Eastlink 'disregarding' real internet use with rural cap, says businessman

A rural Nova Scotia business owner who relies on high-speed internet has compiled a list of common online activities that he says will cost more after Eastlink's bandwidth cap starts next month.

Eastlink's rural residents will have their usage capped at 15 gigabytes a month starting Aug. 1.Every gigabyteover will mean a $2 fee, up to a maximum of $20 extra each month.

Andy Kerr, who runs a website development business from his home in Hampton in Annapolis County,says the list puts in real terms how everyday users expect to use the internet.

"We've been putting together real-life uses of bandwidth that Eastlink seems to be disregarding," he said.

"For a company that provides internet service, you'd think that software being updated and virus definitions being updated would be very important to them."

List of common activities:

• Upload 50 high-resolution photos (approx. 2 megabytes) to your Facebook album: 0.10 GB.
• Download one nine-hour audio book: 0.11 GB.
• Download a 45-minute TV show from iTunes: 0.20 GB.
• Visiting 500 standard web pages over one month: 0.50 GB.
• Send 50 emails with attachments: 0.15 GB.
• One-hour VoIP (Skype) Voice Only: 0.045 GB.
• Play 10 hours of online games (Xbox, Playstation, etc.): 0.20 GB.
• Download new or updated game: 0.1 GB to 10 GB.
• Stream one hour of YouTube video in 1080p: 1.20 GB.
• Watch one hour of Netflix in HD: 3 GB.

Kerr says everyday use of the internet will easily surpass the 15-gigabyte limit and it's time to start thinking differently about the internet.

"Internet access is a utility now and we should be expecting the utility to be working 100 per cent at all times, on call," he said.

"As much as we would expect our power to be running and our phones to be running, this is a utility now."

Eastlink's website says its rural internet service, which runs with speeds of up to 1.5 megabits per second, is "good for basic internet needs like email, general web browsing and social media."

It also says it's not designed for streaming video using a platform such as Netflix.

Eastlink's vision for how the internet would be used in rural areas appears to have changed.

According to its website in 2011, Eastlink's description of its rural internet services said customers would be able to use programs such as Skype, take online courses for distance education and download music and videos.