Thank you CRTC!!!!!
 

Unlimited Internet Plans To Become Standard Under New CRTC Rules

All ISPS must offer unlimited data plans.

A step in the right direction.

every single thing the CRTC does ends up costing me more money per month

199/month for unlimited is what i would guess

I know right.. :yuno:

It says that ISPs must offer the option of unlimited bandwidth.

My understanding is that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone would get unlimited, you just have the option of purchasing it. Which means that it isn't very different from what we already have. Telus and Shaw already offer unlimited bandwidth options, you just pay more that's all.

:pokerface:

This guy cried. Josh - OpenMedia contact@openmedia.org

The product and the price will generate different responses.

This is a zero sum game, now the government has mandated rural have to have internet access, guess where the money comes from? Consumers. At least now the large telecom has incentive to make cell coverage better to offset the need to build out physical network to each home.

Just like moving from 3 years to 2 year cell plans.. don't worry, the cost will get passed on.

Not sure why telecos will be upset.. just like the cellphone moves, they just translate to higher costs and pass it along to the consumers. I would argue it makes it harder to challenge the oligopolies.

Okay? I wasn't aware bandwidth limits were such a problem here. Even if they have to offer it, are they also adding rules about the speed and cost? Unlimited data at 1mb/s for $1000/month would be pointless, so unless they're doing something to prevent the ISPs from just offering something like that I don't see the gain here.

This means nothing to us folks in the lower mainland, means a lot to people in rural areas though.

OpenMedia needs to fuck all the way off, their "activism" already ended up costing me nearly twice as much for my cell plan. SO looking forward to what their good work does to my internet bills... NOT.

Most cell providers in the US have had "unlimited data" for years. Know what that means? You get your first 500MB or so, and after that, the more you use, the slower it gets... so yeah, there's technically no limit on how much traffic you're allowed in a month, but you'll never ever get to any great amount with the speed they give you.

Fuck you, Josh.

Though I will say, it would be nice if they were forced to give us high speed internet to our cabin in the middle of nowhere, since it doesn't come within 8 miles of us now... best part is, Josh and his band of merry whiners get to help pay for it all.

Thanks, Josh!

If its anything like things they've done in the past...it will bite us in the ass.

The 3 year to 2 year cellphone contracts - plans got more expensive, less retention deals, less discounts on devices, etc.

Basic TV cable requirement - $25 plan gets like nothing. Enforcing individual channel choice, some channels are $5 standalone when packs are $6 and you get 3-5 channels.

Unlimited data for Internet - Telus already has it for +$30/$15 and Shaw has it for $135.

Usually these things don't turn out so well.

anything that costs carriers money has to come from somewhere. either consumers or shareholders

i am both so i guess ill get fucked either way

The most retarded thing about THAT whole mess was how it centered on getting rid of three year contracts, and everyone was so happy that plans maxed out at two years... but TWO YEAR PLANS WERE ALWAYS AN OPTION. So all they really did was ensure I had LESS choice in no longer having the three-year option (which has served us very well over the 20 years we've been with Telus Mobilty). And it meant giving up my seriously kick-ass air-and-data plan if I wanted to get a new phone with one of those two-year-max contracts.

So yup, paying more, getting less, with less choice. Nice work, OpenMedia.

You could have just bought a new phone. It's not like they where giving you a free phone. I now pay $40 a month with Public Mobile with 4 GB of data.

This will mean little to those that live in urban centres, which is about 80% of us. We already have access to high-speed unlimited internet plans aka. indie ISPs.

In the end, this will cost more for consumers, as the big telcos will be required to invest more money in rural Canada, where population density is terrible. Where we (the consumers) will be paying out of our own pocket for this expansion.

I am more interested to know HOW the big telcos will expand their network to rural Canada, considering that Google Fiber (in the US) has temporarily halted their expansion, due to cost, and the imminent rollout of 5G.

Folks, 5G can theoretically deliver an excess of >1Gbp/s per user on a WIRELESS network with very low ping. It can cover more area, more users, without any ground-digging.

Buying a new phone outright was always an option, along with one, two, and three-year contracts. Now I have the same options, EXCEPT the three year contract, which I was perfectly happy with in order to get a new phone for less up front.

I was paying $75/month for 450 anytime minutes, free evenings and weekends starting at 5pm, top-10 favorites (unlimited talk and text anytime), and 6GB data. And since 90% of my calling was to the same six people, I never went anywhere near that 450 minutes.

With the new contracts, you HAVE to get a minimum $75 plan, which gave me unlimited talk and text anywhere in Canada (way more than I need), and 500MB of data (which is practically nothing). For an extra $30 though, they bumped me up to 4GB, which I ran over regularly. After much bitching, I finally got back to 6GB... for an additional $15/mo. So now I finally get the same data I had before, and way, way more airtime that I'll ever need, for a mere $45 more than I was paying before.

And why? Because people are fucking stupid and were taking the OPTION of three-year plans when they didn't have to, and then whining about being "trapped" by them.

I have a couple of rural properties, one in the interior and one on the west coast of Vancouver Island.. Telus wants at least $200k to wire each to the property line.. I understand each pole cost about $6k odd (with labour and trucks etc) so if you are middle of nowhere, it is understandable. So it is wonderful it they will cap it to a lower amount. However I do question about the wisdom of blanket coverage, is it really necessary? and the society cost / payback ratio? Outlay of 250k to service 10 person at the max, is it the best way to expand our deficit? I do know telcos also have powerful unions outside of health care (or fund more housing?)

I doubt the telcos will start doing things until 5G is ratified (2020) ... so it makes sense to make the policy now and start the spectrum bidding next.

As for contracts.. look, it is basically a 2 year 15% lease on a commodity which depreciates at least 50% over 2 years... It is aimed for the financially illiterate which unfortunately is the majority of Canadians. I am glad that Alphabet got into the game with Pixel.. it will show what a farce this really is.

factoring population density I think Shaw and Telus Home Internet rates and services are already pretty good

Telus just dropped fiber a month ago in our residential area with detached homes and the new connection still gets consistent, better-than-advertised speeds

the only real complaint is telecos here seem to have almost no loyalty/rewards to long time customers and only have deals to entice new sign-ups.

On the topic of 5G mobile Internet I feeleven HSPA+ is adequate. LTE is certainly good enough? I'm curious if there are mobile users that are bottlenecked by LTE speeds. I'm thinking the good majority aren't streaming 4K with the limited bandwidth they have anyways so I don't need faster IG/snapchat load times by a second or two.

5G is not meant so much for end user.. but allow higher user density / bandwidth for users in one area. At least that's what the form they are proposing right now.

eg If you have been high density locations like Times square for New Years.. it allow telcos to cover more area with less equipment. Again in theory.

In addition to mobile benefits, 5G is also being considered as an alternative/replacement for residential broadband high-speed internet (DSL/Cable) due to features that I've already mentioned. Fido has already rolled out something similar to this in Ontario for residential internet.