The $85,000 bill from Bell

So some poor sap thought he had an unlimited data plan from Bell Mobility. He plugs his laptop into his phone to use it as a wireless modem, and begins downloading like mad.

Then the bill arrives. SURPRISE! It’s $85,000.

In what Bell Mobility calls a “goodwill” gesture, it offered to reduce the charges to match the best data plan available for using cellphones as a modem, according to Bell spokesman Mark Langton. He said the outstanding bill now totals $3,243.

I guess he should thank Bell for the break. In an interesting example of burying the point, the article closes with:

The Bell spokesman declined to say how much the data usage by Mr. Staniaszek really costs the company, citing competitive reasons.

They won’t even tease us with a ballpark figure. We know it’s not FREE, but what is a reasonable charge?

High cell phone data transfer costs in Canada are a rip off. And Rogers, Telus and Bell all need a serious dose of outside competition to keep them honest.