Bell screwing indie ISPs over some more
Thu, 2008-07-31 09:58
#1
Bell screwing indie ISPs over some more
Thu, 2008-07-31 09:58
#2
quote:
Bell Canada Inc. is moving to impose download limits on customers of independent internet service providers, an act the smaller firms say is designed to eliminate broadband competition.The Montreal-based company, which cut its own Sympatico customers off from unlimited downloading last year, has proposed extending that plan to firms renting portions of its network in order to provide their own services. That would include a number of smaller wholesale ISP customers such as Chatham, Ont.-based TekSavvy Solutions Inc., Cobourg, Ont.-based Eagle.ca and Mississauga-based Acanac Inc.
The limits would range from two gigabytes per month for customers with slower connections of 512 kilobits per second up to 60 GB for those with the faster speeds of five megabits per second, according to Acanac president Paul Louro. Customers who exceed those limits would incur extra charges, much like cellphone subscribers do when they surpass their monthly minutes.
Read it [url=http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/07/31/tech-bell.html]here.[/url]
Thu, 2008-07-31 10:25
#3
Le T
Maybe it's time to nationalize the network? Why does Bell, the shittiest company in Canada, get to maintain its monopoly?
Thu, 2008-07-31 11:49
#4
Bye bye Bell.
Someone needs to file a class action suite against Bell. They are deliberating undermining competition. I was going to switch to TekSavvy but wth? Apparently there is no escaping Bell.
Thu, 2008-07-31 12:01
#5
quote:
Originally posted by Stargazer:
[b]Someone needs to file a class action suite against Bell.[/b]
Go ahead. Get in line.
[url=http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/05/30/bell.can.throttling.suit/]... Canada hit with class-action throttling lawsuit[/url]
[url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080729.RTEXTING29/TPS... sought over messaging fees[/url]
Thu, 2008-07-31 14:23
#6
Huh. About ten or fifteen years ago I met with a lawyer to discuss a possible class action against Bell, because I found out that they had been charging me for call display for over a year -- even though I had never requested this service, and in fact, my phone was an old black wall-mounted dial model! I was also paying for call forwarding I think, with none of these charges itemized on the bill. I could only imagine how many other loyal Bell customers, particularly older people, were getting overcharged the same way.
At the time class actions were very difficult to get certified, here at least, and the lawyer also explained that to go up against Bell I would need financial backing. So I dropped the idea, complained loud enough at Bell that they gave me my money back, then disconnected my phone and went without for three years.
Are the bills still like this? Maybe someone in Quebec can take it up!
[ 05 August 2008: Message edited by: triciamarie ]
Mon, 2008-08-04 06:43
#7
Does bell really have a monopoly? It seems like high speed internet is more of a duopoly. Ironic that you would argue against Bell having a monopoly and at the same time argue (or suggest) that the government should nationalize, and thus presumably have the monopoly on it's own.
I don't see any problem with what Bell is doing but I wish there was competition - undoubtedly the duopoly of rogers / bell on high speed internet is the product of government interference in the internet market.
Mon, 2008-08-04 07:06
#8
X
Mon, 2008-08-04 22:55
#9
quote:
Originally posted by Zak Young:
[b]I don't see any problem with what Bell is doing but I wish there was competition - undoubtedly the duopoly of rogers / bell on high speed internet is the product of government interference in the internet market.[/b]
Naw. There are several natural monopolies which NeoLiberalizers thought they could feudalize through deregulation and without too many lowly citizens noticing. In the U.S., for example, the internet was conceived of by publicly-funded researchers and academics and piggy-backed onto the public switched telephone network. After 12 years of deregulation, the internet works better in just about every [i]other[/i] country where strong government regulations in telecom are the rule. What would von Hayek say?
Tue, 2008-08-05 11:44
#10
"What would von Hayek say?"
He'd say it's a myth that monopolies can arise without state intervention in the market. I would concur.
Tue, 2008-08-05 11:48
#11
M. Spector
Yes, state intervention is the root of all our problems. If only things were left up to the nice men in the big top-hats with the limousines, the world would be a much happier place.
Tue, 2008-08-05 11:56
#12
omg we agree! [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]