OpenMedia.ca

Techvibes: Telus Wants to Buy Mobilicity Immediately for $380 Million

We're working hard to make sure your voices are heard on the proposed Telus takeover of Mobilicity, one of our largest independent cell phone providers, as demonstrated in this article. If the government allows this deal to go through, it will mean even less choice and even higher prices for Canadians.

It's time to stand together and send Industry Minister Paradis a clear message - add your name at http://DemandChoice.ca/

From the Techvibes Newsdesk:

Telecommunications giant Telus has agreed to acquire discount wireless carrier Mobilicity for $380 million. Read more »

Bell/Astral still bad for Canadians- and they know it

The CRTC held a public hearing last week in response to Bell—Canada’s largest telecom and media conglomerate—once again attempting to take over Astral Media. Last year, the telecom giant unveiled a $3.4B plan to take control of Astral, one of Canada's largest media companies. Canada already has one of the most highly concentrated media systems in the industrialized world, and this deal would only make this situation worse by giving Bell a monopolistic share of the media market.

After thousands of Canadians and public interest groups decried the original takeover attempt, the CRTC denied the deal, saying that Bell had not proven the takeover would benefit the broadcasting system or be in the public interest. So Bell came back with a slightly watered-down version of its original proposal to take over Astral, which included dividing some assets up with Shaw, another one of Canada’s largest media and telecom conglomerates. Read more »

Here's your update

Here’s a special update from your OpenMedia.org team.

New reports state that you’ve made Internet censorship a “challenging” issue for those behind the extreme Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.[1] In response, lobbyists and government representatives from a dozen countries are meeting in Peru at this very moment to “accelerate” the secretive process.[2]

We’ve got a plan. Our supporters recently told us[3] we should build our own international Internet freedom partnership of citizens, civil society groups, and innovative businesses from around the world.

So, today we’re launching a new international coalition called Our Fair Deal. You can be a founding member and stand against Internet censorship at this unique moment by signing onto our statement of principle: “We reject copyright proposals that restrict the open Internet, access to knowledge, economic opportunity, and our fundamental rights.”

Spoof: Hadfield comes home to $1.37 million Rogers phone bill

He may be home, Canada’s favourite astronaut is not free and clear. Chris Hadfield’s 5 month phone bill is a whopping $1.37 million! Better pay better attention to your contract, Chris. How could you miss the clearly defined section on outer-space data usage and roaming fees?

Just kidding. Chris wasn’t saddled with the bill; at least, not this time. Don’t forget to Demand Choice for our cell phone market at http://demandchoice.ca/

Article by Alexander Huntley for the Beaverton:

KAZAKHSTAN – After five months in space, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield was shocked to discover his cell phone provider has charged him well over a million dollars for data usage and roaming charges while he was in space. Read more »

Is the government trying to bring back the online spying bill?

This week, comments from Stephen Harper about police powers for investigating online crimes have privacy advocates worried that the government might exploit Canadians’ fears around cyberbullying to reboot its failed online spying program. Using language pulled directly from bill C-30 talking points, Harper noted that law enforcement encounters difficulties because “investigative tools for our police officers have not kept pace with the Internet age. That must change.” This is in spite of the fact that law enforcement has to date failed to provide factual evidence that the current framework is ineffective.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen sensitive issues used to justify an inappropriate response; in a failed attempt at positive spin the bill itself was renamed the “Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act.” In a much worse PR blunder, Safety Minister Vic Toews incited uproar from Canadians when he suggested that citizens and privacy commissioners who voiced concerns over the invasiveness of the bill were aligning themselves with criminals. Read more »