Great article Hugh, most cogent presentation of the issue I've seen. For years, I've been pointing to the imposition of "too low" caps as a major looming problem for consumers, both as a barrier to video via Net and as the wedge issue that will usher in widespread CRTC regulation of the net in Canada.
That shoe has finally dropped. It's encouraging to finally see public awareness raised about the issue and to see people starting to ask questions like "wait a minute, if I download a movie from Shaw/Telus, does that count toward the cap? Does it count differently than Netflix?" i.e. grasping the net neutrality issue, finally. BTW, I have no problem with reasonable caps - these ain't those.
I think the feds and the companies misjudged the anger about cellular plans and how rapidly the public would see this as an extension of that situation. From an issues management perspective, the companies and their regulatory partner have definitely mishandled this. Timing was terrible (they should have pushed this through in the summer pre-Netflix launch, Netflix has raised public consciousness of the future of downloading video content enormously)
Or was the timing terrible? Something tingles when I see the proximity in time of the CTV/Bell hearings and the Shaws sports channel announcements to the caps decision. Did the industry push their regulatory partner for a ridiculous download cap structure in order to set it up as a straw man, knowing they would back off in exchange for concessions on cross-ownership and carrier/content decisions?
Probably not, it implies too much collusion and control over timing. But the fact that I'm thinking it points to how the perception of these companies is sinking in the public mind.
And the number of people that are asking me about the pros and cons of unplugging from cable is growing by leaps and bounds...