motor

nthfinity · 12-16-2007, 11:08 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071214...telecomoffbeat

OTTAWA (AFP) - An oil field worker in western Canada was shocked this month to be charged 85,000 dollars for surfing the Internet on his new mobile phone, local media said Thursday.

Calgary resident Piotr Staniaszek, 22, had signed up for Bell Canada's cellular phone service at about 150 dollars per month, with unlimited mobile Web browsing.
He believed the plan allowed him to use the phone to connect with his computer, using it as a modem to download a lot of data, high-definition movies and other bandwidth-hungry applications.
But when his first bill arrived in the mail, Staniaszek realized to his horror that the company was charging him on a per-kilobyte basis for Internet downloads.
"I didn't know what to think. I thought there was probably a mistake," he told public broadcaster CBC. "I told them I wasn't aware that I would be charged for hooking up my phone to the computer."
A spokesman for Bell said the company will adjust Staniaszek's bill to 3,243 dollars, as "a measure of goodwill."
But Staniaszek said he still plans to try and fight it, "because I didn't know about the extra charges. Nobody explained any of this to me."
"The thing is, they've cut my phone off for being like 100 dollars over," he told CBC News. "Here, I'm 85,000 dollars over and nobody bothered to give me a call and tell me what was going on."

5vz-fe · 12-17-2007, 12:05 AM

So what's the definition for unlimited web browsing.

acmarttin · 12-17-2007, 12:51 AM

Originally Posted by 5vz-fe

So what's the definition for unlimited web browsing.

To my understanding he was charged for downloading the files. And the unlimited web "browsing" means just that. Looking at pages is covered, downloading content is not.

The gray area of "well technically by surfing the page the phone is downloading a certain amount of content" I have no idea about so I won't offer up my 2 cents on that point.

But I have the unlimited data plan from Verizon Wireless (US) and all I do is get the news, check the weather, traffic, google maps, etc. and I've never been charged a penny of overage. As a matter o' fact, when I downloaded google maps off of my phone's web browser I wasn't charged any extra either.

Interesting article. Poor guy.

nthfinity · 12-17-2007, 12:59 AM

Originally Posted by acmarttin

To my understanding he was charged for downloading the files. And the unlimited web "browsing" means just that. Looking at pages is covered, downloading content is not.

The gray area of "well technically by surfing the page the phone is downloading a certain amount of content" I have no idea about so I won't offer up my 2 cents on that point.

But I have the unlimited data plan from Verizon Wireless (US) and all I do is get the news, check the weather, traffic, google maps, etc. and I've never been charged a penny of overage. As a matter o' fact, when I downloaded google maps off of my phone's web browser I wasn't charged any extra either.

Interesting article. Poor guy.

I'm thinking that he was charged per kilo byte under the fact that browsing ON the phone is different then browsing THROUGH the phone... which he had connected to his pc/laptop or whatever.... It will be interesting if he succeeds in defining unlimited internet as unlimited kb no matter what... 150/ month is no small price either.

5vz-fe · 12-17-2007, 01:01 AM

^That's what I thought, 150 bucks a month for data plan is no small fee. I know unlimited "browsing" can be as low as 15 bucks in Toronto.

r2r · 12-17-2007, 01:52 AM

Just yesterday I was reading about a guy that got $3,500 bill for doing the same think. (AT&T canceled the charges in the end)

But this one definitely takes the cake

acmarttin · 12-17-2007, 02:09 AM

Yeah it kind of reminds me of those stories that came out when the iPhone came out about people who traveled abroad but their phone remained connected to their home data network and were charged outrageous roaming fees.

And thanks for clearing that up nth, I'm surprised (although, I shouldn't be,) that the network's technology is strong enough to be able to tell where the data is really being stored.

T-Bird · 12-19-2007, 11:31 AM

I heard about this but I think they settled on like $3000 a month in the end.

fabro_s · 12-19-2007, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by T-Bird

I heard about this but I think they settled on like $3000 a month in the end.

LOL, cant imagine paying 85,000 dls, and then again I cant imagine paying 3000 dls for a phone bill.......