Telus [Canada] Explains Why UBB will Start on March 30

  

A year after Telus started experimenting usage charges (see "Telus to Start Charging for Usage ("it is fair")"- here) the change becomes a national policy for the Canadian operator's fixed ISP services, on March 30.

The surcharge will be automatic, but notifications to customers getting closer to the limit will start on an undefined date in the future.

Telus' "Usage-Based Internet Charges" (here) explains that "Starting March 30, 2015, fees will be applied to customers who exceed their Internet plan’s monthly data allowance. Most TELUS customers are already on an Internet plan that meets their current needs. Only those that exceed their plan – the heaviest Internet users – will incur an additional charge. If you are one of those customers, you will be notified before being charged.

Why? 

• a small number of customers regularly exceed their monthly data allowance, and while TELUS’ Internet plans have always had thresholds, historical consumer data usage patterns have not required us to apply any fees for those customers who exceed their allowance. 

• ..  the consumption of video over the Internet has dramatically increased. As a result, in the last 16 months alone our customers’ monthly Internet data usage has more than doubled. Further, much of this consumption is being driven by a minority of our customers - in fact, less than 5% of our Internet customers are consuming 25% of the data on our network in any given month. 

How much?

If you exceed your monthly usage allowance, we will automatically provide you with additional data buckets of 50GB as needed. Our charges for additional data are among the lowest in Canada:

• First bucket: $5
• Subsequent buckets: $10
• Monthly maximum: $75

Any unused portion of your last data bucket will expire at the end of your billing cycle. Your data usage will be reset to zero and your regular monthly usage allowance will apply.

You can also subscribe to Unlimited Data Usage for $30/mo – or just $15/mo if you also subscribe to any TELUS TV service.

Bill Shock prevention? 
  
Going forward, we’ll also notify you by email when you have:

• Reached 75% of your data allowance
• Reached 95% of your data allowance, and
• Exceeded your data allowance