Canadian Congressional House

If ISPs have their way, Canadian Web surfers could find themselves paying more for heavy bandwidth use, reports Report on Business.

Two Canadian Internet service providers, Bell Canada and Telus, told attendees of a technology summit that they need to hike rates to keep up with the cost of building and maintaining high-speed networks. They argue those costs should be passed on to those who are the heaviest users. Under the proposed arrangement people viewing video and downloading music the most would be charged more than people who just go online for email and conduct simple Web-surfing.

As expected the plan has met with fierce resistance by those who believe ISPs don't have the right to restrict access to broadband-friendly sites to those with more spending heft. The providers, though, say this is just the application of a pricing model like that for cell phones to the Internet, where people who use more pay more.

Telus, for its part, is also upset that current regulations force it to resell some of the infrastructure it is paid to build, maintain and improve. The company said it won't move forward with initiatives like fiber-to-the-home connections if it's forced by the government to put it up for resale.