Subscribe
Their bull got you right in your wallet.
The next time you hear a provider telling you usage-capped broadband is the way the rest of the world does business, understand one thing:
They are lying to you.
Stop the Cap! conducted extensive research on just what kind of broadband plans are sold around the world. We researched every member country of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and included several developing and non-aligned countries for good measure.
Our findings are conclusive: Unlimited broadband packages are the global norm. Some providers sell a mix of “light use” plans with usage allowances, but almost always side-by-side affordable, unlimited use options for those who want them. The only exceptions we found:
- Australia: The most common reason for usage caps comes from lack of capacity. Countries in the South Pacific continue to experience international capacity shortages that are gradually easing with the introduction of new underseas fiber cables. Several providers have promised to ease or eliminate caps as new capacity comes online.
- Canada: For reasons of marketplace concentration, lack of competition, and regulatory malpractice, Canadian broadband has lost its former status as a world-leader in broadband and has now become an also-ran, with almost universally usage-capped and throttled broadband from large cable and phone companies delivering expensive, comparatively slow service.
- Iceland: International capacity problems limit international broadband traffic with usage caps, but some providers offer unlimited service for domestic traffic.
- New Zealand: Just like Australia, New Zealand suffers from international capacity problems not seen in Europe, North America, or continental Asia. Both Australia and New Zealand are using public finances to overcome broadband shortages and reduce or eliminate usage caps.
Some providers in the United States are following Canada’s lead attempting to monetize broadband traffic to maximize profits. Some Canadian providers claim usage-based billing is necessary to finance the construction of broadband networks across the broad expanse of rural Canada. Yet Russia, a far larger country with fewer financial resources, succeeds in delivering unlimited service where Canada fails. Their arguments just don’t add up, and combined with the reality we present here proves providers are telling tall tales about the need for their Internet Overcharging schemes.
If Albania can deliver unlimited Internet access, why can’t your provider?
| Country | Provider |
| Albania | SAN Ltd. — Delivers “always on, always unlimited” DSL service |
| Austria | Telekom Austria — “Unlimited high speed Internet” |
| Australia | AAPT -- Delivers up to 1TB combined peak/off-peak usage; unlimited plans N/A |
| Belgium | Telenet — Offers multiple plans with no set limits. Reserves right to reduce speeds for highest use customers |
| Chile | VTR -- Unlimited Access |
| Czech Rep. |
O2/Czech Rep. -- Unlimited Access |
| Denmark | Tele Danmark -- Fast, unlimited service up to 20/2Mbps |
| Estonia | Elion -- Hyperfast 100Mbps Internet, no limits |
| Finland | Elisa -- Fixed broadband without fixed limits |
| France | Orange, Free, and Teleconnect all unlimited, all the time. |
| Germany | Deutsche Telekom -- Internet at a flat rate. |
| Greece | OTE — Conn-X, now up to 24Mbps and no limit. |
| Hungary | Magyar Telekom/DT -- Delivers up to 80Mbps unlimited access. |
| Iceland | All providers have usage caps on foreign traffic due to international capacity issues |
| India | India Bharat Sanchar Nigam, Ltd. offers uncapped plans. |
| Ireland | Irish Broadband promises "fast and unlimited access 24/7." |
| Italy | Tiscali: 20Mbps service, “browse the Internet without limits.” |
| Japan | KCN delivers up to 1Gbps service: rocket fast and never a limit. |
| Korea | All major providers deliver unlimited service packages. |
| Luxembourg | Numericable delivers 30Mbps service with "no volume limits." |
| Malaysia |
Persiasys offers a complete selection of unlimited use plans. |
| Mexico | Cablevision delivers up to 20Mbps service without usage caps. |
| Netherlands | Onesnet provides up to 100Mbps service at a monthly fixed rate. |
| New Zealand |
ISPs in NZ deliver unlimited broadband only during off-peak hours due to capacity. |
| Nigeria | Junisat delivers several unlimited satellite broadband packages. |
| Norway | Telenor sells ADSL and VDSL 'super broadband' packages without limits. |
| Philippines | PLDT and Digitel markets unlimited service in the Philippines. |
| Poland | Telekomunikacja Polska offers ADSL service across Poland with no use limitations. |
| Portugal | Portugal Telecom sells unlimited broadband service, often over fiber networks. |
| Russia | Koptevo, CentroSet, and MegaBistro offer all you can eat broadband buffets. |
| Singapore |
SingTel wants your family to enjoy 15Mbps unlimited Internet access. |
| Slovakia | Slovak Telecom/DT delivers optical Internet with unlimited access 24/7. |
| Slovenia | Telekom Slovenije offers unlimited access to their networks up to 100/100Mbps in speed. |
| Spain | Telefonica delivers unlimited broadband service to all its customers who want it. |
| Sweden | Com Hem, Sweden's national cable company, offers unlimited access up to 100Mbps. |
| Switzerland | Swisscom offers unlimited downloads across all but one "lite use" plan. |
| Turkey | SuperOnline delivers more than a half-dozen unlimited access packages in Turkey. |
| UK |
Virgin Media offers unlimited broadband access in the UK. BT plans to soon. |
It should be noted that some independent ISPs in Canada do offer unlimited plans. Companies like TekSavvy, who purchase last-mile connections from Bell, offer unlimited usage packages at very affordable prices. Of course, that will change if the CRTC approves either wholesale UBB or Aggregated Volume Pricing (AVP).
It should also be noted that SaskTel in Saskatchewan also offers unlimited usage. SaskTel is a Crown Corporation, meaning it’s a government-owned entity. It’s the last province not taken over by Bell or Telus in Canada.
That is SAD – Even Mexico is beating us in the Internet race!!!
this is very sad, i mean heck if russia can do this why cant we??, we use to be a nation that could stand right up against them but now, they must be laughtin, i find it horible that we where the first ones to the moon but we are the last ones in the internet world (well not technically but u know what i mean), why the whole world is basically getting rid of caps we are getting into it cause of greed, and the only reason these companys feel like its ok because of the mother (ma bell)… Read more »
Maybe in 20 years from now when the government sanctioned AT&T monopoly outfit has planted the US firmly in the 3rd world internet tier, which no doubt will help plunge our economy even further into the Great Depression, it will be Americans running south across the border instead of what we have today.
Don’t forget to join the facebook AT&T bandwidth cap protest group – http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_186439608067383
bringing up the rear….. as usual lately it seems.
Just want to point out that TPG in Australia has now started to offer an unlimited DSL plan.
Ireland Irish Broadband promises “fast and unlimited access 24/7.”
I’d be suspicious as to actually how much research was done for that article, especially as the information offered for Ireland relates to one of our minor providers, and when I look at their product they are only offering 4MB with unlimited downloads AND it costs double the price of the closest limited plan….
Elly, the point of the piece was not to present a comprehensive list of every ISP out there, but to take away the oft-repeated claim that “usage limits” are the normal way everyone else prices broadband, so why can’t (the provider) “we.” It didn’t take too long to find unlimited broadband deals all over the world. While I agree 4Mbps is hardly blazing fast speed, at least you never have to worry about getting a surprise bill at the end of the month. There are a lot of consumers that would actually pay more for unlimited broadband even if they… Read more »
Let’s go one step further. UBB is killing America’s ability to compete in the real world. Broadband should be one gigabit upload and download…bare minimum via FTTH with mandatory universal service for everyone.
You forgot to mention China, where all ISPs also offer unlimited internet for cheaper than Canada, and they are beginning to offer unlimited FTTH for less than ADSL or cable costs here..
I was hesitant to include China because they are the ultimate bad boy in Net Neutrality violations, for political reasons. But China is investing in infrastructure of ALL kinds at dollar amounts that would cause tea party members to fling themselves into the sea. Penny wise, pound foolish. That’s why America’s National Broadband Plan is far too timid IMHO. It sets up rural America with yesterday’s 3-4Mbps DSL service while larger cities can move into faster speeds the phone company cannot match on an antiquated copper wire network. I’m a believer in a nationwide fiber network on which any provider… Read more »
Where I live Telus is still legacy in the so called city “medicine hat” and Redcliff at the 3-4Mbps DSL . Plus they stifle their so called competition(retail? partners) by making them charge $10GB overage and the packages are expensive. Even Shaw did that to me too. Telus you can go over quite a bit . But of course thats why I switched to them because of it. If the so called competition wasn’t forced into charging that and had real competitive packages , I would not have switched. So basically there really isn’t competition here. This AVP is still… Read more »
Is TekSavvy only a reseller of Bell DSL? I realize Telus is western Canada’s biggest phone company, but evidently they do not have a deal with TekSavvy? The UBB problem in Canada remains an outrage and I am unconvinced the CRTC will magically change its thinking later this year. Voters need to keep the pressure on all political parties to deliver a concrete promise to dump UBB. Bibic likes to claim Bell is at an unfair disadvantage because Bell has to sell to third party providers while cable companies do not. The answer there is simple: force cable companies to… Read more »
It’s getting harder and harder these days to discern the facts. With all the rhetoric being spewed in the media, it’s difficult to discern the truth from the “truth” for the consumer (me). So here’s what I’ve been able to gather on the state of the Internet in Canada (and in particular, southern Ontario, as this is where I reside). Telecom (Bell) Bell Canada owns most of the telecom infrastructure here because they either built the infrastructure themselves or they gobbled up the little regional telecom companies over the years. As for the infrastructure they built for themselves, it’s unclear… Read more »
One more note about the CRTC. Philip, I think you’re right about its unchanging stance on the issues. The problem here is that the same people who are involved with the CRTC, are also the ones who were once high-ranking officers at the big telecom/cable companies or will be again in the future. Of course you need expertise at these sort of positions, but there will be some level of conflicting interests which can be problematic.
The bundle mentality is just as pervasive in Canada as the U.S., and caps are seen as the best way to protect the cable industry from competition. Rogers, a huge cable and Internet provider in Canada, lowered monthly usage caps just days after Netflix announced plans to expand into Canada.