One month after Canadians’ voices were heard by decision-makers at the CRTC in shutting down Bell’s takeover, the telecom giant is said to now be making a second attempt at their Astral Media po…
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OpenMedia.ca: The Globe and Mail: With Astral on the ropes, Bell takes on Canadians
After speaking out against Bell’s $3.4-billion takeover of Astral Media, the CRTC made a decision to listen to Canadians and block the Big Telecom expansion of power. Naturally, Bell hasn’t been so easy to give up on its power-grab – instead now taking on Canadians and the CRTC. We need
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Knocking down the Bell tower: How Canadians helped in stopping Big Telecom’s takeover
As part of a larger campaign to spread awareness about communications issues in Canada, we at OpenMedia.ca have been encouraging students at universities and colleges across Canada to run OpenMedia.ca clubs on their campuses. Previously, our campus club at OpenMedia McGill reported back on their trip to the Bell/Astral hearings
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: A Win: Weekly News Update from OpenMedia.ca
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Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Media Advisory: Bell plays hardball with Canadians, asks Cabinet to change broadcasting rules after public interest decision
Takeover_210x150_120816.png WHO: Steve Anderson, Executive Director, OpenMedia.ca Lindsey Pinto, Communications Manager, OpenMedia.ca Janet Lo, Legal Counsel, Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) John Lawford, Executive Director and General Counsel, PIAC WHAT: Telecom giant Bell is trying to unilaterally change Canada’s broadcasting rules so it can take over Astral Media, one of
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: CRTC’s Bell-Astral Decision Signals Welcome Shift Towards Transparency
Last week, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ruled against Bell’s proposed $3.4B takeover of Astral Media. Following a very public hearing last month, the Commission announced that Bell had not proven that this deal would benefit the broadcasting system or be in the public interest. We are awaiting
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Canadians are taking back the CRTC and our communications
Professor Michael Geist talks about how Canadians are taking back the CRTC and our communications system. For more on the historic StopTheMeter.ca UBB campaign click here. Join OpenMedia.ca at OpenMedia.ca/allies. To see the full interview, click here. read more
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Bell’s Takeover Goes to Ottawa?
After losing in it’s battle against Canadians before the CRTC, Bell announced it would try to get parliament to overturn the decision! Bell seemingly just can’t respect the will of citizens in a democracy. Despite Bell’s sour grapes, the federal government has stated that it won’t overturn yesterday’s groundbreaking decision
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Techvibes: CRTC blocks Bell’s $3.4-billion takeover of Astral Media
Because of your support of the http://StopTheTakeover.ca/ campaign, Bell’s takeover of Astral Media has been stopped by the CRTC. Had the deal been approved, Bell would have been given an overwhelming market share of Canada’s communications – effectively allowing them to price-gouge Canadians and restrict access to the open Internet.
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Canadians moved the CRTC
The beginning It started with Stop The Meter. The CRTC’s 2011 decision to allow Big Telecom to impose punitive extra fees across the entire Internet service market was the breaking point for hundreds of thousands of Canadians who have been price-gouged and bullied by their ISPs. In a short time,
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: We won.
Because of you, we’ve been heard loud and clear – and Bell’s takeover has been stopped. Read more about the CRTC’s decision in our Press Release.
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Canadians applaud CRTC for taking a stand against Bell’s takeover
Takeover_210x150_120816.png CRTC denies Bell’s bid to take over Astral; finds deal to be counter to public interest October 18, 2012 – Today the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) listened to Canadians and denied Bell’s proposed Bell’s takeover over of Astral. The Commission announced at a stakeholder lock-up today that
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Bell is no ‘Domestic Champion’
Melanie Aitken, now-former head of the Competition Bureau, slammed Bell for using the ‘domestic champion’ argument to justify the growing concentration of Canadian broadcasting and the vertical integration of content producers delivery providers. Bell claims that Canada “needs companies with the scale to compete against foreign content companies like Netflix,
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: National Post: How Bell’s takeover would result in less competition, higher prices
As broadcast regulators review Bell’s takeover of Astral Media, we’re keeping a close eye on Bell’s increasing vertical integration that would put Canadian pricing and choice at risk. Speak out against Bell’s tightening grip over Canadian communications by telling the CRTC to StopTheTakeover.ca. Article by Chris Peirce for Financial Post
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Bell’s Astral Media takeover threatens Quebec culture
As broadcast regulators review Bell’s $3.4B takeover of Astral Media, we’ve been reviewing how this acquisition would increase telecom prices, saturate Canada’s media channels and severely limit consumer choice. Beyond affecting Canadians on a national level, Bell’s takeover could take away from Francophone cultural identity, to which Astral Media has
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: CRTC exec who spent evening in Bell box operated in ‘grey area’
An ethics expert is questioning the motives of Canada’s broadcast regulators, after it was revealed that the CRTC vice-chairman was a guest in Bell’s corporate suite at a hockey game late last year. With the CRTC currently reviewing their decision of Bell’s takeover of Astral Media, let’s remind them that
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: RMR: ‘Swab’ Bell’s takeover of Canadian media
Are you an independent entity or have you become a low-level subsidiary of Bell Media? Rick Mercer helps to show how you can swab the takeover to find out if Bell’s expanding reach has taken its effect. Join our StopTheTakeover.ca campaign and let your voice be heard. Together, let’s tell
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: The McGill OpenMedia.ca campus club goes to the Bell/Astral hearing
As part of a larger campaign to spread awareness about communications issues in Canada, we at OpenMedia.ca have been encouraging students at universities and colleges across Canada to run OpenMedia.ca clubs on their campuses. These clubs work on a variety of outreach, organizing, and public education activities—including speaking events, film
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: CBC News: Yukon phone outage blamed on aging infrastructure
Bell has made it clear that should their takeover of Astral Media go through, they would use ‘tangible benefits’ (an owed tax on the $3.4B purchase) to fund the expansion of their subsidiary Northwestel. Having already received annual CRTC payments of $20M to invest in their aging infrastructure, Bell has
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: A Notable Absence: Weekly News Update from OpenMedia.ca
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