HOW DID A CRTC DECISION on usage-based billing that affects so few total Canadians become a national story and potentially an election issue?
It’s your fault, big ISPs.
According to recent research, most customers of the large Canadian ISPs were not even aware their Internet packages were subject to bandwidth caps and extra billing if they went over those limits. They didn’t know they were capped and sure didn’t know how much extra it could cost.
In short, the big ISPs were and are doing a poor job letting their customers know their limits and what they mean. People aren’t properly informed that bandwidth is not infinite and you must pay for what you use (a concept I think most of us understand, intrinsically).
A survey* done in July-August 2010, by Solutions Research Group (well before UBB became such a hot-button issue, so the results, I think, are very instructive) shows that 57% of Canadians were absolutely sure they had “unlimited” Internet at home and that just 34% knew about bandwidth caps.
For some, they were correct as many smaller independent ISPs, like TekSavvy and some independent cable companies, do offer unlimited Internet. However, the bulk of the survey respondents were customers of Rogers, Bell, Shaw, Telus, Videotron and Cogeco.
When asked in July 2010, “have you heard, read or seen anything about Internet service providers potentially charging more for customers who use their Internet connection very frequently to download and stream large files such as movies and TV shows?” 66% said no!
Given that UBB has been part of the retail landscape for at least four years (Bell launched it in 2006), this is nothing short of stunning.
Of course, when the same survey group was asked what they thought of such caps, 60% responded either negatively or very negatively to the idea, according to the research. Thirteen percent had no opinion and 27% thought paying for what you use fair or reasonable.
(Now, I’ve seen a bit more of the research than SRG has generously allowed me to release here and what I can also say that the ISPs whose customers were best-informed about the existence of the caps were also the least negative towards them. They understand it when they are transparently educated. When it’s a surprise, they’re pissed off.)
What it boils down to is customers of Canadian ISPs are sure they already pay quite a lot for their broadband service and aren’t really in the mood to pay any more, even as their bandwidth consumption grows (which it is). That much is clear from the SRG research – and the point was driven home with a virtual sledgehammer this week.
With the ongoing growth of video streaming and downloading over those Internet connections (through the likes of YouTube and BitTorrent, the various video portals from the ISPs themselves, iTunes, Facebook, broadcaster sites, Netflix, cyber lockers…), bandwidth consumption is accelerating. Half of the survey respondents said yes, they stream or download TV shows or movies online using their internet connection and 46% said if it’s not them, others in their homes do it. And the younger the respondent, the more likely they were to be watching lots of video online.
So where on earth are the real-time, online meters for people to track their bandwidth consumption? Where are the alerts to our smart phones telling us that we’re bumping up against the cap and we might want to move up to another package or cut back our online movie watching? What about a DM on Twitter, or a wall post on Facebook to let me know?
There’s gotta be an app for this, right?
Instead, we get bill inserts we don’t read (well, I read mine, but I’m an industry nerd). How about a few televised PSAs? I mean, I see my ISP/cable company selling me its products and services (most of which I already buy) all the time. Why can’t there be a few primers on UBB? A message on the TV’s electronic program guide? The community channel? Barker channel? How about a phone call? Maybe engage the local media and explain it?
My point is that Canada’s big ISPs are rather culpable for what happened with the UBB issue this week across Canada and in Ottawa (and CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein took it on the chin for them). Their crime? The utter lack of education of their own customer bases on bandwidth caps, the need for them and the principle of paying for what you use.
* The data here was taken from Solutions Research Group’s ongoing, quarterly “Digital Life Canada” report www.srgnet.com. Cartt.ca thanks them for letting us take a peek to make our point.
