[Canada] Ottawa to reverse CRTC Internet billing decision

Cooler heads prevail in Canada. (Get it? Canada? Cooler heads?)

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/932571--ottawa-threatens-to-reverse-crtc-decision-on-internet-billing

 Richard J. Brennan Ottawa Bureau
>
> OTTAWA—A controversial CRTC decision that effectively imposed usage-based
> Internet billing on small service providers will be reversed, the *Toronto
> Star* has learned.
>
> “The CRTC should be under no illusion — the Prime Minister and minister of
> Industry will reverse this decision unless the CRTC does it itself,” a
> senior Conservative government official said Wednesday.
>
> “If they don’t reconsider we will reverse their decision.”
>
> The promise to reverse the ruling comes as CRTC Chair Konrad von
> Finckenstein is scheduled to explain the decision Thursday before the House
> of Commons industry committee.
>
> While the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is an
> independent agency, its decision can be overturned by cabinet. The *Star*was told that could happen as early as next week.
>
> The CRTC decision has sparked outrage across the country with Canadians
> rushing to sign petitions asking the Conservative government to reverse it.
> Industry Minister Tony Clement has received tens of thousands of emails
> requesting that it be struck down.
>
> “Frankly, a decision like this is clearly not in the best interest of
> consumers,” the senior official said.
>
> “This is a bread-and-butter issue.”
>
> The CRTC’s ruling affects the wholesale business of the major Internet
> service providers, who sell capacity to smaller resellers. To encourage
> competition, major telecom operators that have spent heavily on
> infrastructure are required to lease bandwidth on their networks to small
> providers.
>
> Major providers charge customers extra if they download more than the
> monthly limits they set, typically between 20 and 60 gigabytes. Small
> providers, however, offer plans with 200 gigabyte ceilings and even
> unlimited use.
>
> The issue came to a head last week, when the CRTC denied independent
> service providers the right to continue offering unlimited Internet plans.
>
> Although critics say the CRTC ruling will lead to lower download limits and
> higher rates, major Internet service providers say usage-based billing based
> is fair because it means heavy users pay more than those who just surf the
> web and use email.
>
> As it invests billions in new broadband capacity, Bell says old pricing
> structures need to be brought in line with the huge amount of growth in
> Internet usage. Businesses and consumers are increasingly relying on the
> Internet to download videos, documents and even software. Rogers says its
> customers are using about 40 per cent more data each year.
>
> Consumers’ Association of Canada president Bruce Cran said the CRTC
> decision is nothing but corporate gouging by Canada’s monopolistic
> communications companies.
>
> John Reid, president of CATA Alliance, a group that advocates for
> innovation in Canada, said, “This has to be a decision that Canada makes —
> that it wants to be the best in the world in the provision of high-speed
> Internet.”
>
> He added, however, that usage-based billing is not the answer.
>
> “You don’t want to stifle the sort of richness that comes from using
> high-speed Internet,” says Reid.
>
>
Johne Cook
| http://raygunrevival.com | http://authorculture.blogspot.com |

*“I am not responsible for actions of the imaginary version of me you have
inside your head.”
Attributed to Teresa Nielsen Hayden*

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