Jamie Sturgeon describes how electricity became metered and continues:"The example parallels the polarizing — and now politicized — issue of so-called “usage-based billing (UBB)” of the Internet. UBB is a set of practices Canada’s largest service providers like BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. have implemented allowing them to meter usage and charge for it.
"Their defence is that online traffic is growing at such a clip that tiered systems are now required both to better match finite supply with demand, as well as generate the necessary profits to expand capacity, or grow the grid. Bell, for one, anticipates volume growth on its network of 25% this year over last, it says.
"There is a growing herd, however, that is deeply dissatisfied with the explanation, charging that it is thinly veiled profiteering. A maelstrom of populist rage has flared up in recent weeks after regulators at the CRTC permitted Bell and others to begin imposing metering on their wholesale customers, the last corner of the market where the unlimited Internet could be found. . . "
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