Telus is introducing charges for exceeding data caps

[Thorin]

Yup, Telus is going to start charging customers that go over their data caps: http://www.telus.com/en/ab/get-help/account-and-billing/understand-your-bill/ffh/usage-based-internet-charges/support.do

Telus says that a minority of users is using a majority of the data, and they have to bring these charges in to balance it out.  But then they also say that if you pay an extra fee, you can get unlimited data.  Which means that it's not their network suffering slowdowns, because if everyone going over the cap just pays for unlimited caps, then how does that extra cash in the bank suddenly make their network able to handle the traffic?  Truth is, their network can already handle it, and they're just looking for a way to get more money out of their customers.

I wonder if Shaw will follow suit.

[Tom]

Shaw has already tried to, but every time, they seem to actually acquiesce to their customers demands.

And it definitely isn't a network management thing. It's pure cash grab. It costs them NOTHING for most traffic going over their network. The maintenance and management costs are more than covered by the regular monthly fees.

[Lazybones]

Shaw increased fees and reduced service for all new customers already.

[Tom]

Yeah, they did that too.  We'll see what happens with that. People have been mighty upset.