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By Lindsey Pinto, on April 29, 2013, at 1:07 pm
You wouldn’t believe just how well things are going with the campaign to demand more choice in Canada’s cell phone market. From its humble beginning as a letter-writing campaign asking the CRTC to develop national rules to protect cell phone users, the Demand Choice campaign is hitting a stride, and now includes (but is not limited to) a toolkit for mistreated cell phone users, a citizen-powered study, a letter-to-the-editor tool, and a petition that’s tens-of-thousands of Canadians strong.
It’s thanks to the amazing pro-Internet community that more and more Canadians are learning about the stunning lack of (Read more…)
By OpenMedia.ca, on April 25, 2013, at 4:29 pm
After reading your stories in our cell phone report, Ontario is now looking to put forward cell phone rules that include making cancellation easy and straightforward. Thanks to your efforts, we’re seeing decision-makers take notice of Canadians’ concerns and moving towards pro-citizen actions.
Article by Christine Dobby for The Financial Post:
Ontario’s minority Liberal government said Thursday it plans to table legislation that would govern cellphone contracts in the province.
read more
By Lindsey Pinto, on April 23, 2013, at 1:06 pm
As Canadians wait with increasingly less patience for Industry Canada’s long-promised digital strategy, it appears that one city is taking matters into its own hands. From their mountainous British Columbia home, councillors of the City of Vancouver have crafted a plan that includes providing public wi-fi, sponsoring digital literacy programs, and creating a dedicated “digital services” department.
The Digital Strategy is slated to be implemented over a four year period, and is valued at approximately $30 million.
We at OpenMedia.ca have decried the ongoing delays in the federal government’s digital strategy—one promised four years ago—and we’re now lauding the (Read more…) of Vancouver’s plans, agreeing that they take steps toward a more vibrant digital future for Vancouverites.
read more
. . . → Read More: OpenMedia.ca: City of Vancouver releases digital strategy while Industry Canada quietly continues to delay
By Lindsey Pinto, on April 22, 2013, at 9:43 pm 115.jpg
OpenMedia.ca lauds Vancouver plan, stating that a strategy is crucial for a vibrant digital future
April 16, 2013 – As Canadians wait with increasingly less patience for Industry Canada’s long-promised digital strategy, it appears that one city is taking matters into its own hands. From their mountainous British Columbia home, councillors of the City of Vancouver have crafted a plan that includes providing public wi-fi, sponsoring digital literacy programs, and creating a dedicated “digital services” department.
The Digital Strategy is slated to be implemented over a four year period, and is valued at approximately $30 million.
OpenMedia. (Read more…) a pro-Internet citizens’ group that has decried the ongoing delays in the federal government’s digital strategy—one promised four years ago—is lauding the City of Vancouver’s plans, agreeing that they take steps toward a more vibrant digital future for Vancouverites.
read more
. . . → Read More: OpenMedia.ca: City of Vancouver releases digital strategy, while Industry Canada quietly continues to delay
By OpenMedia.ca, on April 19, 2013, at 1:58 pm
Woah! In Japan, some very fast Internet speeds (at 2Gbps download, 1Gbps upload) were just introduced. These speeds are so much faster than in Canada that our Internet operates at a snail’s pace in comparison. The Internet has become an integral part of our everyday communications, and Canadians deserve a fast, affordable Internet that reflects this.
Article by Peter Suciu for redOrbit:
Traffic on the highways in Japan often moves along at a snail’s pace most of the day and is total gridlock at rush hour. However, the country does know a thing or two about moving along at high (Read more…). Japan’s Skinkansen – or bullet train – remains one of the fastest in the world and last year the island nation’s Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) unveiled a prototype of what promises to deliver even faster train service to Japan. Moving people . . . → Read More: OpenMedia.ca: Woah! Take a look at these Internet speeds.
By Catherine Hart, on April 18, 2013, at 5:41 pm
Canada’s broken cell phone market has come under a lot of public scrutiny of late, with the CRTC trying to establish a set of minimum standards for wireless providers; the release of OpenMedia.ca’s citizen-powered report, Time For An Upgrade, which demonstrated the systematic mistreatment that cell phone users suffer due to this dysfunctional market; and Industry Minister Christian Paradis coming under pressure over Big Telecom’s bid to take over scarce wireless resources meant for new independent providers.
In the face of all this critical opposition, Big Telecom has been unwavering in their defense of their practices, insisting that (Read more…)
By OpenMedia.ca, on April 17, 2013, at 5:49 pm
Thank you to everyone who has helped spread the word about Canadians’ real experiences in our broken cell phone market and our citizen-powered action plan to fix it. Check out this letter from Christopher Anderson in North Shore News as he shows how Canadians really feel about our cell phone market.
Letter from Christopher Anderson, appearing in North Shore News:
Why do we all tolerate such bad deals on our cellphones? Canadians pay some of the highest cellphone fees and are forced into some of the worst contracts in the industrialized world.
Our broken cellphone market limits our use
. . . → Read More: OpenMedia.ca: Canadians demand choice in their local communities
By Lindsey Pinto, on April 17, 2013, at 11:23 am
Thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Canadians, it looks like independent ISPs like Teksavvy, Distributel, Acanac, and Start are finally gaining the ability to do what Canadians need them to do: provide independent affordable Internet services, and in so doing provide a check on Big Telecom price-gouging.
For example, indie ISP TekSavvy recently announced that they are lowering their DSL prices by about 18% on average. This is a big deal – and it’s been a long time coming.
Here’s the step-by-step of what happened:
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By Steve Anderson, on April 11, 2013, at 9:05 pm
Co-authored by Catherine Hart
Canadians and even the CRTC[1] know our cell phone market is broken. Canadians pay some of the highest prices for some of the worst service in the industrialized world, and, as we showed in our recent report,[2] we’ve been subjected to systemic mistreatment by the Big Three cell phone providers. Big Telecom lobbyists have responded to these findings by essentially plugging their ears and callously refusing to take ownership over these experiences.
A case in point is the 42-page response to our report (nearly as long as our report itself) that was recently
. . . → Read More: OpenMedia.ca: How Telus lost its credibility.
By OpenMedia.ca, on April 11, 2013, at 4:28 pm
Check it out as wireless industry expert Peter Nowak takes another run at “debunking, yet again, another set of wireless myths” from Big Telecom about the Canadian cell phone market. Let’s show Big Telecom we won’t put up with their head-in-the-sand attitude.
Article by Peter Nowak:
A little while ago, I promised I’d respond in greater depth to some comments made by Craig McTaggart, Telus’s head of broadband policy, in his 42-page paper that delightfully borrows Cher’s “Turn Back Time” title.
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By OpenMedia.ca, on April 9, 2013, at 5:06 pm
An ongoing study on the state of the Internet in Canada has found two key concerns: 1.) Internet access and 2.) Internet adoption, with data indicating that this adoption problem can be linked to income – or a lack thereof. Canada’s lack of digital strategy only exacerbates this situation. We need the government to create a digital strategy that prioritizes fast, affordable, and ubiquitous Internet service for all Canadians.
Article by Michael Geist for The Tyee:
The state of Internet access in Canada has been the subject of considerable debate in recent years
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By Catherine Hart, on April 8, 2013, at 6:38 pm
The government is on the defensive. After we released our community-powered report on Canada’s cell phone market1 you’ve been sending it to your MPs, calling for their support.2 While MPs from the Liberal Party and the NDP have responded in support of our plan, and Elizabeth May was quick to put out a formal statement supporting the report, the Conservatives are trying to work their positive spin, supporting Big Telecom and saying that everything is just fine.3
We’ve decided to address their claims point by point, so that it’s clear that bold action is necessary to improve
. . . → Read More: OpenMedia.ca: Canadians Deserve Better: Your MP Responses to the Cell Phone Report
By Obert Madondo, on March 27, 2013, at 6:56 pm By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: Human Rights Watch says the Burmese government’s discriminatory policies are creating a humanitarian crisis that will ultimately result in long-term segregation and statelessness for the Rohingya and Kaman Muslim minorities. The respected New York-based NGO says “an ethnic Arakanese campaign of violence and abuses since June 2012 facilitated by [...]
The post Rohingya Muslims in Burma Face Humanitarian Crisis: Human Rights Watch appeared first on The Canadian Progressive | News & Analysis.
By OpenMedia.ca, on March 25, 2013, at 5:21 pm Canadians sent us their cell phone horror stories, and with them, we’ve created a road map to fix our cell phone market and helped to create a tool kit to fix your individual cell phone horror stories. We’ve seen stories where Canadians have been price-gouged with incredibly high roaming and overage charges. How is it possible that these services can cost $22,000? What is the real cost of providing these services?
read more
By OpenMedia.ca, on March 21, 2013, at 6:06 pm
There are things wrong in Canada’s cell phone market, and our report—using your lived experiences and the most recent and available data—is our effort to show what exactly is wrong in order to push decision-makers to create change that benefits Canadians. Big Telecom, knowing some of those things threaten their dominance, continues to say the market is fine, but check out experts’ responses to their protestations. Take a look at our report and take action to improve our wireless market.
Article by Michael Geist:
Last week, I posted what I thought was a lengthy post on the state of Canadian
. . . → Read More: OpenMedia.ca: Big Telecom continues to say the Canadian cell phone market is just fine – experts disagree.
By OpenMedia.ca, on March 20, 2013, at 5:47 pm The top 3 grievances Canadians have with the cell phone market are: price-gouging, restrictive contracts, and disrespectful customer service. Clearly it’s time to fix our broken telecom market, and we have an action plan to do it.
read more
By OpenMedia.ca, on March 19, 2013, at 3:28 pm
Big Telecom continues to insist that the market is fine and Canadians are not paying some of the highest cell phone prices. Peter Nowak once again took on these claims and found more data showing that “Canadians are indeed paying high prices”. Our cell phone market is a lemon and it’s time for an upgrade. We have a plan to improve our wireless market – let’s put it into action.
Article by Peter Nowak:
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By OpenMedia.ca, on March 12, 2013, at 8:22 pm Despite what Big Telecom says, it is not myth that Canadians pay some of the highest wireless prices in the industrialized world. With our cell phone report, created from your stories, we’re working to fix our broken telecom market.
read more
By OpenMedia.ca, on March 8, 2013, at 7:54 pm Our Steve Anderson faces off with Telus and brings your cell phone horror stories and concerns into the spotlight.
read more
By Catherine Hart, on March 8, 2013, at 2:22 pm
Yesterday saw the launch of our crowdsourced report, Time for an Upgrade: Demanding Choice in Canada’s Cell Phone Market, which amplified citizen voices in calling for an end to customer mistreatment at the hands of service providers. An incredible 2,859 Canadians visited our website to submit their “cell phone horror stories” since October 2012, and the stories are still coming in.
Your experiences have generated a huge amount of interest in the media, and our phones have been ringing with press calls all day. Big Telecom is being publicly taken to task, and this would never have been
. . . → Read More: OpenMedia.ca: Your Cell Phone Horror Stories in the News
By Lindsey Pinto, on January 30, 2013, at 7:07 pm
A few weeks ago I got an email from Liberal MP Joyce Murray’s office, asking the OpenMedia.ca Team to give input into the digital policy part of her platform, as she runs for party leadership.
As part of our work making Canadian voices heard, we’re always more than happy to meet with politicians from any party to help shape a digital future that is citizen-centric and public interest oriented. And though we aren’t affiliated with any parties or candidates—we work across political orientations and party affiliations—we like to celebrate when we see them taking action for an open and
By OpenMedia.ca, on January 3, 2013, at 8:34 am
There are many reasons why we fight for an open and affordable Internet: for innovation, for freedom of expression, for your right to have a voice, and, as reinforced in this article, for education.
Article from the University of Oxford:
A major in-depth study examining how teenagers in the UK are using the internet and other mobile devices says the benefits of using such technologies far outweigh any perceived risks.
The findings are based on a large-scale study of more than 1,000 randomly selected households in the UK, coupled with regular face-to-face interviews with more than 200 teenagers and their
By OpenMedia.ca, on December 10, 2012, at 4:00 pm It’s no secret that when it comes to the Internet, Canadians pay higher prices for worse services than most countries in the industrialized world. This is largely because a handful of Big Telecom companies control upwards of 94% of the Internet service market in Canada, meaning that Canadians don’t have much real choice.
Big Telecom’s grip on Canadian communications needs to come to an end, and our policy-makers need to set the stage for real choice. Read and share our Action Plan for an open and affordable Internet at OpenMedia.ca/Plan.
Help us continue to amplify Canadians’ voices by joining
By Reilly Yeo, on November 27, 2012, at 4:00 pm When several senior representatives from Telus asked us to meet with them we knew immediately what we wanted the meeting to include: direct citizen stories about disrespectful and expensive cell… . . . → Read More: OpenMedia.ca: You told us, we told them: A report-back from our meeting with Telus
By OpenMedia.ca, on November 26, 2012, at 4:00 pm Canadians have been speaking out and decision-makers at the CRTC have been listening. We’ve been heard in gathering feedback for a new wireless code, stopping the initial takeover bid from Big T… . . . → Read More: OpenMedia.ca: Nowak: Is the CRTC really citizen-friendly?
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