OpenMedia.ca in the News

Great to see the media respond when Canadians loudly proclaim they want the Internet to be an issue in this election.

Pledge to Vote 4 the Internet http://www.VoteNet.ca

To watch the original full-length version go to the CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Canada_Votes_2011/1857462143/ID=1871321854

By Gillian Shaw for The Vancouver Sun

The Vancouver advocacy group leading the fight against increasing costs for Internet access in Canada is putting the issue on the election agenda with a "Vote for the Internet" campaign launched today.

And in the first few hours of the campaign launch, more than 10,000 people have signed on. Read more »

By Jeromie Williams for Examiner.com

Whether you are surfing the web from your phone, watching kittens on Youtube, or taking in a movie on Net Flix, the possibility is very real that you could be paying higher rates to do so in Canada very soon. Depending on who you ask of course. Read more »

From CBC News:

The CRTC is seeking input on regulating digital services at a time when companies like Netflix are blurring the line between telecommunications and broadcasting. Read more »

A huge stride has been made today for Canadians who want to Stop The Meter. Liberal technology critic Marc Garneau has announced that his party opposes Internet metering, and called on the Conservative government to reverse the CRTC ruling that allows it.

This morning we asked you for help in bringing the Liberals on-side, and you delivered. We asked for 200,000 signatures, and as I write these words I see that we have well exceeded that goal. Read more »

Écrit par Marie-Eve Morasse pour Technaute.ca

Les petits fournisseurs d'accès à internet s'indignent d'une décision du CRTC, qui exige qu'ils fassent désormais payer aux consommateurs chaque gigaoctet de données téléchargé. Read more »

By Nate Anderson for Ars Technica

Some ISPs want to start charging customers by the gigabyte, or they want to set low data caps and charge overage fees. Netflix has a word for this idea: ripoff.

In the company's most recent financial report (PDF), released today, Netflix made clear its view that the move to usage-based billing is about ISP profit, not actual costs. Read more »

Only here, big telecoms get to say you use 'too much' internet and whack on more charges, the CRTC affirmed yesterday.

By David Beers for The Tyee

YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, Twitter, iPad. . . and whatever else is about to take the world by storm, making all of those digital breakthroughs seem old news. Surely it's obvious by now that Canadians are going to be better off if we foster digital media creativity, rather than leaving it to people in other countries. Read more »

By Matthew Lasar for Ars Technica

Canadians can't stand going without coffee. Even worse? Not having a team in the FIFA World Cup event for 2014. Absolutely unthinkable, say eight of ten Canadians.

But you know what they really hate? Metered Internet pricing, or Usage Based Billing (UBB) as they call it—letting the dominant Internet Service Providers charge broadband subscribers and smaller competitive ISPs by the quantity of data use. Read more »

By Yolande Cole for the Georgia Straight

A decision by the country’s telecom regulator could lead to higher broadband costs for Canadians, according to an open-Internet advocacy group.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission gave a continued green light today (January 25) for large, incumbent Internet service providers to bill independent ISPs for wholesale broadband on a usage-based system. Read more »

From CBC News:

The CRTC's decision to allow large internet providers to charge for excessive bandwidth use, while granting the independent internet dervice providers a small discount, fails to safeguard affordable access to the internet, an internet advocacy group said Tuesday.

Internet advocacy groups are disappointed with the CRTC's decision to allow the large providers to set the rate for bandwidth usage. (CBC) Read more »

By David Beers for The Globe And Mail

YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, Twitter, iPad … and whatever else is about to take the world by storm, making all of those digital breakthroughs seem old news. Surely it’s obvious by now that Canadians are going to be better off if we foster digital media creativity, rather than leaving it to people in other countries. Read more »

By Gillian Shaw for the Vancouver Sun

Internet service providers are facing a backlash from angry consumers who face extra charges on their Internet bills for data downloads that exceed the ISP’s cap. Read more »

By Stephen Hui for the Georgia Straight

The NDP’s digital-issues critic says a decision by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to allow usage-based billing threatens access to the Internet.

According to Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus, usage-based billing is unfair to consumers and could be used by large Internet service providers to limit competition from third-party ISPs and online media sources, such as Netflix. Read more »