Got my 1st warning : Rogers Bandwidth

[lip1978]

I signed up in Sept 2003 for a 2 year contract for High Speed and Digital cable. I guess I'll have to ask them to stop them both and my cell phone which is on a 3 year contract, as they seem to believe that me trusting them to keep the level of service at a consistent rate for 2 years is too much to ask.
I wonder what they'll say.
----------------------
Dear xxxx

On March 17, 2005, Rogers introduced a combined upload/download
bandwidth limit
of 61,440 Megabytes (60 Gigabytes) per month. This limit applies to
all
residential service tiers. As you may appreciate, Rogers has a
responsibility
to ensure that all of our customers experience a high quality of
service and
performance when using Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet. The 61,440
Megabytes
(60 Gigabytes) monthly limit ensures that customers can continue to
enjoy all
the benefits of high-speed Internet service, without negatively
impacting the
experience of other Rogers' customers.

We are writing to notify you that your usage has exceeded the 61,440
Megabytes
(60 Gigabytes) monthly limit. Please reduce your bandwidth activity in
the
coming months to comply with the bandwidth activity limit. Please
understand
that should your usage continue above the monthly limit on a 2nd
occasion, we
will have no choice but to temporarily suspend your Internet account.
If your
account is suspended for this reason, it will be restored upon your
contacting
Rogers and agreeing to reduce your bandwidth usage to the monthly
limit. A
violation of the limit for a 3rd occasion will result in the
termination of
your account for a 12 month period.

We understand that new applications and new ways of using the Internet
can
cause people to consume far more bandwidth than they realize. Here are
some
steps you can take to help manage your usage of the Rogers Yahoo!
Hi-Speed
Internet service:

- Our Usage Measurement Tool, located at www.rogers.com/ums allows you
to view
the amount of cumulative data that you have transferred in a given
month.
- Be aware of how others in your home use your Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed
Internet
service, and make them aware of these guidelines.
- Install virus protection software and regularly scan your PC(s) to
ensure
that you have downloaded the most recent versions of such software.
- If you make use of Peer-to-Peer applications, check the preference
settings
to ensure an upper limit on the amount of bandwidth you allow for
sharing.
- Familiarize yourself with all the provisions of our agreements with
you
(particularly prohibited uses of Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet).
Please
visit www.rogershelp.com/policies to see these agreements. As well,
you
should regularly visit www.rogers.com for additional information
about how to
use our service responsibly.
- Visit the website of your operating system vendor to ensure you have
the most
up-to-date security patches.
- Some wireless network hardware can allow other people outside of
your home to
connect to your wireless network. Please ensure that your wireless
router is
secured to prevent unauthorized connections made from devices
outside your
home.

If you are already registered on www.rogers.com, you can access your
Internet
usage information by visiting www.rogers.com/ums.

1. You will be prompted to enter a www.rogers.com user ID and
password. Please
note, this is a different username and password than the one used
to access
your Rogers Yahoo! portal.
2. After signing in, select “View Internet Usage� from the customer
service
menu to access the tool.

If you are not registered, visit www.rogers.com/register to register:

1. This will take you to a new page where you will be prompted to
provide all
the information required to create a User ID and Password.

2. Once you have created a User ID you will be asked for your account
number
(provided at the top of this letter for your convenience) and
postal code.
When you have completed this, you will able to view your Internet
usage and
manage your account online.

3. To access the Usage Measurement tool, select “View Internet Usage�
from the
customer service menu.

Thank you for your help in making the Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet
the best
possible experience for everyone.

Sincerely,

Rogers Yahoo Hi-Speed Internet

[ichpen]

They'll be laughing most likely at the early termination fees you'll have to dish over.

Seriously though we all know about the 60gb cap now. Live with it or find another provider.

[midget_man]

Here we go again, the put up or shut up comments. Hey buddy, great original response.

That sucks about the letter, I would imagine that we'll be seeing more of these in the future and getting more threads like this (and more never heard remarks like the one above). Rogers blows goats.

[pandaharo]

60gb better than the 20gb shaw gives out west. Happy I switched. :)

[Tiberius]

How long did it take to get the warning? And what method did they use to send it to you? (email?)

[Keelie]

60gb better than the 20gb shaw gives out west. Happy I switched. :)

telus gives 10gb.. how ridiculous is that? thats combined up/down per month. everyone i know has gotten the 'letter' after going over 100gb (myself included)

now i make sure i'm under 100gb each month.

[gprime]

cogeco gives 15GB on its 5mbit cable package. 60GB isnt bad if you ask me, compared to mine.

[midget_man]

cogeco gives 15GB on its 5mbit cable package. 60GB isnt bad if you ask me, compared to mine.

Well I bet people in a Somalian refugee camp think they have it better than those in an Ethiopian refugee camp, or those in a Mexican prison are happy they are not in a Brazilian prison, but at the end of the day, you are still in a refugee camp or a prison.

[i6s1]

60gb better than the 20gb shaw gives out west. Happy I switched. :)

To what?

[.iNiz]

Unlimited :D in Halifax, atleast we're good for soemthing

[lip1978]

They sent it by email.
I did call them last night and even though I'm on a 2 year term with Cable/Internet, they said I could cancel with no penalty, which I found surprising.

I'm still mad at the fact they sold the people who use the internet the most for large downloads a modem for $100 non refundable, and then said you can only use it this much.

It's like selling a cellphone and saying - you can get as many text messages as you want with this cellphone, then saying a month and a half later - you can only get 60 messages.

Also, the idea of 24/7 net access. Well, if I use the net 24/7 in the manner I want to, then I'll be cut off, therefore breaking their 24/7 promise.
LIP

[newatthis]

telus gives 10gb.. how ridiculous is that? thats combined up/down per month. everyone i know has gotten the 'letter' after going over 100gb (myself included)

now i make sure i'm under 100gb each month.
yup,10gb is just ridiculous! i have signed up for about 10 days now, already used about 70GB ;) let's see what happens, i don't have a comtract now

[Montague]

telus gives 10gb.. how ridiculous is that? thats combined up/down per month. everyone i know has gotten the 'letter' after going over 100gb (myself included)

now i make sure i'm under 100gb each month.
:arrowu:

downloads alot of porn. :cheesygri

Montague now awaits his ban from Keelie.

[UrbanPoet]

then stop downloading illegal ****.
If you dont download illegal **** you probably wont go over the limit EVER.

[rdtx2002]

then stop downloading illegal ****.
If you dont download illegal **** you probably wont go over the limit EVER.

stop assuming people are downloading illegal **** unless he says himself he is downloading illegal ****

and to lip1978.. you might as well cancel and switch all to Bell.. seeing that you got the 'letter of death'.. you have been flagged as a bandwidth hog.. and they'll do what they can to 'get you out'

[hightech05]

There are plenty of things that he can download that are legal that can eat up a ton.

[spinbot]

I have to agree with the statement about the downloading of "illegal *****".

Sure their are legitimate possibilities that would push you over the 20GB limit, however realistically i'm sure that less than 10%(very conservative estimate) of the people going over the limit are in that category.

Be honest -- most of you are downloading music, movies and warez. Until the cost of bandwidth comes down, then it only makes sense for ISP's to cap their services. The actions of a few bandwidth hogs can effect speeds for many people. Personally, i am glad my ISP has caps as that maintains a quality service. The people that want to download 100GB/month, they can go elsewhere as they would be losing money on them anyways. No different than the person thats on dialup and stays on 24/7. I costs an ISP more than the $25 they pay a month for 1 business line.

[HughG]

Im another happy costumer.

No need to download more then 60 gb a month.

[Ryo]

No Muisc Movies or Warez downloading here's my usage for two days. The only thing I did was browse the web reading news sites (no video) and then played about 4 hours of world warcraft per day (8pm-12am roughu). This is just for 1 user, I'd hate to imagine what it would be like for 2-3 people in a home.


Down Up Total
7,130 121 7,251
6,348 68 6,416

Now if I were to play even 15 out of 30 days of warcraft, which is moderate for a game such as that what would my usage be?

Everyone's usage is different! just becuase they use a lot does not indicate that they are doing anything illegal, say all you want it's not fair to pass judgement like that.

[gilboman]

No Muisc Movies or Warez downloading here's my usage for two days. The only thing I did was browse the web reading news sites (no video) and then played about 4 hours of world warcraft per day (8pm-12am roughu). This is just for 1 user, I'd hate to imagine what it would be like for 2-3 people in a home.


Down Up Total
7,130 121 7,251
6,348 68 6,416

Now if I were to play even 15 out of 30 days of warcraft, which is moderate for a game such as that what would my usage be?

Everyone's usage is different! just becuase they use a lot does not indicate that they are doing anything illegal, say all you want it's not fair to pass judgement like that.

so you can download warez on warcraft now? somebody is leaching your connection big time, if you really are just playing warcraft why is there such a big discrepency between download and uploads??

[spinbot]

I don't do online gaming, however that does seem like a lot of bandwidth for playing a game for 4 hours a day.

The ISP where I am at, we have many clients that game regularily that never exceed 20GBs.

I agree with the previous post, your bandwidth must be being used by something else.

Any I stand by my generalization that people needed 60GB+ a month are downloading copywrited materials.

[d_jedi]

Be honest -- most of you are downloading music, movies and warez.
There is nothing wrong with downloading music. It is completely legal.

[rookie]

Well I guess it's time to watch how much you use or find a new ISP. Bottom line!

[cheukiecfu]

There is nothing wrong with downloading music. It is completely legal. only if you paid for it...

beside... how can u use up 60GB of space if you are not downloading illegal stuffs?

[Headhunter]

I'm still mad at the fact they sold the people who use the internet the most for large downloads a modem for $100 non refundable, and then said you can only use it this much.
Huh? I thought it was refundable, and you could even keep the modem; they just take your service from Extreme to Hi-Speed...?

[spinbot]

There is nothing wrong with downloading music. It is completely legal.

Ha!! I'm sure you download only non-copy protected music ( ie. primarly unknow bands ) or paid for music. At $.99 per song, average 5MB per song, each Gig you purchase would cost almost $200.

Everyone needs to be honest with themselves. Yes, you download warez and/or movies and/or copy protected music and it pisses you off that the ISP's are preventing you from stealing so much of it.

I don't admit to be a saint, however as I am dialup at home, 2GB is considered a lot for me.

I can sit her and create arguments as to how the limits are effecting legimate users downloading legal materials, however I highly doubt the legit reasons apply to any of those here that complain about it.

Caps Suck -- I agree, however it just isn't a wise business model to leave the doors wide open for abuse.

[goffeebeans]

Down Up Total
7,130 121 7,251
6,348 68 6,416

Now if I were to play even 15 out of 30 days of warcraft, which is moderate for a game such as that what would my usage be?

Everyone's usage is different! just becuase they use a lot does not indicate that they are doing anything illegal, say all you want it's not fair to pass judgement like that.
Wow, my brother plays World of warcraft like every single day for I'd say atleast min 4hrs. Probably closer to 7hrs. Havent gotten any warning as of yet.

[Txiasaeia]

only if you paid for it...

No offense, but have you been living in a cave for the past five years? Downloading (pirating/leeching/whatever) music in Canada is 100% legal.

[d_jedi]

only if you paid for it...

beside... how can u use up 60GB of space if you are not downloading illegal stuffs?
Yes, I have.. and I'd wager just about all of us have, as well.
Ever buy a CD-R(W) disc? Or a DVD(+/-)R(W) disc? Then you've paid for the right to download music for personal use.

[d_jedi]

Ha!! I'm sure you download only non-copy protected music ( ie. primarly unknow bands ) or paid for music. At $.99 per song, average 5MB per song, each Gig you purchase would cost almost $200.
Yup.. I download plenty of non-copy protected music.. but it's not from "primarily unknown bands", unless you consider artists from the past twenty years or so as "primarily unknown". And I don't pay $0.99/song.. I pay $0.15 (I think that's about the figure) per CD-R(W) or DVD(+/-)R(W) disc that I buy.. even if that disc is not to be used for music.

[spinbot]

Yes, I have.. and I'd wager just about all of us have, as well.
Ever buy a CD-R(W) disc? Or a DVD(+/-)R(W) disc? Then you've paid for the right to download music for personal use.

I don't think that is the purpose of the tax. The purpose of it is help recover the losses from illegal pirating.

"for personal use" -- that pretty much what everyone buys DVD and CD's for.

Give George Lucas a call and ask him what he thinks about you downloading StarWars Episode 3, burning it to DVD and then watching it.

The few cents from each DVD-R or CD-R is not intended to give you the right to downloading a movie or music and use it for personal use. That just makes no sense.

[thelefteyeguy]

No offense, but have you been living in a cave for the past five years? Downloading (pirating/leeching/whatever) music in Canada is 100% legal.


you'd be surprised...most canadians are ignorant and dont care about the news...dont you ever watch those TV programs when they ask ppl on the street about something and most canadians have no idea what they are talking about.

haha...illegal to download mp3s in Canada :lol:

[thelefteyeguy]

I don't think that is the purpose of the tax. The purpose of it is help recover the losses from illegal pirating.

"for personal use" -- that pretty much what everyone buys DVD and CD's for.

Give George Lucas a call and ask him what he thinks about you downloading StarWars Episode 3, burning it to DVD and then watching it.

The few cents from each DVD-R or CD-R is not intended to give you the right to downloading a movie or music and use it for personal use. That just makes no sense.

I got his voicemail. Should I leave a message? btw I didnt dl SW3...why would I want to see a cam version or a pre-print version with a time meter encoded on the screen?

[Asun]

No offense, but have you been living in a cave for the past five years? Downloading (pirating/leeching/whatever) music in Canada is 100% legal.

Not only is it legal to download music. It is also legal to "share" the music you have downloaded.

[d_jedi]

I don't think that is the purpose of the tax. The purpose of it is help recover the losses from illegal pirating.
The Federal Court disagrees with you on that one..

Give George Lucas a call and ask him what he thinks about you downloading StarWars Episode 3, burning it to DVD and then watching it.
We have no legal rights to download copyright protected movies.. and I am completely against people who pirate them. We pay a levy for music, therefore we can download music, plain and simple.

The few cents from each DVD-R or CD-R is not intended to give you the right to downloading a movie or music and use it for personal use. That just makes no sense.
I don't really like the current state of affairs, either. I'd prefer if there were no levy, and people did not have the right to download copyright protected works.. and this was actually enforced (no we-didn't-know-so-we'll-get-off-scott-free - complete bull$hit - like the Pacific Mall incident a while ago).

[thelefteyeguy]

Canada to be a country of leechers:

May 20, 2005

Music firms get lawsuit roadmap
Court ruling protects privacy But uploaders can still be sued


TONY WONG
BUSINESS REPORTER

Canadians who upload music files and make them available to others may still be subjected to lawsuits based on a Federal Court of Appeal decision released yesterday.

Despite the fact the music industry lost its quest to curb online file-sharing when an attempt to identify 29 alleged uploaders was quashed by the court, the ruling paves the way for the industry to continue to file suits, said Michael Geist, Canada research chair in Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa.

Indeed, Geist said the lawsuits could number in the thousands.

"The court has made clear that they can bring suits as long as they respect privacy," said Geist in an interview. "Before the decision their litigation strategy had ground to a halt. The road is now open."

The 27-page decision gives the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) a roadmap of how to present file-sharing evidence in future attempts to stop rampant music swapping. It rejected the lower court's ruling on copyright law, saying the judge was premature in his statements that file sharing is permissible.

Richard Pfohl, the music industry's lawyer, went as far as to call yesterday's decision "a complete success" even though the organization cannot proceed with lawsuits against the 29 people at this time.

"It provides us with a blueprint to proceed," he said. "We know exactly what we need to do."

Geist said based on U.S. experience, where the music industry has gone after uploaders, "we can expect thousands of suits against individual Canadians in the months ahead ... There is now every reason to think that Canadians will be subjected to a similar legal barrage."

For over a year CRIA has been trying to figure out who's behind pseudonyms such as Geekboy@KaZaA and Jordana@KaZaA.

The two are among 29 individuals suspected of collectively making 43,541 songs available to any Web surfer for free.

Finding out the identities from Internet service providers, such as Shaw, Rogers and Bell, is a necessary step in order to launch lawsuits against people who use services like Kazaa and IMesh.

Writing on behalf of the three-judge panel, Justice Edgar Sexton said much of the evidence was hearsay, posing a risk that "innocent persons might have their privacy invaded and also be named as defendant where it is not warranted."

The evidence was gathered by workers at New York-based MediaSentry and presented by the company's president who had only second-hand knowledge of how it was collected. Dating back to late 2003, it was based on screen grabs showing a list of songs placed in a shared folder.

However, those representing the public's interest in the case also called the ruling a victory.

"The decision recognizes and affirms the right of privacy for individual Canadians," said Howard Knopf, a copyright lawyer with Macera and Jarzyna in Ottawa who represented the public's interest during the case.

However, Knopf cautioned that a portion of the decision "opens the door to the kind of shock and awe campaign that we've seen in the U.S." because it gives CRIA a chance to come back with better evidence.

Geist cautioned that the decision yesterday does not mean a complete victory for the music industry.

"It only puts them at stage one, the ability to proceed with the lawsuit. Once you reach the lawsuit stage there is still uncertainty over the infringement issues," said Geist.

Yesterday's decision included several strong statements about the importance of protecting copyright in the online world so that music makers are not "robbed of the fruits of their efforts," suggesting CRIA should return to court when it has met all the necessary criteria.

The decision refrained from making grand conclusions on copyright laws — specifically about the legality of downloading or uploading music via file-sharing.

canadian press With files from the Star's tony wong

[vladislav]

Down Up Total
7,130 121 7,251
6,348 68 6,416



What a load of BS! Now try to really just use WoW and see how much it eats up. It won't come anywhere near that in a month of play.

I am content with the limit, at least now I have perfect service. No more leechers so reasonable users can have their 5Mbit channel. I know it's not the best solution but whatever works. If you need to download more than 60Gig legally what the hell are you doing on cable, obviously you need some corporate connection, if it's illegal stuff why ***** and moan?
Also people threatening to quit rogers, give them a call, they will be very happy to do that for you since they are losing money on you anyways.

Maybe you people should think about it differently, you are being very wasteful. You are driving your hummer on suburban city streets, it's the same thing. I know the 'downloading' bug but you have to fight that disease, you are wasting too much energy in the process.

I think there really should be 'leechers anonymous', it would help you guys quite a bit, save you tons of aggrevation over these issues.

Good luck!

[Jump]

Doesn't anyone else find it funny that a bunch of torrent sites were shutdown on Tuesday cause they released Star Wars III online a few days before it was out in theatre. Makes sense since it is pretty illegal. But what I find funny is how they whine that the Motional Picture Industry loses millions of dollars yearly and how this pre-release cost the studios millions of dollars. Yet, Star Wars III smashed the record for highest grossing film on opening weekend.

Things that make ya go hmmm.....

[thelefteyeguy]

Doesn't anyone else find it funny that a bunch of torrent sites were shutdown on Tuesday cause they released Star Wars III online a few days before it was out in theatre. Makes sense since it is pretty illegal. But what I find funny is how they whine that the Motional Picture Industry loses millions of dollars yearly and how this pre-release cost the studios millions of dollars. Yet, Star Wars III smashed the record for highest grossing film on opening weekend.

Things that make ya go hmmm.....

also right after the THX commercial while watching SW3...i was bombarded with a very ridiculous commerical about piracy....which means that lucas funded the commercial and is probably going to be on the dvd

[Wildfire]

Well I bet people in a Somalian refugee camp think they have it better than those in an Ethiopian refugee camp, or those in a Mexican prison are happy they are not in a Brazilian prison, but at the end of the day, you are still in a refugee camp or a prison.
THANK YOU

Well said.
I was just about to post similarly.
I don't understand the whole "of it could be worse" reasoning, that's just rolling over and letting companies do anything they want.

[spinbot]

also right after the THX commercial while watching SW3...i was bombarded with a very ridiculous commerical about piracy....which means that lucas funded the commercial and is probably going to be on the dvd

Now, things like this ( commercials before movies on DVD ) annoy me. Copying a DVD like that, when it comes out, to a DVDR is a good thing as you can remove all that crap and just leave the movie.

Eventhough the Movie has had such good box office success, piracy still results in the loss of millions of dollars more that it could have made. Personally, I am happy with the motion picture industry in some aspects as I can see a movie for $10 or less. That is acceptable. Where I have a beef is with Blockbuster and them charging over $5 to rent a movie. Although this is off topic to the posts point.

I've said my peace - simply put -- bandwidth caps are necessary until the cost of bandwidth for ISP drops significantly. Without caps, speed/quality of service suffers for everyone. Better to upset 1% of the users to make 99% of them happy.

[d_jedi]

Doesn't anyone else find it funny that a bunch of torrent sites were shutdown on Tuesday cause they released Star Wars III online a few days before it was out in theatre. Makes sense since it is pretty illegal. But what I find funny is how they whine that the Motional Picture Industry loses millions of dollars yearly and how this pre-release cost the studios millions of dollars. Yet, Star Wars III smashed the record for highest grossing film on opening weekend.

Things that make ya go hmmm.....
Do you have any idea how much more money ROTS would make at the box office - both in the short term(opening week or two) and (more signficantly) in the long term - if people couldn't rip it off online?

Probably more money than you'll ever see..