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Videotron lobbying for Internet ‘transmission tariff'

ALEXANDER PANETTA

Canadian Press

Latest comment posted at 12:33 AM EST 05/11/06

Cable company wants content providers like movie studios to share cost of expanding broadband pipelines ...Read the full article

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  1. J P from Toronto, Canada writes: What a joke. The big difference between me buying a DVD or CD is that nobody charges me monthly fees to use my DVD player. What's next the electric companies are going to demand cash from all the appliance makers? If you're losing money, charge more. This is completely ridiculous.
  2. Stude Ham from Outremont, Canada writes: depatie's logic leaves much to be desired. if videtron is unable to improve its services by itself then sell the company to those better organized to modernize the resources.
  3. William Daskaluk from Toronto, writes: Don't be fooled, this idea is extortion. We must keep the Net Neutral.

    “(For producers) it's just a free ride — ‘Let's provide movie downloads. It's the telcos that will pay for it.' “ - when a site provides movie downloads they already pay THEIR hosting provider additional funds to expand the infrastructure, either a flat monthly fee or based on the amount of traffic their website gets. We already pay OUR internet provider to receive those downloads.

    There is no reason for OUR internet providers to charge 3rd party websites for the privledge of being delivered to us. The big internet providers gain the power to censor out anybody who hasn't paid up their extortion fee. Today each and every one of us has a voice on the Internet, able to put up a website - if this goes through then only the big players will be able to afford to run websites.

    Net Neutrality must be maintained.
  4. Anti Elvis from Canada writes: These were the same clowns willing to hand over private customer data to the MP3 & Movie Nazi's.
  5. Mark H from Columbus, IN, United States writes: What they mean by 'provider pays' is of course 'consumer pays'. Not exactly unexpected, but undesirable all the same.
  6. John Harris Stevenson from Ottawa, Canada writes: This is yet another volley in the war for the soul of the Internet, a war that has been going on in the US for some years now. Videotron has the same objectives as American companies like Verizon and Comcast: to fundamentally change the way the Internet works and decide what you can read, watch, and listen to. Videotron wants to end one of the foundations of the Internet's success, the principle of network neutrality. The CRTC has the power to make sure that that doesn't happen, and we should all urge them to do so.

    There is a great deal more information about this issue at savetheinternet.com.
  7. Michael Vanner from Toronto, Canada writes: This is crazy, we don't have tarriffs for using the phone or watching TV? The end user pays for a service and the ISP can charge accordingly, I have no objection to metered service like how gas and electricity are provided. The last thing we need in this country is more taxes and tariffs.
  8. Kip Hardy from Canada writes: Here's a little business tip for Videotron:

    If you are required to provide four times as much of a product to a customer this year than you did last year, you should probably charge them about four times as much money. If you were foolish enough to promise them access to four times as much product without any price increase, well, its a free market and you probably just bankrupted yourself out of it.

    This is the first attempt at the Canadian version of a crass maneuver already underway in the U.S. The ultimate goal of this effort is to limit the internet's real democratic and free-market approach. Lets hope reporters start reporting it as such.
  9. Bruce MacCormack from Canada writes: People pay for internet access, which carriers like Videotron sell at a profit, to view content. Perhaps the carriers should have to pay the content providers for the cost of writing and producing the content. Afterall, if there was nothing to read or watch then consumers would not be subscribing to their profitable internet services.
  10. A Canadian from Canada writes: Everything has to be paid for somewhere. Charge the customers who are downloading. If they need extra bandwidth, they can pay for it. I don't think that someone who only reads things on the internet should be paying for those that want to u the internet to download music and movies. Charge by bandwidth used, user pay. Its no different then a toll on the highway, which by the way, more of our highways should have.
  11. rob williams from victoria, Canada writes: This is what I expect from the Quebec industries, I want money from others sound like Bombardier. I agree with #3 you pay for your usage either upload or downloads.
  12. j r from Montreal, Canada writes: My $70/month extreme high speed fee from Videotron better be enough for those bloodsuckers to allow me to continue using my bandwidth the way I see fit. I've lived countrywide and worked for three ISPs and never have I seen worse service / Public Relations than with this Quebecor company. Worse: these are indeed the same clowns that will turn your personal data over to anyone who asks politely, as #4 correctly stated.
  13. D. Christin from Gatineau, Canada writes: It figures that this is coming out of Quebec.
    How much more in taxes are Quebecers, or Canadians in general, going to accept before they push back?
  14. Philippe Davidson from Montreal, Canada writes: For those that haven't been following the news in the US, net neutrality is the subject of an intense debate south of the border even being part of a bill presented to Congress. In the end, it's all about bandwidth, transmission speeds and QoS (quality of service) and the payment structures around them; the new consideration though is whether or not these cost structures should be tied to content types. Competition fosters innovation and declining prices as the heating competition in the US between cable companies and telcos demonstrates. Maybe consumers should keep in mind how to stimulate competitive forces when making their purchasing decisions.
  15. Normand LaBine from Winnipeg, Canada writes: Any bets that Canada Post won't support them? Its been looking for a way to get a piece of the email action for a while. This might be their way in. I don't like to rent or download music or flicks. I like the freedom to plug in my own videos into a machine, and not cough up some service charge on the card. Hidden fees all over the place on after-tax dollars? Nope.
  16. Matthew Yeo from Edmonton, Canada writes: The reality is that all Canadian providers oversell their service. The standard rule of thumb is to oversell between 10-12 times, meaning that my 100 GB/month limit on my account with my ISP is 'sold' to up to 12 people. This model worked well when casual surfing was all anyone did on the Internet and usage was rarely if ever over 5 GB/mo/household. The fact that standard surfing produces intermittent spurts of activity meant that none of us actually noticed the overselling, typically; while I'm downloading a page, you are reading yours, essentially. Now, as more of us pick up video streaming, larger downloads, bittorrent, and other high usage activities online, we are straining that model - based on a white lie in the first place - to the breaking point. In effect, my provider couldn't afford for users to actually use that 100 GB/mo. at all and now that many of us are, they are beginning to cry foul. I can see where this would be worrying for an ISP. Comparisons with worldwide services are showing how poor a value Canadian Internet services really are. I have the fastest service in Canada (for the moment) at 10Mb/s and have a 100 GB/mo. cap on my usage. In major European cities and in Japan, fiber to the door (FTTD) services are already providing 100 Mb/s and unlimited usage for less than what I pay every month. Yes, that is ten times the speed with no caps ... for less money. If Canadian ISPs raise their rates to reflect the true cost of the services they provide, then they will be an even worse value than they are right now. The only strategy that they have left is to attempt to fob some of the costs onto companies like Apple or Google in a classic 'shift the blame' action. Poor ISPs!
  17. Timothy Nessus from Somewhere, Canada writes: 'He called it unfair for studios and companies like Apple and Amazon.com to use that extra service without cost — which he compared to free shipping.' Ain't 'free enterprise' wonderful???? OH OH OH and if it does not work.... well... we can always get special privileges.....
  18. Barry L. Jones from Willowdale, Canada writes: One thing for sure about being a Canadian. YOU are NEVER alone...
    there is always someone with their hand in your pocket!!
  19. Tom Randall from Winnipeg, Canada writes: We should also start charging people in the same manner for phone usage - start charging people who call me to 'use the network'

    I wish I was a Videotron customer just so I could disconnect service

    Net neutrality
  20. Danny Stark from Canada writes: Interesting comments from Robert Depatie. I just used some of my home accounts bandwidth to read them. Who should I contact in Videotron's accounting department to submit the bill for my expenses? He did, after all, provide the content.
  21. J Norman from Edmonton, Canada writes: ISPs just need to start charging their customers for the bandwidth they user. Charge $20/month and $0.50/gigabyte instead of a flat $40/month. Problem solved.
  22. Turd Ferguson from Calgary, Canada writes: No one is getting a free ride on the Internet. Anyone that hosts a website knows this as do those that access those sites; everyone pays. If you have a popular website, you pay for all the bandwidth users have pulled from your site, depending on the service package from your hosting company.

    Does Bell get a portion of the sales from my local pizza place? Well, in a way they do as businesses are charged due to their typically larger call volume, but Bell isn't tracking the number of pizzas sold and complaining that they should get a 'piece' of the action. The Internet should be like the telephone: universal access, and if Videotron can't make money with their current pricing structure then they need to raise their prices, just like any other business.
  23. Jeff M from Montreal, Canada writes: I tried to join Videotron when I moved to Montreal from Toronto this year. I wanted phone, internet, and cable. They told me that since I had never been a customer before, I would have to pay the rent on the hardware for the year upfront and 3 months of service upfront, quoting me over $500. I then went into a Videotron Movie rental store and asked if I could sign up for a membership, and they told me they don't take credit cards, but my McGill student card (I'm not a student) or my phone/gas bill will be fine. If Videotron is losing money, there are many other reasons for it. I now only use my Roger's cell phone, use the internet at cafes, and am enjoying life without cable. As far as I'm concerned, Videotron is another wonderful example of the inability of Quebec companies to manage themselves. If there is anyway to organise a Videotron boycott and get Rogers into Montreal, please let me know.
  24. A K from Canada writes: Where do I sign up to start charging media companies for the time I spend watching useless ads? If this goes, let's have it both ways! :o)
  25. Bill . from Calgary, Canada writes: The ISP's need to make sure there are appropriate plans in place for all of the end users. People who want to use more content should be given a price plan that will support their usage. The websites already pay their own internet providers for their 'half' of the connection. We already have tiered accounts for home users, so what is the issue with adding a few more levels at the upper end? As I recall, Videotron were the ones that turned up their modems to 35 megabits. That's great, but they should make sure they charge their end users for the services they provide. I'm on Shaw, and if they wanted to offer a 35 megabit service, I'm sure I would pay extra for it. Why should Apple or google pay for what I download? The ISP's should take a hint from all of these messages....charge your customers for the services you provide, and don't go looking for revenue somewhere else. The money is right under your nose.
  26. Gord Murray from Canada writes: Two doublings in one year, wow.
  27. C. H. Oakley from Canada writes: The 'content providers' already pay their own bandwith costs when net users download from them. Why should they pay for other people's bandwidth too? If Videotron needs to invest to provide greater capacity, then they should considering raising the prices of their services. However, Mr. Depatie does have a point about the Canadian telecommunications market being overregulated.
  28. Timber 'n from Somewhere, Canada writes: I pay for access, the content provider pays for access, now Videotron wants a extra cash kicker? Videotron is afraid they are losing control, context will no longer be their domain and they will become merely a information pipe. When TV chanel start rolling out across the net they are terrified the bulk of their revenue (cable TV) will disappear. Too bad. Adapt, move forward. Videotron needs to adapt not preserve a out of date business model.
  29. Chris Smith from Canada writes: Bandwidth has never been cheaper for ISPs (& communication giants) to purchase. Why is it that Videotron is struggling to increase revenue while Rogers has never made more money? Here is a tip for all the executives at Videotron, if you want more of my money, start offering bundles and make it easier to sign up. Creating barriers just encourages your customers to shop elsewhere. How about Video on Demand (VOD), VOIP? Have you thought about extending your network? Why is so much of Quebec unable to get High Speed Internet? Getting more cuistomers is another method of increasing revenue. Of course then Videotron would have to spend money to make money and it is so much easier to 'tax' your existing clients.
  30. A Michetti from Calgary, Canada writes: Why am I not surprised by who initiated this; Videotron AKA Quebecor. I would rather go without the internet than support those crackers. Next thing you know they will start charging subscribers a "roaming charge "for accessing non french websites! Videotron is just another Bombardier waiting to happen.
  31. Michael Tripper from Vancouver, Canada writes: Every time I think of returning to Montreal, some story or other reminds of at least one of the reasons I left in the first place.

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