By Nestor E. Arellano for itbusiness.ca
There has been no shortage of protests over the civil rights and privacy implications of the set of proposed laws now collectively known as Lawful Access bills put forward by Stephen Harper’s Conservative governm…
Tag: Media News Post
OpenMedia.ca: OpenMedia.ca at the Canadian Telecom Summit: It Takes Three to Dance the Telecom Tango
It’s been just over a month since this year’s Canadian Telecommunications Summit — the invitation-only event for Canada’s leaders in telecommunications — and already its influence can be seen in the hackneyed proceedings of the CRTC’s verti…
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: BC Government to invest $1 billion in Telus network
Substantial upgrades to internet and cell phone service in rural BC are in the works thanks to a new deal between the BC government and Telus. Over the next 10 years the government will contribute $1 billion towards upgrades of broadband internet and w…
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: The vertical integration hearing is getting curiouser and curiouser
Cross-posted from The Globe And Mail
In the first of two column’s last week I offered evidence and argument as to why the CRTC’s current vertical integration hearing is not likely to deal effectively with the question of telecom, media and Internet…
OpenMedia.ca: Jesse Brown: Police Could Automate Online Spying
By Jesse Brown for Macleans
When I caution people about the coming Lawful Access spying laws, there’s often some confusion. Many assume that spying on the Internet is like putting a wiretap on a phone. So the police will be able to listen to my Skype…
OpenMedia.ca: Small win for Canadian telecom consumers: Bell forced to pay $10M for misleading advertising
For over 4 years, Bell advertising has been misleading Canadian consumers, charging more than what was advertised for many of its services across the country.
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OpenMedia.ca: Bell gouges and lies, the Competition Bureau charges, and Canadians know that something has to change
Cross-posted from Mediamorphis
Bell was slammed with the highest fine possible today for ripping people off for bundled telecom-media-internet, $10 million. The Competition Bureau meted out the stiffest punishment it has and arrived at a settlement o…
OpenMedia.ca: New information, more reasons to protect the Internet in Canada
According to the OECD Communications Outlook 2011 report, broadband use in Canada is one of the highest among OECD members.
The OECD recently released new information regarding broadband use and costs among its 33 member countries, and judging from t…
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Nowak: Interview with Cisco shows Canadians aren’t bandwidth hogs
By Peter Nowak
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the latest internet usage report from Cisco and how it would inevitably be misconstrued by some folks.
Some of the issues I identified with the network equipment maker’s Virtual Networking Index included …
OpenMedia.ca: NDP MPs Angus & Sandhu write to Toews: Online spying bills are "disturbing"
“The question is not whether abuse would occur, but how widespread such abuse would be,” say Angus and Sandhu in their letter to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, written in response to proposed online spying legislation (Lawful Access):
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OpenMedia.ca: The "Vertical Integration Hearings": A pillow fight by the telecom industry in front of the CRTC
By Peter Nowak
There’s a fun spectacle going on in Ottawa right now called the “Vertical Integration Hearings,” which is basically a pillow fight by the telecom industry in front of the CRTC over who owns what. It’s fun when you consider that t…
OpenMedia.ca: Vertical Integration hearings: Bolting the barn door after the horse has already left the stable
Written for The Globe And Mail
The CRTC’s hearings on vertical integration begin Monday. For the next two weeks, this means that the four major vertically integrated media companies in Canada – Bell, Shaw, Rogers and Quebecor – could face tough q…
OpenMedia.ca: Can technology provide a better solution than ITMPs?
At the NCTA 2011 Cable show in Chicago (June 14-16), broadband service provider ARRIS demonstrated how it can undertake a 4.5 Gigabits per second file transfer after an upgrade to their existing DOCSIS cable systems, which could in turn strengthen the…
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Casting an Open Net in Ottawa
OpenMedia.ca met with eleven pro-Internet Members of Parliament Wednesday and Thursday in Ottawa to discuss our community-crafted research report, Casting An Open Net, and to highlight to lawmakers that Canadians want open, accessible, and affordable I…
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: The CRTC wants your input on the future of the CBC
As the public body that regulates and supervises Canadian broadcasting, the CRTC must review and renew licensing of all broadcasting stations, including the CBC. The CRTC is currently holding a public consultation to evaluate the renewal of the CBC’s…
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: The System According to Konrad: The Digital Transition, Over-the-top Programming, and the Future of the CRTC
Although I’m relatively new to blogging, I’m quickly learning that a speech by Konrad von Finckenstein makes for an interesting post; of course, von Finckenstein’s most recent presentation to a delegate-packed ballroom at the Banff World Media Fe…
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Nowak: Update on indie ISPs and matching broadband speeds
By Peter Nowak
On Wednesday, the CRTC finally got around to addressing the long-smoldering “matching speeds” issue, which is essentially where smaller internet providers such as TekSavvy get to offer the same broadband services as the big guys (Bel…
OpenMedia.ca: OpenMedia.ca campaign update from the Hill
As many of you know, we at OpenMedia.ca recently released a comprehensive report that establishes the need for the principle of openness to guide digital policy in Canada. We had asked you to put the report into action by sending it to Prime Minister S…
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Internet Upgrade: Access to the Internet has been declared a fundamental human right
On June 7, 2011, the United Nations released a groundbreaking and exemplary report, which deems the Internet a universal human right. The Internet, the UN argues, has now become an essential conduit to exercise freedoms of expression and opinion.
read …
OpenMedia.ca: Warrantless online surveillance will put too much power, at too high a cost, into the hands of Big Telecom
Written for The Globe And Mail
Should telecom network companies and Internet service providers function as arms of law enforcement and national security? Yes, according to the Investigative Powers for the 21st Century Act (Bill C-51), a bill that was i…