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Bell's Usage Allowance and Speed Chart (click to enlarge)
Broadband Providers: How Low Can They Go?
When a broadband provider insists on the need to implement Internet Overcharging schemes on their customers to control costs and “manage their network,” it’s a safe bet they’ll also manage to find a way to increase your bill. Bell, one of Canada’s largest Internet service providers, has reduced usage allowances on some of their popular Internet service plans, in some cases substantially.
Usage Allowances
Essential Plus: 2GB usage allowance (was 20GB)
Performance: 25GB usage allowance (was 60GB) (Bell’s most popular plan)
Customers can now purchase ”Usage Insurance” policies from Bell for “peace of mind” in case they go over plan limits starting at $5/month, which provide additional allowances.
Bell claims the reduction in usage allowances comes with reduced pricing for broadband service, but many customers who forget to purchase “insurance” could be subjected to overlimit penalties of $2-2.50/GB, with a maximum penalty of $30 per month.
Bell customers looking for a place to complain have one less place to do so: Bell pulled the plug Friday on their support forum, popular with thousands of Bell customers looking for support or to share their feelings about Bell service. The company has remained silent on the reasons for doing so. No warning or advance notice was given.
Usage insurance?!?! I ‘LOL’d!!!
OMG, talking about ridiculous. I think, if I were a customer of theirs, it would be better if they just pulled a gun on me and robbed me instead. That way, I wouldn’t feel bad about being robbed.
this sounds like the same “insurance” the mob would charge you…..a.k.a extortion
Usage Caps must be a dream to any provider who has established them. This gives them ultimate control over creating and charging consumer for all kinds of pseudo “products/services”.
Looks like Bell’s getting after everyone complaining about their caps. Cutting the caps almost by 80% is a very bad move. So to home users, this was a critical hit. To Bell, it was an instant win.
Seriously, Canadians need to organize and boycott these ISP’s up there. Hurt them where it really hurts, their wallets!!
Am I reading this wrong or is this actually a better deal than that proposed by Time Warner as once you pay the $30 in overages you are unlimited and can freely download as much as you want. It actually sounds kind of fair only being 30 dollars more to download as much as you want, with those not needing to download as much as desired not needing to pay that fee. I wouldn’t actually mind the canadian system, sounds like they are getting good speeds and the overages are not that bad being a maximum of 30 and then the all you can eat buffet begins again. Time Warner should seriously consider this model as it would be fair to all users arguably, although the initial caps are a little low for what is being paid for the service.
Rogers asks for up to $25 in overlimit fees, Bell asks for $30 in overlimit fees. The reason I last heard for this was that Canadian federal law limits such fees, although I haven’t confirmed that. I am aware Canadian ISPs want to see such limits removed, so they aren’t doing this out of the goodness of their hearts.
Keep in mind, these providers also actively throttle your speeds for applications they don’t like, particularly peer to peer, which can drop to 250kbps speeds as they see fit.
South of the border, there are no limits for overlimit fees, which is why no ISP trying to charge them seems to have limits.
Just as with “usage insurance,” once one gets the establishment of overcharging schemes in place, whatever tempering of them they do at the outset to make them more palatable can always be removed later. So what costs $5 today may cost $50 tomorrow. Once you let them get away with charging them in the first place, it’s only a matter of time before they’ll jack the prices up.
It’s FAR better to avoid ever allowing ISPs to engage in ANY Internet Overcharging schemes in the first place, versus arguing on their terms over what is supposedly “fair.”
Remember, no ISP is on the verge of Chapter 11 here. The large national ones remain insanely profitable. They just want to take it to the next level of profit pillaging.
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