Ubalblog

[  Mood: Sick ]
[ Currently: About to get ready for work. ]
In case you haven’t heard, the CRTC (telecom regulator) has approved metering the Internet here in Canada. There has been a backlash, but rumours are swirling that there will be a backroom deal to allow metering. There is also some proof that the government basically directed the CRTC to do this.

So, given that I use the Internet and that my husband’s job/company is based on the Internet, I felt compelled to write a letter to my Primeminister urging him to stop the metering of the Internet. I am sharing the text below.

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Dear Primeminister Harper,

I am writing to you today to add my voice to the thousands, if not millions who are asking you to do something about the CRTC decision that will allow the Internet providers to essentially meter the Internet.

I know you have promised to do something about it, but rumours are leaking out that there will be a deal to allow metering. You MUST not allow this to happen.

Canada is a nation built on communication. The Internet is a vital part of that communication. There are thousands of small businesses that rely on the Internet everyday. If their access is restricted due to metering rates, these business will find their growth severely limited, if not reversed. Businesses like my husband’s.

Think also of all of the telecom companies that make Canada home. The use the Internet to link to other branches in other parts of Canada or other parts of the world. You meter the Internet, they will move elsewhere. Stunting our economic growth.

It would also mean that all the money the government has put into putting services online will be wasted, as Canadians will not want to pay to get access to information. They will be demanding a return to service centres and using the phone to access the information they need.

I am sure the telecom companies have told you they need this money to improve service, but yet their profits have soared to 7.5 billion in 2010. In reality, they are doing this to fight against Netflicks and similar services threaten to cut into their business. The reality is, instead of improving customer service and cutting prices, they want the government and its regulators to put a stop to innovation. Like the recording industry before them, they want the world to stop moving forward rather than change their business practices to meet a new, developing market.

I am sure the telecom industry has told you nothing bad will happen if the metered internet goes through, but the statistics don’t back this up. A good example of this is Australia, which like Canada, has a small population in a large land mass. They meter the Internet, which has restricted the nation’s use of the Internet. Recent statistics show Canada ranks 4th per among the world for Internet use per capita. Australia? 34th.

If the metering is allowed we could soon see our once great telecom industry and all the millions of jobs it provides, not to mention tax dollars it brings into government coffers, dry up and blow away.

Do the smart thing. Stop this. With an election coming, allowing this to go through could cost you big time as people like me remember who let Bell, Rogers and Shaw shut down their small business and vote accordingly.