Canadian citizens are being price-gouged by Big Telecom even as their costs seemingly go down. We’re paying more but falling behind and getting less than our global counterparts due to restrictive data caps that are becoming increasingly prevalent. We’ve seen how Big Telecom has avoided being transparent about their pricing
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OpenMedia.ca: The Globe & Mail: Rogers and Bell to purchase majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment
Two of Canada’s biggest media conglomerates, Bell and Rogers, are partnering up. Their goal? To take control of the iconic Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment group. The CRTC approved the deal yesterday, which includes three TV channels, several sports teams, and even some real estate holdings. With the CRTC giving
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Where we are today
Lobbyists have been seeking greater control over the Internet on multiple fronts – but citizens have been coming together in huge numbers (and across borders) to use the Internet to save the Internet. This is revolutionizing politics around the world. As we head into fall, we’re energized to see that
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Big Telecom’s Power Grab | Weekly News Update from OpenMedia.ca
Hello! Here’s Lindsey with your update: As big telecom company Bell gets set to take over Astral Media, we’re likely to be seeing even higher prices, tighter contracts, and more disrespectful customer service. Not to mention more incentive and power for Big Telecom to push for extreme and invasive agreements
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Financial Post – Canada’s telecom giants face $18-billion class action suit over system access fees
An $18-billion class-action suit has received the go-ahead to proceed against Canada’s Big Telecom companies. What’s the contested litigation? The long-imposed – but often vague – system access fees. Late last month, The Supreme Court of Canada rejected an appeal issued by Bell, Rogers and Telus (among others) that argued
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: The Globe and Mail: Where are Bell’s ‘tangible benefits’?
For whom does Bell toll? The Canadian consumer, apparently. More details have emerged on Bell’s avoidance of paying obligatory ‘tangible benefits’ in their takeover of Astral. These tangible benefits are intended to be a key source of funding for Canadian programming, helping to support Canadian Music Week and the hiring
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: The Globe and Mail: Bell seeks to use $40M of tangible public benefits to fund Northern expansion
Big Telecom company Bell wants to use public benefit funds to bankroll its expansion into Northern Canada. “For Bell Canada and its subsidiary to propose this to the CRTC is shameful. The funds related to the Astral acquisition are supposed to be used for the public good – not to
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: TVO: OpenMedia.ca’s founder on the open Internet
I (Steve Anderson, OpenMedia.ca’s founder) don’t often have the opportunity to talk about how I got involved in safeguarding the possibilities of the Internet, or how OpenMedia.ca operates. If you’re interested, here’s a wide-ranging interview I did with TVO’s Search Engine recently: Download MP3 read more
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: What the Future Holds: Weekly Update from OpenMedia.ca
Hello! Here’s Lindsey with your update: read more
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Canada’s next great CRTC chair
Canada has a new CRTC chair: Jean Pierre Blais. The appointment will take effect on June 18. We were hoping to publish this blog post before the decision was made, but here’s a now-somewhat-late rundown of the contenders who could have been chair: in addition to the somewhat-unknown Jean Pierre
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: GigaOM: UN wants to take over management of the Internet
We’ve been fighting successfully with the pro-Internet community to keep the Internet free of government control, but a new challenge is lurking on the horizon; the UN’s International Telecommunications Union thinks that it should be in charge of managing the Internet. U.S. Representatives have expressed concern with this latest attempt
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Action on the Homefront: Introducing the Street Team Program
As part of OpenMedia.ca’s commitment to community engagement and ground-level participation in the fight for a more open, affordable Internet, we are pleased to introduce the OpenMedia.ca Street Team program. The OpenMedia.ca Street Team program will engage the public in issues that will have a massive effect on Canada’s digital
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: The Verge: Netherlands passes Internet openness law
This week, the Netherlands passed net neutrality (Internet openness) rules, which will prevent telecom companies from stifling online choice. We’re part of a global pro-Internet community that is, over time, winning the fight for a strong digital future. Canada also has Internet openness rules, but we just don’t have strong
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Video: Bell’s touch tone phone charge
Another example of how big telecom companies price-gouge Canadians. Let’s continue to grow our community so we can change the industry and safeguard the possibilities of the open and affordable Internet. Here’s our crowdsourced action plan. Here’s where you can send our plan, and the research report we produced to
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Paradis talks digital economy at Canada 3.0
Today Industry Minister Christian Paradis gave a speech to the Canada 3.0 Digital Media Forum in Stratford, Ontario, in which he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to a long-overdue digital economy strategy. The previous Industry Minister, Tony Clement, had initially discussed plans for a digital strategy nearly three years ago in
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Speak Up! The CRTC is listening: Weekly Update from OpenMedia.ca
Hello! Here’s Lindsey with your update: read more
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: ISLR: The fastest networks in the U.S. are built by local governments
It’s interesting to see how, in this U.S. example, that towns and cities that create their own Internet infrastructure are doing a way better job offering faster, cheaper Internet than big telecom companies. It turns out old telecom giants are less innovative and efficient than local governments. Do you think
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: What should we focus on going forward?: Weekly News Update from OpenMedia.ca
Hello! Here’s Lindsey with your update: read more
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Big Telecom’s good idea: National standards to protect consumers
You read that title correctly. Here’s the idea: Rogers recently filed an application with the CRTC asking “for stronger protections for customers of wireless services”, not long after Telus made a similar request. Their ask is for minimum national standards to protect wireless customers, as opposed to differing provincial rules.
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