The CRTC has given the all-clear for a new system of charging Canadians based on their Internet usage known as metering or usage-based billing. With this new system, companies such as Bell would be able to set bandwidth limits and charge patrons per gigabyte over their allowed limit, and Bell has already declared they will take full advantage of their new-found power.
Because Bell is making it more expensive for everybody, these small ISPs have to make their product more expensive, making profit not for themselves, but for Bell.
It’s surprising to note that there has been little to no media coverage regarding this. Why? You’d think that news corporations such as CTV and Global would be preying on topics that could mean their viewers would have to pay more money in an effort to draw in more viewers and thus, generate revenue. Why are they holding back such a controversial news story? Because Bell owns CTV.
What worries me even more, Global is owned by Shaw, and Global hasn’t so much as added this controversy to their little news ticker. Could this mean that Shaw intends to up the prices even more?
The technology exists to increase internet speeds significantly. Why is Canada sticking with technology that came out a decade ago? Why are companies charging us more money for technology that just sits there?
Brian Van Essen
Victoria
