all competition in Canada, then we are pooched.

Bell/DSL is currently regulated because the majority of their infrastructure (the last mile) was built by tax payer grants and substitutes from when they were a monopoly. So they have to provide access to independent ISP's to the last mile, but only from the Central Offices, not their own remote stations.

It is near impossible for another start-up to build their own last mile into your home due to the costs of ripping up the streets etc. And with Canada having asinine foreign investor restrictions, good luck.

Let's not pretend this is about bandwidth or congestion, or needing to pay for infrastructure. This is about trying to force Canadians not to use services like Netflix, Hulu, Steam etc as it competes directly with Bell and Rogers own Cable TV services. Their own TV stations, and their video on demand /ppv services. Nothing else.

It's all about to be moot though, as the Conservative government is going to be sending the UBB ruling back to the CRTC to overturn. And if the CRTC fails to do so, gov't sources say Harper and Clements will do it themselves.
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