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So what will RY chop next? My guess - those "earlier forms" of mail protocols: POP3 and SMTP. And why not, after all, doesn't EVERYONE use RY WebMail now? Sorry, not everyone, just "fewer and fewer people". Anyone else notice how those "earlier forms" of service don't produce advertising revenue like most of the new "high-valued" FREE services that RY has introduced? Oh well, I guess we have to move with the times, or to another ISP.

Sorry about being so down on RY, but, well, announcements like this make me grumpy... or perhaps it's just my age... anyone else remember the internet before WWW?
Glenn

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Pretentious of me to post it here but I know that when I send it to RY, they will just junk it. I'd like to know somebody read it!!!

An open letter to the braintrust at Rogers:

I've been a Rogers high-speed customer for years now but no more. I've been marginalized for the last time. Your promises of high speed internet service has been steadily hacked apart to the point that all you are really offering is high speed web surfing. The internet is much more than that. As you've pointed out in your FAQ:

"Internet technology is constantly changing. Usenet was one of the earliest forms of user discussion on the Internet, but today has largely been replaced by blogs, instant messaging, personal web pages and other tools. As a result, fewer and fewer people are accessing Usenet."

The internet is changing. I couldn't agree more. The wealth of multimedia information that is available now versus even 5 years ago is astounding. Multimedia takes bandwidth. But instead of properly adapting to the bandwidth demanded by this century, you've taken away, piece by piece, what made your service valuable. So now, you've decided that "fewer and fewer" people are using usenet. Guess what? I use it. In fact, prove to me the number of new messages posted to usenet has decreased. It hasn't. But here's my Rogers story:

Joined Rogers High Speed which was much faster but much more expensive than alternatives Got shunted to High Speed Express (or something) when High Speed Extreme became available Learned that there would be a 60Gb limit on downloads per month. Not an issue for me but a restriction you decided on with no grandfathering clause Learned that my usenet experience would be "enhanced" by giving me abysmal download speeds but 1 year retention rate. Great because, like most internet users, I only access the internet once a year Learned that you were throttling P2P traffic with packet shaping. You may deny it but I know that my p2p starts fast and then loses connection and it only started this month. I am not alone in this either: »P2P and UDP Gaming Throttling Info . This is in spite of the selling feature hyped here: »www.shoprogers.com/Store/Cable/I···tion.asp . I bring your attention to the part that says "Enjoy a fast service that great for email, sharing photos and files and extensive web surfing. Difficult to share anything when you throttle upload speeds. Now you are discontinuing Usenet service because I can use blogs? What does that mean?

In any case, the message is clear. Rogers wants the same money they've always charged but they only want it from people content to do a little web surfing. People who want to enjoy advances in internet technology such as p2p and bit-torrent are not wanted. They cost you bandwidth which, in spite of your claims to the contrary, you are unwilling to provide.

I was considering switching my home phone to your VOIP service but I really don't trust your company anymore. You don't live up to your claims, you change the rules and sadly, believe your own spin. How can I depend on you for reliable service? If you employ the same tactics there as you have for internet I'll be faced with a more difficult choice than losing an e-mail address.

I'll also be calling tonight to cancel my cellphone. I'll still be buying my big screen tv this Christmas but obviously satellite is the way to go.

Just a quick total for your marketing folks - Lost revenue from High speed, cellphone and digital cable = $1200 annually plus VOIP. That's negative churn. And that's only one customer.

Plus a tip to help you get by in this century: Convergence offers huge revenue potential. But tick off the customers financing your infrastructure investment and they will shun all of your convergence offerings. You could wind up back in just the cable business. How ironic that you are moving into the old Nortel building. Will history repeat itself?

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