Canadian high speed ISP says lower pricing is unfair to consumers
 

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/09/23/shaw_030923

"We're in favour of fair and sustainable competition because we believe it is in the best interests of the consumer," Jim Shaw, CEO of Shaw Communications, said.

"However, if these predatory pricing practices are permitted to continue it could significantly reduce competition in the Internet access market in Western Canada, that is not in the best interests of serving Internet customers," he added.

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Apparently offering discounted high speed internet services is against the public interest.

someday the Internet will be free for everyone!

I've read that Canada has the cheapest high speed internet anywhere in the world, so I wouldn't worry too much.

29.99/month for full blown 1 m/bit cable internet.

I pay 59.99 for a 4 m/bit line which is actualy around 3.2 m/bits

When i first got internet though they weren't even capping it at 4 m/bits, I remember downloading shit at over 900 kb/s and uploading at over 300 kb/s ...
They start bitching when your transfer goes over 80 GB/month.. but fuck em.. if I don't sign a TOA they can't tell me what and what not to do

Low prices can be bad for consumers in the long run. Two possible scenarios:

#1: A few big companies with lots of cash drive their competition out of business by underpricing their products. Then, when the competition is gone, they can raise the prices as much as they want.
#2: A very competitive market can prevent companies from freeing up resources to improve infrastructure and technology, leading to an overall decrease in quality in the long run.

i challenge that idea.
#1, follow this idea, dialup providers should be a monopoly now.

#2 at the point where it is a competitive market, it is when companies DO improve their technology. They differentiate from their competitors by offering a different product (product placement) Quality will be better in the long run as many more firms enter the market. BUT for the initial company investing into R&D, they will be the ones with the most to lose... BUT they would also have a first mover competitive advantage.

Sympatico has a sweet deal, its un-advertised, first 5 months are $25.95.

IMO, their all crooks anyways

The product or service has to be equal. Dial-up is nothing compared to cable.

So basically you are talking about WalMart?

If they went under because of a price war it would save Brad alot of money :1orglaugh

he was being general :winkwink:

u cant compare them, but cable should suffer from the same thing that dialup faced: saturation, price war, open market.

there are still dialup companies out there that make money.

if its done to get rid of competition then yes it is...