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Cogeco Offers Unlimited WiFi to iPhone/iPod Owners in Toronto for $5 Month

Paul-Andre Dechêne June 23, 2009 Canada, Cogeco, Data Caps, Wireless Broadband Comments Off on Cogeco Offers Unlimited WiFi to iPhone/iPod Owners in Toronto for $5 Month

wifi Canada is a victim of Internet Overcharging, with virtually every major provider limiting access to broadband, throttling speeds, and charging overlimit penalties for exceeding arbitrary limits. Now Cogeco, which itself engages in these schemes for its residential broadband service, has made a breakthrough of sorts.

Cogeco One Zone, available only to users of Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch, provides 802.11g WiFi across the One Zone WiFi network for only $5CAD a month. One Zone, acquired last August from Toronto Hydro Telecom, operates within a six kilometre region in the downtown core of Toronto. Users discovering the service report it can achieve speeds of up to 7Mbps, and there are no data consumption limits or contracts.

Any iPhone/iPod Touch user who accesses the network within range will automatically be taken to a special sign-up page to begin service. Cogeco One Zone’s offer represents a major discount off the pricing being charged to other One Zone WiFi users:

One-Zone_Coverage_Map 1 Hour
60 minutes of continuous access
$4.99 + GST and PST

1 Day
24 hours of continuous access
$9.99 + GST and PST

1 Month
Continuous access to same date in following month
$29.00 + GST and PST

(All prices are in Canadian Dollars)

So why has Cogeco decided to practically give away the service?

“Our expectation is that users won’t be using it for downloading video and huge files … It’s just the nature of the device. It’s not likely they’ll be downloading gigabytes of information standing on the street,” Cogeco Data Services president Ian Collins told itWorldCanada.

One potential use Collins may not realize has been among Toronto residents who live and work within range of the network. For some of them, Cogeco One Zone is being used from work and home, and although it is unlikely to replace residential broadband accounts that connect with home computers, some users will give the network a real workout. Should customers figure out how to tether their iPhone WiFi connection to their home computer, effectively accessing the network from a home PC or laptop, that could become an entirely new challenge.

For Canadian iPhone owners, who already face higher prices for iPhone data plans (no “unlimited” plan exists in Canada as it does in the United States), the biggest savings may come from customers downgrading data plans for “phone-based” data, because they rely on the WiFi network instead. Most iPhone owners currently pay $30 per month for 1GB or $25 for 500MB. With unlimited access through WiFi, there are no worries about exceeding data allowances.

Knowledgeable iPod Touch owners could also turn their players into Voice Over IP telephone lines using Skype or Truphone, and effectively pay just a few dollars per month for unlimited long distance calling.

Fighting to Improve 2nd Quarter Results: Why Providers Are Promotion Happy

Paul-Andre Dechêne June 22, 2009 AT&T, Cablevision (see Altice USA), Comcast/Xfinity, Frontier, Verizon Comments Off on Fighting to Improve 2nd Quarter Results: Why Providers Are Promotion Happy
Frontier Essentially Accuses Time Warner Cable of Being a Shakedown Artist

Frontier Essentially Accuses Time Warner Cable of Being a Shakedown Artist

Early indications of a more challenging second quarter of 2009 may be what’s behind the sudden speed increases and new promotions being run by providers, who are also counting on signing new customers, now that moving season is in full swing.  A roundup of promotions and service adjustments customers may find enticing them:

AT&T

U-verse Internet Max customers received free upgrades last week in most areas, boosting broadband download speeds from 10Mbps to 12Mbps.  AT&T previously announced a slowing of U-verse deployment for economic reasons.  AT&T competes with cable operators offering video, voice, and broadband service.

Cablevision

Cablevision Systems continues to offer new customers taking at least a combined broadband and phone package a $200 American Express gift card through June 30.  The company already announced major increases in premium speed levels, and promises no limits on consumption.

Comcast

Reduced pricing in highly competitive Washington, DC market for premium 50Mbps service to under $100, for customers signing up for at least two Comcast services (video, voice, and/or broadband)

Frontier

A substantial mailing offering discounts and giveaways was sent through postal mail to consumers in many Frontier service areas.  Frontier is using a cable-critical mailer depicting their cable competitor as “Rob” and “Bill.”

Rogers (Canada)

Rogers, which earlier increased rates for subscribers, announced a “free speed increase” to its “Hi Speed Internet Express” package, from 7Mbps to 10Mbps, and “Internet Lite” from 1Mbps to 3Mbps.  Rogers limits its customers typically to 60GB of consumption per month for standard levels of service.  Much lower limits are placed on economy packages.

Time Warner Cable

Time Warner Cable is continuing to mail customer postcards and other mailings promoting its existing service packages, but this week also attempts to pick up customers trapped in Frontier term contracts by agreeing to cover early contract termination penalties, up to $200.  Time Warner Cable is also hinting that cable customers will soon be able to use Tivo software for their Digital Video Recorder (DVR) boxes, which permit customers to record programming.

Verizon

Verizon announced substantial speed increases throughout their service area. The company also has engaged in a price war with Cablevision over gift cards. Verizon offered $150 gift cards to new customers signing up for a service bundle (although Cablevison beat their offer by $50).  The company also began promotional giveaways to customers signing a contract agreement.

To date, AT&T continues tests limiting consumption to as low as 20GB per month in Beaumont, Texas and Reno, Nevada.  Comcast has a straight limit of 250GB of consumption per month for residential customers nationwide.  Frontier defines “acceptable use” at 5GB consumption per month, but does not enforce it at this time.  Rogers limits consumption based on the level of speed selected by the customer.  Most customers face a 60GB monthly limit.  Time Warner Cable tested, but temporarily shelved, tiered pricing and consumption limits.  Other providers not listed have no Internet Overcharging schemes in place.

Coalition of the ‘Willing to Cap’ Complains About Monopolistic Behavior by Big Phone Companies

Phillip Dampier June 22, 2009 AT&T, Data Caps, Editorial & Site News, Public Policy & Gov't, Verizon Comments Off on Coalition of the ‘Willing to Cap’ Complains About Monopolistic Behavior by Big Phone Companies

nochokeThe NoChokePoints Coalition has a point.  They are a coalition of public interest groups and providers like British Telecom and Sprint-Nextel that are upset with monopolistic pricing for high speed broadband lines.  Verizon and AT&T “control the broadband lines of almost every business in the United States” the coalition states, and “generates a profit margin of more than 100% for the controlling phone companies.”

“Releasing the broadband economy from the chokehold these huge phone companies have on the special access market will be a catalyst for innovation and investment in the broadband marketplace, something we desperately need,” said Maura Corbett, spokeswoman for the NoChokePoints coalition.

“Every time you send an email, withdraw money from an ATM, or use your wireless phone, your information travels on these high-capacity lines. Excessive pricing and other market abuses by these companies have long been an issue of concern at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Nearly five years ago, after many complaints by broadband customers in several FCC proceedings, the Commission began a review of the high-capacity broadband market to determine the changes needed to ensure reasonable prices. Despite ample evidence of excessive pricing, the Commission inexplicably has yet to take any action.”

“The Obama administration, Congress, and the FCC repeatedly emphasize the importance of broadband to our economic recovery and, frankly, it defies explanation that we are still fighting this market abuse,” Corbett continued. “Huge companies like Verizon and AT&T control the broadband lines of almost every business in the United States. The virtually unchallenged, exclusive control of these lines costs businesses and consumers more than $10 billion annually and generates a profit margin of more than 100 percent for the controlling phone companies, according to their own data provided to the FCC. This hidden broadband tax results in enormous losses for consumers and the economy, and this country cannot afford it; especially now.”

NoChokePoints cited four central principles of its campaign to reform the special access market: (1) the special access market is broken; (2) the outgoing Federal Communications Commission made a bad situation worse by failing to address obvious market abuse by these huge phone companies; (3) this unchecked market control continues to slow broadband deployment, compromise innovation and harm our national information economy; and (4) the resulting market failure must be corrected now.

Yes, when one or two providers get together and establish pricing for a product that is way out of line for what it costs to provide, and uses that control to further squeeze every last penny they can from customers, something should be done.

As consumers, we should agree to join the NoChokePoints coalition struggle.  There are several very credible pro-consumer organizations that support the Coalition and its goals.  And consumers like myself shall, mere seconds after:

Member BT (British Telecom) stops throttling UK customer’s broadband connections, and imposing Internet Overcharging schemes on customers through limits on their data consumption.

Member Sprint-Nextel agrees that consumers should be able to request temporary suspension of their wireless data account, currently limited to 5GB of consumption per month, the moment the limit is reached to avoid the potential of paying overlimit fees, if/when applicable.

TW Telecom gets a pass here as they are entirely independent from Time Warner Cable.

Internet Overcharging schemes, monopolistic control, abuse of market pricing, and other anti-competitive behavior should be confronted.  But companies engaged in problematic behavior themselves should not anticipate a great deal of consumer compassion towards their plight, when those consumers often are on the receiving end of that problematic behavior themselves.

AT&T’s “Grandma” Analogy Upsets Grandmothers – They Don’t Want Overcharges Either

Phillip Dampier June 19, 2009 Data Caps 9 Comments

AT&T’s pushback on Rep. Massa’s consumer protection legislation brought quite a reaction when it invoked the vision of “grandma” overpaying for her broadband account.  The Contact form here got a workout well into this afternoon, from upset grandmothers who attack AT&T for presuming they couldn’t spot a raw deal when they saw one:

Irene from Austin:

AT&T thinks they are so smart about getting us to believe them.  I’ve got five grandkids and raised four daughters and one son.  If they couldn’t pull a fast one on me, AT&T sure can’t. God didn’t put me on this earth to be stupid or He wouldn’t have given me a brain.  I don’t use that much Internet myself, but when the kids come over, the computer is the first thing they head for, and they’re doing everything on it. Heaven help people who don’t know about this hot air meter they want to stick us with, because they’ll be blown over when the bill comes. I’m not buying this one bit.

Dee from Thomasville, North Carolina:

I told Time Warner Cable they could come get their boxes and wires out of my house the minute they wanted to run this plan on us. Who do they think they are fooling. We grandmothers know a ripoff when we see one. I’d tell AT&T the same darn thing. Come and get your things out of my house. I’d rather not have it at all than pay even more than I do now.

“AT&T Granny” from Kernersville, North Carolina:

If Ma Bell were still alive, she’d take these greedy people out to the woodshed and set things right.

Ann from Perinton, New York:

I have their economy plan from Time Warner already.  It works just fine.  I don’t believe a word cable companies say. All they know is “price increase” and we just paid them another rate increase in February. I’m insulted by AT&T [that] thinks grandmothers like myself would be dumb enough to fall for their scams.  Now grandfathers might be something else, which is why I pay the bills in this house. When these cable companies want to let me choose what channels I want then tell me about their “fair” plan.  When cable companies and governments come to you with something called a fair plan, you know what to do. We live in New York and know better! Keep doing the right thing.

Nancy in Oklahoma:

I’m 77 years old. I’ve hated the darn phone company for 50 years. It’s always one lie after another with these people. It’s all about the money. How do they expect people to pay the bills they already get? Now these same companies want to get our tax dollars for Obama’s broadband, and then overbill us for more money? Never trust phone companies. They are almost as bad as those crooks in Washington. Not one of my children or grandchildren would work for AT&T. Where are the honest American companies that used to give you a good service at a fair price? I’ve learned a lot of things since my son gave me a computer and brought the Internet to me. But if they start telling me I have to worry about extra fees and meters to watch, I am getting rid of it. The Internet is not a credit card company.

HR 2902 Frequently Asked Questions & Thoughts

I know everyone will have questions about HR 2902, the bill introduced this morning by Rep. Eric Massa.  We’ve been working with Free Press and Eric’s staff for the past several weeks behind the scenes on this legislation, and there are some things that I am certain our readers will be asking about, so before things get scattered across multiple articles, I am creating this one to take questions in the comment section and also to update people on answers on an ongoing basis.

I also want readers to understand there are reasons why I may not be able to answer certain questions completely.  In some cases, it’s because I don’t know the answer, but I will try and find one.  For some others, please trust my judgment and that of the congressman.  There are reasons for doing certain things in certain ways.  I’ve been just as outspoken with the congressman’s office as I’ve been here.  They know the mission statement for our site, and our issues.

Q. Why does HR 2902 not simply ban tiered pricing outright and who decides what “unreasonable” pricing means?

A. Legislation must not only become law but also withstand legal scrutiny.  The bill is designed to accomplish what needs to be done – preventing providers from launching Internet Overcharging schemes that, upon review by the appropriate agencies, are simply economically unjustified.  These decisions are not arbitrary — there are mechanisms and measurements that take into account provider costs and what they then try to turn around and charge us.

Q. Why does the legislation not speak directly about usage caps?

A. It covers them in a roundabout way, and there are some additional reasons for structuring the language this way.  Believe me when I say this was not an issue we’d forget about, considering this site was founded on that issue, even before nonsensical tiered overcharging schemes showed up.  Stop the Cap! opposes usage caps, period.

Q. Why does the bill exempt small providers with less than 2,000,000 customers?

A. Until the broadband stimulus package begins to help guarantee reasonable access and prices for all Americans, small providers, often in rural communities, have to find wholesale broadband access at significantly higher expense than major providers do.  A number of those providers, including those run by municipalities, are with us on most of our issues, but they confront additional challenges that simply make it easier to exclude them from the language at this time.  When access finally becomes inexpensive and plentiful from coast to coast, providers will find few justifications to need an exemption in the first place.  Stop the Cap! fully supports major expansions in rural broadband to provide people living in small communities with the same kinds of access those of us in more urban areas enjoy, at comparable prices and speeds.

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