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CRTC Rules on Usage Based Billing

The CRTC has released its decision on Bell's usage based billing, ruling that it can continue to use the practice with wholesale ISPs, provided that it charges UBB rates to all of its retail Internet customers. Mark Goldberg notes this requirement effectively means Bell will not be able to implement usage based billing (at least in the short term), given that it risks losing many of its long term retail customers.


  1. consumer
    “ruling it can continue to use the practice with wholesale ISPs”

    “eans Bell will not be able to implement usage based billing (at least in the short term)”

    phrase 1 says they are already doing it. phrase 2 says they won’t be able to do it. Can anyone make sense ?

  2. Chris Brand says:

    Sure. They are allowed to continue using UBB with wholesale ISPs, but only if they change to also use UBB with their retail customers. If they choose not to do that, they’ll have to change the way they bill their wholesale customers. Goldberg apparently believes that changing the way they bill retail customers isn’t viable right now, hence they’ll have to change the way they bill ISPs.
    Does that make sense ?

  3. Bell already had full plan on how to roll out billing by usage…
    All these fxxkers who run the CRTC does not care about canadians or any one else. 1) these ruling does not effect ppl who work @ CRTC. 2) Majority of top executive are former telecom ppl. 3) They basically are gangs who work for the government.

  4. hate CRTC says:

    CRTC the godfather of canadian telcom mafia, kill innovation, kill competition what else would you expect…worse than communism.

  5. Bell got exactly what they wanted
    I think Mark Goldberg is off in saying this is a win for indy ISPs. Even though UBB was delayed Bell still won and I know my bill will be going up after being stable for over 2 years. The bottom line is this – almost no other countries in the world deal with restrictions like these on their retail Internet. It’s clearly do to a lack of competition and a drive by the big telecoms to slow down Internet media from taking over their TV subscription services. The Internet is going to absorb all media print, radio, TV, and beyond and these companies will stop at nothing to slow the process to make as much short-term money as they can regardless of what it does to our technological standing in the world. We need to change foreign ownership rules to allow some companies from Norway, Sweden, or South Korean to come in and show Bell and Rogers how its down.

  6. Bell won
    Bell has now made sure economically none of these Indy ISPs can expand into offering IPTV (TV over the internet) themselves. Also, kiss the future of streaming service like Netflix in Canada goodbye. With the Caps imposed, they have effectively secured their lucrative cable TV subscription revenues.


  7. Laurel L. Russwurm says:

    Until now Bell has NOT charged Usage Based Billing to wholesale ISP customers. Bell sells or rents chunks of bandwidth to the Independent ISPs. The CRTC allowed Bell to set the price, and they happily set it very high. My understanding is that more than half of what I pay my Independent ISP goes to Bell now, BEFORE UBB.

    Before UBB Independent ISPs had the freedom to choose how to break down and redistribute this bandwidth to their own customers. UBB means that in addition to what I am paying now, my internet costs will rise dramatically because the Independent ISP will have to pay extra depending on my bandwidth use. In other words, the Independent ISPs will now be forced to bill according to Bell dictates.

    All that is stopping Bell is their own customers on Unlimited plans.

    Why would any Bell customer agree to a detrimental change? Because Bell makes it worth their while. Maybe free cable TV? Or phone service for life? Whatever they offer, get it in writing. No matter what freebies they give up, Bell will more than make up for it with the dramatic UBB billing increase.

    Of course the simplest and most economical solution would be for all those old customers to be accidentally disconnected. And then, well, sorry, that service isn’t offered any more…..

    Fight UBB

  8. Bell vs Telus?
    I wonder if Bell is simply looking at ways to equal out the playing field with Telus in the west. In BC, the number of independent ISPs can be counted on one hand, due in part to Telus’ wholesale rate being equal to their retail rates.

    Companies like and are dying ’cause they can’t compete.

    1st rule in business: don’t compete at retail with the same company who’s selling your product to you at wholesale.