Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The Importance of Stopping The Meter
The CRTC’s recent controversial decision to cap monthly internet use and charge exorbitant rates for overusage has made a lot of people very angry, including me. I’m not even certain I’m fully against usage-based billing if it was reasonably priced (which the proposed new plan is not) because I understand it makes sense the more you use, the more you should pay; what I’m mad about is the arrogance with which this policy was announced and the reasoning behind it.
The truth is, the CRTC’s justification does not make any sense, arguing that the money is needed to maintain and upkeep infrastructure. Why, then, is Canada the only country to have this problem? Because it’s a lie, that’s why. In fact, the more technology advances, the cheaper it gets. Simply put, they want us on the internet less and watching TV and commercials more. People need to look past the smoke and mirrors to see what is really behind this decision. I can guarantee that it is no coincidence that members of the CRTC board have deep roots in not only television and radio, but the very companies that would profit the most from a usage-based billing system; eg. Leonard Katz, Vice Chairmen of Communications of the CRTC: 17 year veteran of Rogers Group of Companies, as well as 9 year veteran at Bell Canada.
Corporations and their long-time politician buddies with the classic boys club mentalities unfortunately continue to control just about everything in the country and usually get away with it. However, I strongly think that a technological backlash from the younger generations is putting a stop to these closed door conspiracies and handshakes. Wikileaks was just the tip of the iceberg and we need to continue to fight back because we will win. The internet gives us a voice and power in numbers. My generation can be criticized for being apathetic voters and technological fiends who have a hard time paying attention to one thing at a time, however we have proven that we do have a voice, we do have power and we still do have a right to democracy despite continuous attempts to stifle it.
The baby boomer generation has made a lot of us younger people feel apathetic towards our political climate by outright lying in elections and constantly being involved in scandals to the point where we don’t even vote; it isn’t because we don’t care, it’s because it seems no matter what we say or want, it goes ignored because we know that generally the government is going to do whatever it wants to satisfy itself and top officials. And this entire CRTC billing debate is a prime example.
The disparity between our generations grows as fast as technology advances. It is ludicrous that a group of aging old timers with archaic views is in control of regulating technology they cannot even begin to understand. They have absolutely no idea what they are doing, no concept of how integral the internet is to a vast number of people decades younger than themselves. If the CRTC wanted this pill to go down a little easier they should have hired a PR team under the age of thirty who at least knew what “bandwidth” and a “gigabyte” were. Instead, they came up with an immeasurable and vague response that was probably scripted to them by Bell and said “this will do”. And now they’ve made their bed by insulting the intelligence of thousands of people.
We’re sharper than we’re given credit for and we demand explanations. The internet is not just a service anymore, it is quickly becoming an essential part of everyday life, one that we depend on for everything from communicating to learning to entertaining; there is no going backwards. It’s time for a new generation to take control and hold companies and governments accountable.
-----
CRTC Chair Quotes (Feb 4, 2011)
http://openmedia.ca/blog/classic-quotes-our-crtc-chair
CRTC Internet decision gouges users (Feb 3, 2011)
http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/CRTC+Internet+decision+gouges+users/4215043/story.html
Big companies throttle Internet to favour their own content (Feb 2, 2011)
http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/companies+throttle+Internet+favour+their+content/4207670/story.html
CRTC will rescind ‘unlimited use’ Internet decision – or Ottawa will overturn it (Feb 2, 2011)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/tories-to-overturn-crtc-decision-on-bandwith-billing/article1892522/
New Internet Usage Caps Hurt Canadians (Jan 30, 2011)
http://www.channelcanada.com/Article5436.html
CRTC Top Officials
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/about/commissioners.htm
Stop The Meter On Your Internet Use
http://stopthemeter.ca
The truth is, the CRTC’s justification does not make any sense, arguing that the money is needed to maintain and upkeep infrastructure. Why, then, is Canada the only country to have this problem? Because it’s a lie, that’s why. In fact, the more technology advances, the cheaper it gets. Simply put, they want us on the internet less and watching TV and commercials more. People need to look past the smoke and mirrors to see what is really behind this decision. I can guarantee that it is no coincidence that members of the CRTC board have deep roots in not only television and radio, but the very companies that would profit the most from a usage-based billing system; eg. Leonard Katz, Vice Chairmen of Communications of the CRTC: 17 year veteran of Rogers Group of Companies, as well as 9 year veteran at Bell Canada.
Corporations and their long-time politician buddies with the classic boys club mentalities unfortunately continue to control just about everything in the country and usually get away with it. However, I strongly think that a technological backlash from the younger generations is putting a stop to these closed door conspiracies and handshakes. Wikileaks was just the tip of the iceberg and we need to continue to fight back because we will win. The internet gives us a voice and power in numbers. My generation can be criticized for being apathetic voters and technological fiends who have a hard time paying attention to one thing at a time, however we have proven that we do have a voice, we do have power and we still do have a right to democracy despite continuous attempts to stifle it.
The baby boomer generation has made a lot of us younger people feel apathetic towards our political climate by outright lying in elections and constantly being involved in scandals to the point where we don’t even vote; it isn’t because we don’t care, it’s because it seems no matter what we say or want, it goes ignored because we know that generally the government is going to do whatever it wants to satisfy itself and top officials. And this entire CRTC billing debate is a prime example.
The disparity between our generations grows as fast as technology advances. It is ludicrous that a group of aging old timers with archaic views is in control of regulating technology they cannot even begin to understand. They have absolutely no idea what they are doing, no concept of how integral the internet is to a vast number of people decades younger than themselves. If the CRTC wanted this pill to go down a little easier they should have hired a PR team under the age of thirty who at least knew what “bandwidth” and a “gigabyte” were. Instead, they came up with an immeasurable and vague response that was probably scripted to them by Bell and said “this will do”. And now they’ve made their bed by insulting the intelligence of thousands of people.
We’re sharper than we’re given credit for and we demand explanations. The internet is not just a service anymore, it is quickly becoming an essential part of everyday life, one that we depend on for everything from communicating to learning to entertaining; there is no going backwards. It’s time for a new generation to take control and hold companies and governments accountable.
-----
CRTC Chair Quotes (Feb 4, 2011)
http://openmedia.ca/blog/classic-quotes-our-crtc-chair
CRTC Internet decision gouges users (Feb 3, 2011)
http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/CRTC+Internet+decision+gouges+users/4215043/story.html
Big companies throttle Internet to favour their own content (Feb 2, 2011)
http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/companies+throttle+Internet+favour+their+content/4207670/story.html
CRTC will rescind ‘unlimited use’ Internet decision – or Ottawa will overturn it (Feb 2, 2011)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/tories-to-overturn-crtc-decision-on-bandwith-billing/article1892522/
New Internet Usage Caps Hurt Canadians (Jan 30, 2011)
http://www.channelcanada.com/Article5436.html
CRTC Top Officials
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/about/commissioners.htm
Stop The Meter On Your Internet Use
http://stopthemeter.ca
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