The big deal here is that instead of offering competitive plans the big ISPs are _decreasing_ the level of service and _increasing_ the prices of plans.

Also, Bell/Rogers/Telus have the advantage of offering bundles if you use them for cable/satellite+cell phone+Internet, whereas a lot of smaller ISPs would not able to do such things. This screams anti-competition.

FYI, I don't mind paying per usage as long a the rates are reasonable. How about charging us $10-15 for connection fees, and then $0.25/GB of transfer?

>The big deal here is that instead of offering competitive plans the big ISPs are _decreasing_ the level of service and _increasing_ the prices of plans.

Are they? I have the fastest plan from Telus and over the years they have upped the speed without upping the price, several times.

>Also, Bell/Rogers/Telus have the advantage of offering bundles if you use them for cable/satellite+cell phone+Internet, whereas a lot of smaller ISPs would not able to do such things. This screams anti-competition.

agreed, to a point. However all of the little guys I am aware of offer some kind of an Internet/phone bundle

There are several wireless Internet providers here in Alberta and I'm watching them with interest. They've built their own network run along natural gas lines or old railway tracks (where it's easy to obtain right of way rights) and are beholden to nobody (other than their backbone providers). If the big three go crazy with fees, I think these tiny wireless providers are poised to jump in and beat them down.

The big ISPs didn't have to have caps. They did it because the markup is huge. Having no cap was a big reason that people chose smaller ISPs.

Not only have caps been introduced but the wholesale discount is alarmingly small, so small ISPs aren't free to compete on features or price. Small ISPs can't go and find another backbone because they're all owned by this group of companies.

Note that in Quebec the cap is higher (60GB/month instead of 25GB/month). In most of Canada Bell/Rogers/Shaw own the DSL and cable networks. In Quebec, Bell mostly own the DSL lines but Videotron (Quebecor) own the cable network, so it's almost like competition. Also Quebecor has unshakable ties to the provincial government.

And now that the big ISPs can force smaller ISPs to pay for overage rates, small ISPs must increase their prices, giving them no competitive edge against brand giants.

The end result: everyone gets overcharged for internet access as these companies try to make up lost sales in phonelines and television by killing everyone on internet.

I'd be more than happy to pay a per GB rate so long as the market was completely opened up. Do you know how attractive a market $2 / GB is? That's an insane mark-up! About as insane as the wireless text messaging markup Bell / Rogers forced us to eat.

Heck, open it up, and McDonald's might get out of selling soft drinks and start up a telco instead.

Does Telus ever charge you? I have never been charged for going over, myself.

I've never seen an overage charge in five years, yet have consistently gone over every month therein.

Someone at Telus once mentioned (anecdotally) that Telus plain doesn't enforce caps, and that the cap is written down only in case they need it.