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Monday March 26, 2012 |
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The CRTC has announced
plans to hold a consultation on whether information provided by
incumbent companies on wholesale Internet access should be made
publicly available. The CRTC has faced criticism for keeping much of
the submitted information confidential rendering it difficult to fully
assess the validity of cost claims.
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Wednesday February 01, 2012 |
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Distributel, another leading independent ISP, has announced
that it plans to offer unlimited plans to customers in Quebec as a
consequence of the CRTC capacity based billing decision.
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Thursday January 05, 2012 |
TekSavvy announced
a series of new pricing plans for its Internet services yesterday in
the wake of the CRTC usage based billing decision. The focal point of
most media coverage (National
Post, CBC,
Globe)
is that costs are increasing by $3 - 4 per month, a move attributed to
the CRTC decision which implements a capacity-based model for pricing
of wholesale Internet services. While Peter Nowak says
this portends a "dystopian future", I remain far more optimistic.
The TekSavvy plans
offer both cable and DSL services at different price points, speeds,
and usage rates. For example, its fastest cable service offers 24 Mbps
with 300 GB per month for $46.95 or an unlimited amount of data for
$61.95. The DSL service offers even greater variety with higher price
points for its fastest service and a very basic, cheap service of 3
Mbps with a 25 GB cap for $24.95 per month. The DSL service also
introduces off-peak usage for the 300 GB plan with usage during
off-peak periods not counting against the usage cap.
These plans are far superior to those offered by Rogers or Bell. The
most comparable Rogers
plan offers the same speed (24 Mbps) but imposes a 100 GB cap for
$60/month. In other words, same speed, same price but 100 GB vs.
unlimited data. The Rogers basic lite plan of 3 Mbps has a 15 GB cap
for $35.95 per month (less data and significantly higher price). The Bell
pricing is similar - its 25 Mbps service is $59.95/month ($27.48
for the first 12 months to get customers to switch) but comes with 100
GB cap. Its basic service costs $33.95 per month for 2 Mbps and
just 2 GB of data.
Meanwhile, Montreal-based ISP Electronic Box has also announced
new rates in Quebec that feature similar differences between cable
(cheaper) and DSL services. In fact, the Electronic Box pricing is
coming down for its cable package as consumers will be able to purchase
a 60 Mbps service with a 250 GB cap for $54.95. The same speed service
previously came with a 150 GB cap priced at $79.95. The DSL pricing is
going up but the ISP also offers an off-peak plan that does not count
against the cap and is longer than TekSavvy's as it runs from 2:00 am
until noon (TekSavvy until 8:00 am). By comparison, Videotron charges
$82.95 for its 60 Mbps service with a 150 GB cap.
So what is the real story here?
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Wednesday November 23, 2011 |
My column
this week on the positive aspects of the CRTC's usage based billing
decision has generated some sharp disagreement, with some arguing that
the pricing set by the Commission is faulty and virtually guaranteed to
increase consumer prices (Search
Engine covers the issue and arrives at the same conclusion, Peter
Nowak does as well). The column pointed to the pricing concerns,
but I think it is worth exploring the issue a bit further.
Questions about network costs are notoriously difficult to pin down.
Earlier this year, I published a report
that attempted to estimate the cost of a gigabyte of data and others
have tried to do the same. The data relied upon by the CRTC is all
subject to confidentiality and there have been concerns raised about
its validity by both the independent ISPs and the incumbents (groups
such as CIPPIC asked the CRTC to reconsider the issue of pricing in one
of its interventions but the Commission declined). We should be clear -
the lack of transparency associated with the numbers is a significant
problem and must be addressed.
That said, I fear that part of the problem stems from years of limited
Canadian competition with little innovation in the variety of broadband
plans and services.
crtc, pricing, ubb Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterTagsShareWednesday November 23, 2011 |
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