Oregon Public Broadcasting

Bend's largest independent Internet provider has heard a lot of complaints over the past month about a new pricing change.

Bend Broadband says that on July first it will begin charging extra for people who download too many movies or songs or anything that requires a lot of bandwidth. As Central Oregon correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports, that proposal has turned into a small controversy.

The headline on the popular technology website Gizmodo read simply: “The Future of Broadband: We're totally screwed.”

Frank Miller is the chief technology officer at Bend Broadband.

He says about one-half-percent of customers make up 18-percent of the traffic.

Frank Miller: “To me, here's a corollary, I don't expect to go and put gasoline in my car all month and pay once whether I drive to Seattle or to Sisters, from Bend.”

Critics worry about Bend Broadband's decision to charge users $1.50 for every additional gigabyte.

They say it means Internet usage could become as restrictive as cell phone use.

At the end of the month, if you go over your time limit - or data limit in this case - you will get a costly bill.

One unhappy Bend resident has started a Bend Broadband protest web site, at fixBBB.com. And plans a public protest in May.