...and the winner is...
Indeed this has nothing to do with any license fees, but it is probably the most stupid proposal made in 2008.
As far as the licence fee is concerned I think they should abandon that and replace it with a tax, payable by all tax payers, regardless of owning a TV or radio. This will make it a lot fairer to everyone. Right now a single person household will pay the same amount as someone who is married with 4 kids.
There is a need for publicly funded broadcasters. You need an independent broadcaster and judging by the load of rubbish the commercial broadcasters produce, it is a blessing that the BBC is still making quality shows, whether you watch them or not.. There are other reasons why the BBC is something we cannot do without but that is not what this discussion is about.
The main point of this thread is asking customers/consumers to pay extra for a service they are already receiving.
Anyone who complains they are not getting what they are paying for is absolutely right. If you are sold something as being unlimited, and at a certain speed, than you should be able to receive that service regardless of what it is you are using it for. There will always be fluctuations but the speed should never fall more than 30% below your (average) connection speed. Keep in mind though that DSL users will get an 'up to' speed. The actual speed is determined by line quality and distance from the exchange. Once you are connected and your line has stabilized, then you will know what your average speed should be. Your nominal throughput is anywhere from this speed to 30% below this. Anything less will be deemed a fault by BT Wholesale. This is pretty much a standard for all access providers.
In my opinion a provider has no right to throttle you at any time, no right to throttle specific services and no right to cap your usage when it has been sold as an 'unlimited' service.
They cannot charge you extra for a service you should already be receiving and people who call others who actually use their connections Freetards are probably the ones who scream foul at the Congestion charge, or drive a big SUV and call it an environmentally friendly shopping car.
We all have our differences but it shouldn't be too hard to agree that you should get what you pay for, as advertised, without any caveats, that changes in demand should be anticipated if you want to run a proper business, and that honesty is the best policy ... or is it?