Could Canadians soon be liberated from ugly satellite TV box rental expenses?

When Evan Kosiner discovered that Rogers was hiking the rental cost of its SD TV box by $3 a month, he was not too happy.

“It just seems like another cash grab,” says the Toronto Rogers cable customer about the box’s recent price jump from $5.49 to $8.49 a month, a 55 per cent increase.

Obligatory TV top box charges keep on irking Canadians attempting to chop down their TV bills. In the U.S., a development is in progress to free TV subscribers from the charge by offering an option approach to get programming: by means of a no-cost online application. On the off chance that the U.S. activity grabs hold, it could spread to Canada. Until then, Canadians are confined.

Television subscribers can simply purchase their TV box, however numerous want to rent. Regularly, customers get a markdown on the rental expense in the event that they agree to numerous administrations. Be that as it may, for the individuals who just get TV, the crate charge can raise their month to month bill.

Rogers charges $12.95 a month to rent its HD or high-definition TV box in Ontario, increasingly if customers consolidate it with a PVR recording gadget. In any case, the cable company likewise offers a less expensive alternative, an older technology SD or standard definition box, which is now going up in price for some customers.
“They all of a sudden want to charge more for a product from 15 years ago? It seems like blatantly taking advantage of customers,” claims Kosiner.

He rents two SD boxes but has a discount deal with Rogers so his fee increase won’t kick in until 2018. Nevertheless, Kosiner filed a complaint with the CRTC on behalf of all people affected by the price jump.

Bell Canada’s rental box fees begin at $7 a month. At a late CRTC hearing, the commission asked the company for what reason the box charge hasn’t declined along of costs for other tech gadgets like DVD players. Bell responded that it keeps on providing its customers with the latest technologies and that doesn’t come cheap. Yet, in the U.S., new innovation may soon imply that TV subscribers will no more need to rent TV boxes.

The Federal Communications Commission’s proposal would require cable companies to offer a free apps that would permit customers to get to their TV packages using a gadget such as Apple TV or other streaming device.
Clients would likewise have the capacity to record programs utilizing the framework, yet the link organizations would be permitted to charge an expense for that administration.

The FCC estimates Americans pay an average of $231 US annually for TV box rentals. The CRTC has no comparable Canadian statistics. The FCC is set to vote on the new rules on Sept. 29. If adopted, TV providers will have two years to comply.