UBB = Bad idea

[NeedsMoreBran]

So word is working around that Telus is planning to "activate" UBB on home internet plans (see here, here or this Reddit thread).

I've been happy with my service since switching to Telus when Shaw was last considering this terrible business model (unfortunately for them, I left before they abandoned it).  I realize and respect that Telus needs to invest in their network, and that a portion of fees need to be redirected for such investments, and while meeting *peak* throughput is no doubt a major cost driver, it is hardly correlated with cumulative throughput - or if it is, then usage fees should be applied to Optik TV as well.

Instead, I suspect the motivation for this is simply that the executive team figures they can get away with it. The narrative of billing more to users that "use most of the service" is for some strange reason more palatable than telling people that watch a lot of hours of TV that they too should pay more (a legacy of OTA broadcasting I suppose).  I don't pretend to know the division of your costs - but I suspect I am, all considered, a cheaper and more profitable customer to provide service to than many, many customers whose connections are less often active - a result of both my location and building type, and the fact that I have not once had to call for any form of technical support since signing up.  If you want to start billing customers in a "fair" way, consider other, more cost-reflective factors. 

To that end, if Telus insists on adopting a business model that penalizes simply utilizing the service in such a manner, I will have to take my business elsewhere. Maybe scaring these customers off will help stave off a few core upgrades or upgrade aging lines out to the suburbs, but this should not be a problem paid for on the backs of users who tend to sip data around the clock any more than anyone using a comparable amount during the daily peak.

[NFtoBC]

The links you provided all discuss monthly caps, not peak consumption penalties. If Telus does choose to enforce caps, it will not matter whether you sip or gulp - if you reach the cap, you will have reached the cap.  Unlimited data volume is available to commercial accounts if you wish to pay the freight! 

[nasty]

July 1 2014. Prince George BC  users get to trial overage charges. Others will have to wait for their cap enforcement, if the trial actual works. The usage meter is still not working proper.

Users can buy an 'unlimited' data package addon to avoid the low caps. Without the overage addon, Overage Penalties will hurt when you go way over.

June 15 2014, Telus will impose a throttle(slow down users entire connection speed) on heavy users during congestion in towns with bandwidth problems(old hardware, need upgrade to backhaul). 

http://www.telus.com/en/bc/get-help/service-updates-changes/internet-and-email/article.do?topic=&sub...

Usage Meters can tell the difference between IPTV and Internet usage.  Hopefully thats 100% actual.

The Caps are too low for what the Internet can provide in education and entertainment.

FTTH 100Mbps - 500GB

Internet 50 - 400GB

Internet 25 - 250GB

Internet 15 - 150GB

Internet 6  - 100GB

Internet 1  -15GB

[NeedsMoreBran]

I actually find the fact that they're differentiating IPTV traffic to be the most offensive aspect of this.  Why does Optik get a pass, when other competitors don't?  In other words - yes, I support net neutrality, and this is a pretty blatant violation of it.  It's not exactly a 'fast lane' for Optik (though I'm sure it gets a level of network QoS prioritization that they don't disclose too), but omitting it from caps is even nastier.

Obviously, if the local traffic exceeds local capacity some "throttling" is going to occur, and I don't really mind that, so long as its reasonably disclosed (and it is, when they say the 50mbps plan is really "~10-50", even if that fact is a bit buried).  But I'm not paying $30 a month for my use of an otherwise 'dark' line during the middle of the night, and I really can't see any justification for it - there is no marginal cost to that use, and no matter how much data I draw in a day, I'm still only going to get an equal share of my area's total throughput during the peak hours.  So as far as I'm concerned, it's a cash grab. 

[Nighthawk]

Optik isn't getting a pass. I have Optik and I have the usage meter present on my Telus account. So far it doesn't appear to be counting TV usage. From what I understand about Optik, the content for it is coming from within Telus' network. I suspect the data that's being counted is only traffic that leaves or originates outside of their internal network.

The only throttling Telus has listed is for remote communities who desperately need a connection upgrade.

Go read Telus' announcement from April 1st on the throttling and UBB: http://www.telus.com/en/bc/get-help/service-updates-changes/internet-and-email/article.do?topic=&sub...

The list of communities effected by the throttling and additional information is here: http://www.telus.com/en/bc/get-help/service-updates-changes/telus-internet-traffic-management-policy...

[Nighthawk]

These latest UBB changes were publicly announced at the beginning of April. Telus used to have a $2/GB overage price (that they weren't enforcing) but it was also clearly posted on their website.

If anyone wants to see a much more in depth conversation about UBB finally being activated, see the post on DSLR that started April 2nd. >> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r29150886-ALL-UBB-Usage-Based-Billing-starts-June-1st

It has 222 replies and 13k views so far and a few employees appear to have posted in that thread too.

[xl]

I notice on a recent bill, my consumption was posted.  I'm no where near by 250gb monthly limit, but I love my 25Mbps download speed for general browsing.

I understand a large majority of users also consume little data each month.  Telus is offering "choice" for customers who use little or more data.  Everyone should look at their statements before being concerned.

This is basically the same thing that many wireless carriers are going.  However, Telus is offering much more than 6gb per month.