UPDATE:
It seems that SHAW is already feeling the blowback from a potential CRTC ruling that would allow for more UBB (User Bandwidth Billing) and could be seeing customers leaving.
This just in from the SHAW Facebook page:
Hello everyone,
Today we have made an announcement regarding Usage Based Billing, and want to make sure that everyone knows.
You can read more about this here http://www.shaw.ca/Internet/New-Data-Usage/
And the press release here http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Shaw-to-Engage-Customers-in-Consultation-Process-on-Internet-Usage-Allowances-TSX-SJR.B-1392517.htm
It is important to let everyone know that while we welcome comments and feedback to take place on this board, we will be focused on the responses we get via email at [email protected] and in the discussions that take place in February and March.
We hope you are all as excited about this as we are, and look forward to what you have to hear!
-Shaw eCare
END OF UPDATE
———————//——————–
As part of researching the upcoming CRTC ruling stating that ISPs could charge extra fees for bandwidth usage, I submitted an email inquiry to Shaw Cable Systems regarding their stance on the issue, or for any feedback to the looming decision by the CRTC. I really did not expect a response (especially so quickly) from Shaw. So kudos to SHAW for the timely response. The following is my email exchange with them:
Hello. I am hoping to get a statement from SHAW as to where they stand on the Net Neutrality debate. Most specifically their stance on the user-based bandwidth charging.
The response I received back as follows:
For an official comment as to our stance towards UBB, I recommend that you call our corporate office directly at 403-750-4500 or complete the Customer Feedback form at shaw.ca, as this goes directly to our corporate office.
I can provide you with some details however, with regards to our current practices. Shaw has always reserved the right to charge for usage, although since the deployment of our far more robust usage tracking methods, we have modified our practices and moved away from hard caps (reduce your usage, upgrade your plan or cancel your account). Whereas high-usage users were almost previously considered to be abusers of our services, we realized that was not really the best approach; these users (about 10% of our internet customer base) were really high-value customers and so we have now enabled two additional options: per-GB billing (after at least two clear notifications on the bill/by phone) or data packs ($5 for 10GB, $20 for 60GB and $50 for 250GB).
To address a possible speculative correlation between the recent CRTC ruling (and proposed government review/reversal), our UBB framework and this ruling are entirely unrelated. The co-incidence is happenstance. The ruling in question relates specifically to Bell’s ability to charge their resellers by the GB and not their ability (or any other ISP’s) ability to charge flat rates or by the GB (or a combination of both as we do).
If you have any questions of a different nature or if there is anything else that we can do for you Kyle, please feel free to reply to this email and we will be happy to help.
E-Care Team
Shaw Cablesystems GP
Whether or not their stance will change with the ruling is unclear. It was my understanding from the CRTC information that UBB would apply to all ISP’s. Perhaps this is a question that will only be answered once and for all when the CRTC ruling comes down on March 1st. Watch for further updates!