Why usage based billing is unfair

PoliticalNick

The Troll Bashing Troll
Mar 8, 2011
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AH but I only use mine a few hours a day at most and don't care if is available 24/7 therefore I shouldn't have to pay for access when I am sleeping or at work or at any rate I should not have to subsidize your vastly larger usage, correct?

Then I suggest you approach your ISP and ask about a plan with limited access for a lesser price. I don't think anyone offers this but I wish you good luck if you want to try.

And you don't subsidize my usage or my access, you just get gouged by your ISP because they only sell one product, unlimited access.
 

taxslave

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 25, 2008
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Then I suggest you approach your ISP and ask about a plan with limited access for a lesser price. I don't think anyone offers this but I wish you good luck if you want to try.

And you don't subsidize my usage or my access, you just get gouged by your ISP because they only sell one product, unlimited access.

Same thing. Only with usage based billing I wouldn't be gouged anymore And you would pay a fair price for what you use.
 

PoliticalNick

The Troll Bashing Troll
Mar 8, 2011
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The whole scam of UBB is that you would still pay the same (there will still be the basic access fee) and I will be gouged.

Think of it this way, you and I both spend 1 hour on the web, you check your email for 1/2 hr and read an article on a news site for 1/2 hr, I stream a movie for 1/2 hr and play an online game for 1/2hr. we would both pay the basic access fee but I would be charged a much larger amount because the amount of data I transfer is larger. We were both using access for 1 hour.

Is this still fair in your eyes?
 

lorenzstransky

New Member
Mar 16, 2011
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What if the telecoms started charging you UBB for your TV? It's the same thing.

As I said above, you guys are missing the point. Internet access is no different than a TV channel. Would you want to start paying extra if you watched more than 20 or 60 hours of TV a month?

In any case, we are all being gouged by the telecoms even before you factor in UBB. Our media services are way to high for the very poor quality of service provided. That's why I ditched my cable and phone service in favour on Internet only.
 

Dexter Sinister

Unspecified Specialist
Oct 1, 2004
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Regina, SK
Why should those of us that only use the internet 1 or 2 hrs a day pay the same price as someone that streams several movies a day and plays online games for hours at a time?
For the same reason you pay the same price for local telephone service no matter how many local calls you make, at least in Canada. The volume of calls you make has no effect on what it costs the telco to provide the service to your home. You pay for access, not usage, because usage doesn't cost the telco anything once the infrastructure's in place to provide access.
 

EagleSmack

Hall of Fame Member
Feb 16, 2005
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You guys are missing the point. The fight really isn't about data usage, it's about content. The big telecoms isn't going to admit it, naturally, but it's true nonetheless. The analogy with consumables like electricity or water is a false one. You need to compare it to something that is essentially the same thing: television services.

That's a good point.

For the same reason you pay the same price for local telephone service no matter how many local calls you make, at least in Canada. The volume of calls you make has no effect on what it costs the telco to provide the service to your home. You pay for access, not usage, because usage doesn't cost the telco anything once the infrastructure's in place to provide access.

Do you remember the days when we did pay by the minute or went over the allotted minutes for internet use? Man. Companies like AOL were making a killing.

I'd hate for it to go back to those days.
 

Omicron

Privy Council
Jul 28, 2010
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People understanding technology know to bill by bandwidth.

Only MBAs unworthy of their degrees think to bill by traffic.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Are road taxes on the information super highway based on per litre usage. The more litres of information you burn the more taxes you pay for up keep and highway expanations with the feds getting their cuts as GST per L to cover the costs of bridges and portals?

Does that mean the speeding and Googling without due care and attention ticket revenue stream will go for municipal regualtion enforcment?

Should drunks lose access while the stoners continue to get off scott free by being able to recite ZYXWVUTS while standing on one leg, tapping their head while doing circles onthe ir belly?