Even corporations hate canadian ISPs

• Osayidan wrote on 2011-08-30 20:13
  Samsung got a 100,000$ bill for roaming charges for 2GB of data...
  
  

  As the staff of enterprises increasingly adopt smart phones, tablets and laptops as essential working tools, the odds also increase that their IT or telecom managers will run into bill shock.
  That sinking feeling hit Allen Wong (pictured), corporate affairs specialist at manufacturer Samsung Electronics’ Canadian division in January when the monthly wireless bill from included $100,000 in data roaming charges racked up by a staffer who used a smart phone tethered to a laptop during a five day trip to Europe.
  
  The experience was a lesson in the demands required by telecom expense management. Some consultants and software companies offer solutions to organizations, but carriers are also responding to customer pressure to help them rein in costs.
  
  For example, Telus Communications Co. recently slashed its international roaming charges by 60 per cent, while Rogers Communications Inc. lets businesses buy monthly buckets of data either for individuals or to be shared by groups.
  
  The Samsung staffer’s European trip was legitimate, as was the wireless work done on a laptop tethered to a smart phone. In fact, all the staffer downloaded was a mere 2 gigabytes of data. However, the carrier, BCE Inc.’s Bell Mobility, charged $51 a megabyte.
  
  “At the beginning, we were shocked,” recalled Wong, whose job includes overseeing wireless spending. Samsung’s contract with Bell specified that those using its service would only be charged $5 a megabyte. However, to get that rate the carrier has to be notified before a staffer began using a mobile device out of the country.
  
  The problem, Wong said, is staff don’t always notify him of foreign travel – and this was a prime case of why they should.
  
  One solution, if a carrier contract has a similar provision, it's simply a tough reporting policy where staff must give advance travel notice to managers.
  
  .....

  
  http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/samsung-canada-learns-to-avoid-wireless-bill-shock/143808
  
  This is obviously an extremely ridiculous example, but canadian ISPs are really starting to get in the way of things. How much longer will 20GB monthly caps (and much lower for wireless) and low speeds be able to function in the rapidly growing world of "everything is online".
  
  A lot of us here can't even use netflix.
• EndlessDreams wrote on 2011-08-30 20:33
  Wow... 20 GB monthly caps... how do Canadians even survive?
  
  People complain about the ~150 GB caps already in the US...
• Osayidan wrote on 2011-08-30 20:40

  Quote from EndlessDreams;571726:

  Wow... 20 GB monthly caps... how do Canadians even survive?
  
  People complain about the ~150 GB caps already in the US...

  
  
  20 GB is probably the average "medium" range. Some plans have more some have even less.
  I have zero options available to me right now if I want to have no caps. The only thing I can do is get a business license, and then contact the only ISP here who has a business plan with no caps (and the speed is nothing to be proud of).
• Adelynn wrote on 2011-08-30 21:05
  I feel bad for you guys. My internet likes is evil sometimes, but when it's not busy being evil, it's really good and fast.
• Zid wrote on 2011-08-30 22:20
  $51/MB.
  
  That could rack up to $200+ just to watch a single Youtube video.
• Mrlucky77 wrote on 2011-08-30 22:57
  In comparison to all of the other Canadian Nationer's complaints, my mother striked up an extremely good deal on the internet.
• paladin wrote on 2011-08-31 04:39
  Dam and America had some greedy companies,Looks like Canada got em too
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-08-31 05:00
  Canada's telecoms are the most profitable in the world. I wonder why. 8D
  
  Title is misleading, though. This deals with wireless connections, where caps are appropriate. Roaming fees are pretty insane, though. But they're well known to consumers so just take measures against it, it's a situation that's easily avoided.
  
  But ya, there is a conflict of interest when ISP companies are also cable TV companies, when stuff like Netflix shows up. They don't want you cancelling your cable TV subscription and ditching it for cheaper Netflix, which they make no money off of since everyone has an internet connection regardless. x(
• Osayidan wrote on 2011-08-31 05:04
  What I'm going to do soon is start up a bogus business, get a license for it (apparently it's pretty cheap to do so according to my mom whose in on the whole idea) and then contact Videotron, the only ISP that serves my area who has a no data caps plan for interwebs, catch is you need an actual business and prove it to them. Speed is only 7 Mbps down, but I'm getting a bit less than that already with Bell and I have caps.
  
  Maybe I'll finally be able to get netflix.
  I just hope the selection of shows for the canadian netflix has improved or else it's straight back to pirating.
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-08-31 05:20
  Have you considered switching to Acanac instead? Their DSL runs on the Bell network, so service should be comparable. No caps on DSL in Quebec. http://www.acanac.ca/DSL.html
• Mrlucky77 wrote on 2011-08-31 05:40
  Sell carved sculptures of soap in your business.
• Osayidan wrote on 2011-08-31 06:06

  Quote from Yoorah;572336:

  Have you considered switching to Acanac instead? Their DSL runs on the Bell network, so service should be comparable. No caps on DSL in Quebec. http://www.acanac.ca/DSL.html

  
  
  Already checked with them, colbanet and a few others.
  Some don't even support my area while others claim they can't promise me more than ~2Mbps.
  
  Problem with where I live is I'm on the street that divides two districts of montreal, so half the ISPs don't even have the rights or whatever red tape nonsense to serve me. It took 7 years for videotron to offer us internet, now we can get it but until I get my real-fake business going there's no point, since I get the same speed/caps with bell or videotron, so saving myself the hassle of switching until I can get videotron business with no caps.
  
  
  Also, the caps for wireless are not very justifiable. The speeds yes, but the caps no. There's no plans in my area that's unlimited, hell most start at 500MB and don't go over 5GB, and the 5GB ones cost as much as home internet. In europe the wireless plans start with caps but there's unlimited plans as well. It's pretty much a standard to offer unlimited, and at very reasonable prices (probably much less than our 5GB plans).
  
  The only reasonable mobile services I know of in canada are from Wind mobile, they actually have unlimited while in their zones... problem is videotron won the auction for the spectrum Wind uses so no Wind in montreal! hooray.
  Hence why I do not yet have a smart phone.
• Chockeh wrote on 2011-08-31 06:25

  Quote from Yoorah;572336:

  Have you considered switching to Acanac instead? Their DSL runs on the Bell network, so service should be comparable. No caps on DSL in Quebec. http://www.acanac.ca/DSL.html

  
  
  That looks interesting. Also, the 10 referrals thing looks quite awesome.