[digital50]

im with bell and i called the customer service because on my bill it has a $34 charge-thats alot of $ for crappy channels for basic programming and i asked them why im being charged $34 on top of digital themes which come to about $28 and i only watch digital theme i hardly ever watch the other crap and the rep said its for the local channels? i didnt know this at the time and told him aren't the local channels free and isnt the crtr thinking about adding $10 extra on customers bill monthly to support the local channels because they are free? he then said a generic response about your being charged $34 so bell can continue to offer you good service. I also see other charges on my bill that seem like rape 1.5% crtc contribute fee? $3 digital fee?. Disgusting, does anyone really know why they charge $34 for channels that should be free that dont have any value anyways certainly not for $34

 

[markb]

The $34 is a basic subscription fee that everyone has to pay. Bell decides what channels they want to include in the basic digital service. Subscribing to satellite tv is never free. The only way to get free tv is with an antenna. Even cable has their basic subscription fee which inlcudes local channels.

 

[57]

As mentioned above, this is not limited to Bell. It is a government (CRTC) regulation for all service providers. This may change later this year or early in 2012 as true a-la-carte pricing may be allowed, as discussed in threads on that topic.

Here's a post useful for those new to the forums - FAQs, Search Tips, Optimization, etc:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=57741