SaveOurNet.ca
Behind closed doors: “Secret, backroom” FCC meetings
Despite the FCC’s public promise of an open Internet, the FCC has, and continues to hold secret meetings with corporations to discuss the two main net neutrality proceedings: broadband reclassification and open Internet proposals. The FCC has allegedly summoned lobbyists from corporations such as AT&T, T Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, Google, Skype, and the Motion Picture Association of America, to give their two cents in hopes that a compromise could be reached.
U.S. has got work to do, urges FCC Chairman Genachowski
In the United States, Comcast is the leading ISP in fastest broadband speed, at an average speed of 16.23Mbps, followed by Charter and Cablevision.
As an entire country, the U.S. has an average download speed of 9.87Mbps, placing the U.S. at 27th place internationally. South Korea has the fastest average speed of 31.39, followed by Latvia and Netherlands. Canada is 32nd with a speed of 8.33Mbps.
Leading Internet Defender Calls Out Anti-Competitive Practices
OpenMedia.ca insists that Rogers Communications data limits require government action
For Immediate Release: July 26, 2010
Just days after video service Netflix announced its expansion into Canada, Rogers Communications announced they will lower the usage limits on some of their plans. The move appears to be a defensive measure to protect the company’s own video services from encroachment by Netflix, which provides unlimited movies and television shows over the internet for a monthly subscription fee.
Swedish Pirate Party plans for Pirate ISP
Two members of the Sweden’s Pirate Party, or Piratpartiet, have big plans to launch its own ISP named Pirate ISP to cultivate efficient content sharing. Pirate ISP will work with ViaEuropa to ensure subscribers are kept anonymous and will not keep logs to prevent government from monitoring the users.
In order to use the service, Pirate ISP subscribers need to be technologically adept as users are responsible for fixing and maintaining their service.
Two reports prove net neutrality necessary
Two major reports recently released provide evidence that the protection of net neutrality is critical.
The Connectivity Scorecard is an annual industry-funded study that grades each country based on their online infrastructure. It measures the raw broadband infrastructure itself, as well as the policies and its behavioral consumer use. The U.S., who was in the top spot when the report was first released in 2008, scored a 7.77 out of 10 while Sweden scored a 7.95, indicating the lack of technological development in the U.S. while other countries have improved.
U.S. government and citizens take steps towards a consumer-friendly Internet
The Spectrum Measurement and Policy Reform Act was introduced today by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.). The Bill aims to drive the implementation of Federal Communications Commission's recommendations in the National Broadband Plan surrounding spectrum policy.
The Bill will give authority to the FCC to monitor the private and public sector spectrum by conducting spectrum incentive auctions.
Time Warner’s new pricing model: pay for what you download
Last year, Time Warner Cable set up trials to cap users on their bandwidth usage in order to charge customers based on how much they download. Time Warner CEO, Glenn Britt claimed that the new pricing model is necessary to support the broadband business and that it was their ‘mistake’ for not having done so from the beginning.
Net Neutrality Law Approved in Chile
Chile recently approved of a law that guarantees net neutrality for consumers and Internet users.
Translated to English from the original Chilean website, the Bill prohibits “ISPs (those that provide Internet access) from interfering with, discriminating or slowing down in any way, the content, application, or services, except actions destined to guarantee user privacy, virus protection and internet security.”
This is truly a victorious moment in the battle for net neutrality protection.
Net Neutrality in the US: what's going on...
"The argument was that 'common carrier' rules have been applied to roads, electrical transmission lines and the telephone systems. The Internet should be seen in the same light as something that benefits the public and the providers shouldn't be able to play favorites [...] That is the concept of net neutrality."
The Huffington Post published a detailed article on what's happened over the past year or so (and what's happening) regarding net neutrality in the US.
CRTC applies net neutrality framework to mobile wireless data services
The CRTC recently ruled that the Internet Traffic Management Practices (ITMP) policy framework set out in Telecom Regulatory Policy will apply to the use of mobile wireless data services.
The framework would be consistent with the forbearance regimes that already apply to mobile voice services and to retail Internet services. The amendments also address net neutrality concerns regarding mobile wireless data services.
MIT’s technology to make Internet 100 – 1000 times faster
MIT researchers have recently created a technology that will make the Internet 100 times or even 1000 times faster by replacing the electrical signals inside Internet routers with more efficient optical fibre signals.
EU invites citizens to join net neutrality discussion
Following the footsteps of countries such as Canada, the United States and the UK, the European Union has released a net neutrality inquiry, inviting users to join the debate on the open internet in Europe.
Ofcom debates regulating ISPs to protect net neutrality
British internet watchdogs, Ofcom, recently published a discussion paper on the current state of net neutrality in the UK and the possibility of taking steps to regulate its Internet service providers.
Their views are still in the preliminary stages as “there is currently insufficient evidence to justify regulation to prohibit certain forms of traffic management”.
Video: Susan Crawford on Net Neutrality
Susan Crawford, founder of OneWebDay, spoke last week at the Personal Democracy Forum 2010 (PdF) on Internet openness in the US and what needs to be done to keep it that way.
Free Press urges FCC to include wireless networks in re-classification
On June 17, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission will hold their open meeting to discuss the reclassification of set rules for broadband Internet services.
The latest FCC announcement suggests that consumer protection in wireless networks will be treated separately from wired networks. Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner urges for the FCC to include wireless networks in their plan for reclassification. Turner argues that the reasons for consumer protection in the wired broadband market apply equally to wireless.
Congress representatives against protection of net neutrality
Recently, 74 House Democrats and 37 Senate Republicans signed an industry-written letter addressed to the Federal Communications Commission to stop the protection of net neutrality, despite President Barack Obama’s constant support for an open internet.
Last summer, President Obama appointed Julius Genachowski to lead the FCC to protect Internet users and prevent telecommunication companies from throttling Internet traffic.
Fibre network UTOPIA
UTOPIA is a fibre-optic network that was formed by 16 Utah cities. Fibre strands are directly connected to the subscriber's home so they're not owned by the service provider. Fibre-optic networks have high-speed internet due to this. Since the fibre cables are hooked up to each house directly, no house has to share bandwidth with another.
Video: Digital Innovation Roadblocks
In this video, Search Engine's host, Jesse Brown, addresses the state of Canada's slow Internet and 3G mobile speeds on an episode of Our Digital Future. He also discusses the concept of net neutrality and how it's important for Canada to enforce net neutrality policies into the law. By doing so, the country would be enabled to progress and play on the same level as other digitally-advanced countries.
Watch the video below!
Proposed bill threatens FCC's plans for net neutrality
American congressman, Clifford Stearns, introduced a new bill that would unfortunately make it harder for the FCC to enforce net neutrality rules.
Before the FCC could reclassify Internet access as a telecommunications service, they would have to develop and submit a large report that shows proof of current market failure (according to this new bill that Stearns produced). In more detail, the desirable FCC report, which Stearns would like, would have to show that:
A victory for community-owned public fibre networks
After several years of lawsuits and four million dollars spent, the city of Lafayette in Louisiana has successfully provided broadband connectivity for its residential citizens through a public fibre network.
Currently, Lafayette boasts one of the largest and most successful fibre deployments in the U.S with its residents picking up a 50Mbps symmetrical connection for only $57.95 a month. The city’s prices are lower than prices from telecommunication companies by a 20 percent difference.
