CRTC, UBB, Shaw & Me

First of all, I want to make it clear: I do not have an issue with users of almost any service paying a fair market value for what they use where those users are given a reasonable market choice. However, what the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has done with it’s decisions surrounding wholesale internet service ¹ (i.e. where a major market Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as Bell Canada resells service to a regional or competitive ISP) has essentially crushed any reasonable expectation for market competition.

What kills me in all of this is that the CRTC claims that it

does not regulate rates, quality of service issues or business practices of Internet service providers as they relate to retail customers. This is because there is enough competition in the market that retail customers can shop around for service packages. [CRTC Internet FAQ]

and yet all of this has trickled down to the retail markets in the form of Usage Based Billing (UBB). Here’s a good overview, if you don’t understand how UBB might affect you:

Aside from the competittion issue — which I feel is the biggest problem here, and the one over which the CRTC actually has some power — there are a few problems I have with UBB and the way our local provider, Shaw tried to roll it out.

1. Shaw’s bandwidth charge does not differentiate upload from download. While a lot of the press and griping has been about download use (e.g. Netflix or BitTorrent) it also affects uploads such as photos, videos, podcasts, blog posts, Wikipedia edits, Skype calls, and so on. UBB has the potential to kill (or at least severely throttle) content creation in Canada.
2. Shaw reduced it’s bandwidth caps concurrent with the announcement that it would then charge for overages — our plan used to cover 75 GB/mo but was then reduced to 60 GB/mo + $2/GB over the cap — this means that were we to use 70 GB/mo, we’d be covered in Dec 2010 but now would be over, and if charged for the UBB would be charged an additional $20/mo.  The justification for the reduction was that “most users were not coming close to their bandwidth cap.”  But was it hurting anyone just sitting there unused? No, it was just a number — it’s not as though Shaw would be able to distribute that unused 15 GB to another user, it’s just drawn from a pool.
3. Assuming I accepted the above two issues, $2/GB is a ridiculous markup. Estimates for the cost of transmission vary from $0.01 to $0.25² — even at the highest estimate, $2 hardly seems reasonable unless they are gunning to add “moneygrubbing” to their company motto.

I have to wonder… if caps are enforced, would BC Ferries continue to offer free WiFi? Pretty unlikely. Your local coffee shop? Again, unlikely, though some might be able to make it work. What about internet access at the public library? See, that’s where it gets tricky. Librarians, as a rule, get pretty vocal when they are protecting the right to access information³ and I have no idea how they could possibly continue to provide free internet access with UBB overage fees in place…. but I suspect they’d find a way.

So… where does this all leave me? At the moment, in limbo. Shaw has decided that they will postpone their roll-out of UBB pending public input and the CRTC has basically been directed to reconsider (they are also asking for further public input). I asked Shaw what our usage was and it looks like we are averaging 1 to 1.5 GB per day — that’s in a house with more computers than users and with a whole lot of Netflix use, regular uploads of large photographs and video files including HD video. At that rate, we are not in great danger of exceeding our cap — yet — but it doesn’t mean I’m not watching what happens next.

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If you want to have your say, here are your options:

1. Write to the CRTC — please see Notice of Consultation 2011-77 (scroll down to the Procedures section) — basically, if you want to receive copies of what all parties submit, you must let the CRTC know by 22 Feb 11; if you just want to have your say, you may provide input by 29 April 11.

2. Write to your internet service provider (ISP) — Shaw “will be hosting customer discussion sessions throughout February and March in service areas across Canada” — you can email shawfeedback@sjrb.ca with the subject line “Please send me an invitation to attend the Internet Usage Discussion” to get info on your local meeting or just send your comments directly to the same email address.

3. Write to your Member of Parliament — find yours here.

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¹See especially decisions: 2010-255, 2010-632, 2010-802, and 2011-44.
²“How much does bandwidth actually cost,” Matt Hartley, Financial Post, 5 Feb 11

³BC Library Association “Statement and Guidelines on Public Library User Fees”

see also:  Confounded Shaw (my earlier post),  Open Rant to the CRTC (Wright Result),  A Bit is a Bit is a Bit (Legion of Decency)