OpenMedia.ca in the news

Media Democracy Day totally kicked it this weekend at the VPL. The event was a good fit with the library, and the MDD fair - 40+ community groups set up to do community outreach and promote a more accessible media system with less corporate influence - was well attended, both by intentional MDD attendees and regular library-goers.

Read on here: http://geeksandglobaljustice.com/?p=47

By Charlie Smith

The words Net neutrality do not appear in the campaign platforms of the federal Liberal and Conservative parties. The federal NDP and Greens, on the other hand, Net neutrality in their platforms. The NDP say it’s vital to protecting Canadians’ ability to access the Internet at a flat rate of payment and with transparent rules. Read more »

I didn’t know the woman on the other end of the line. She was calling from Spain through Skype, a software program that allows people to make free phone calls over the internet, looking for someone with a similar name. Instead of hanging up, we kept chatting. Our spontaneous conversation ranged from politics and relationships to children and Spanish cuisine.

Having the ability to make a free long-distance call on the internet helped connect two people from different cultures. It may also prove to be foundational for a new media democracy. Read more »

NDP MP Charlie Angus is set to introduce a bill on net neutrality Wednesday just hours after hundreds of Canadian consumers descended on Parliament Hill in a rally for equal access to the Internet.

By Rafael Ruffolo, ComputerWorld Canada
May 28, 2008

NDP MP Charlie Angus is set to introduce a bill on net neutrality Wednesday just hours after hundreds of Canadian consumers descended on Parliament Hill in a rally for equal access to the Internet. Read more »

CRTC indecision a set back to Internet freedom

Ruling allows Bell to continue limiting open access to the Internet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 15, 2008: In a disappointing move, the CRTC has chosen not to force Bell Canada to stop its internet throttling practices. The CRTC decision comes in response to a request from the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) for immediate relief from throttling for the third-party businesses that lease the Bell Canada network. More than 2,000 Canadians filed letters with the CRTC supporting CAIP’s request. Read more »

Canadians finally talk network neutrality

by: Leslie Poston

Network neutrality has been a hot topic in the United States for a few years now. As the debate over telecommunications company rights versus a free and open internet rages on, other countries are being faced with the same type of issue. This time, Canada has been thrust into the debate after its telecommunications company, Bell Canada, was discovered to be throttling P2P user traffic. Read more »