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TPU may be shutting down

UPDATE 2011Apr26: Shaw plans to go ahead with UBB and expects to announce pricing changes in May/June 2011.
http://openmedia.ca/news/shaw-revive-...d-internet

UPDATE 2011Feb10: Shaw has responded to the anti-UBB outcry by posting a new page on their web site. They don't say anything definite about their plans, but clearly they are looking at UBB and I can only assume that if they think they can get away with it, they will lower their caps or take some similar action that will result in higher bandwidth costs for TPU. On a positive note, they are planning to host public meetings on the subject. Stay tuned.

UPDATE 2011Feb04: I've posted a new page outlining the costs of running TPU: click the 'TPU costs' link in the TPU Stuff section of the left sidebar.

UPDATE 2011Feb03: the federal government has said it will reverse the CRTC ruling if the CRTC doesn't reverse it themselves. So far this is just talk, so the fight is not yet over. (Also note that I've cleaned up some inaccuracies in my original post below.)

The TPU game server is located in Canada. It uses Shaw cable for its connection to the Internet. A ruling by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), scheduled to take effect across Canada on March 1, 2011, will initiate Usage Based Billing (UBB), whereby providers will be required to bill customers by the gigabyte when certain traffic limits are reached.

If nothing is done to stop this from happening, Shaw may choose to adjust their billing accordingly, which could raise broadband costs to the point where I have to shut down TPU. I'm currently analyzing the bandwidth used by TPU and will compare it with the limits that we're likely to see. If the result means I will have to pay more for hosting TPU, I will almost certainly shut it down. I run TPU as a hobby - I don't make any money from it, so there's a limit to how much I'm willing to spend on it.

The good news is that we are fighting this idiotic cash grab. You can read all about it and find ways to help at these web sites:
* http://www.stopthemeter.ca/
* http://stopusagebasedbilling.wordpress.com/

Some interesting perspectives on this issue:
* http://i.imgur.com/LJCKv.png
* http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5620/125/
* http://opinion.financialpost.com/2011...eal-myths/

Thank you for your support.