Once Again, What Is The Logic Behind UBB?
If ComScore’s report is accurate and Canadians are the most active Internet users in the world, spending on average 43,5 hours online every month, we must question why we are still trying to find the benefits of usage-based billing. There are none.
If ComScore’s report is accurate and Canadians are the most active Internet users in the world, spending on average 43,5 hours online every month, we must question why we are still trying to find the benefits of usage-based billing. There are none.
The ComScore 2010 review of Canadian online presence shows the changing demographic among Internet users in Canada. Over the last year, Canada has seen a 12% increase in the number of Internet users who are older than 55. Particularly in the area of social networking, older Canadians are dominating, with a more than 35% increase for both the 55-64 and the 65+ age groups between the years 2009 and 2010.
It is no mystery that video streaming has undergone a significant boom over last twelve months. But, as the report shows, there is no content category that has seen a significant decrease in number of users over the last year beside e-mail portals, which are being replaced by newer forms of communication.
With people over 35 years of age accounting for more than half of all video viewers in the last quarter of 2010, the report suggests that similar patterns of progress will occur in 2011. Moreover, the boom in mobile technologies is opening a range of new possibilities for advertisers as well as users, who are now able to access online content from virtually anywhere.
So, after examining these numbers and noting the undeniable growth among Internet users of all age groups, how exactly can we defend the logic of capping Internet usage by adopting usage-based billing? The report clearly shows that Canadians want more Internet, not less. The profit-driven interests of big corporations do not align with the interests of Canadians, and the CRTC needs to realize that.
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