OTTAWA – For even more proof on how political the issue of usage-based billing (UBB) has become, one need look no further than at a few press releases that arrived in Cartt.ca’s in box on Monday.
The first was from the Liberal party calling on the CRTC “to protect open, affordable Internet access” by expanding the scope of its review of its initial decision on UBB. In the release, Liberal Industry, Science and Technology critic Marc Garneau also encouraged Canadians to sign a petition at a website featuring the title “Don’t give the CRTC a second chance to make the same mistake”, though he refers to it as a simple request to “co-sign his submission” to the CRTC.
“The internet is not simply a series of tubes, wires and towers owned and controlled by telecom companies – it is and must be an open network of people, connecting ideas and creativity,” Garneau says in the release. “The CRTC must expand the scope of their study to lay the foundation for an open, competitive and affordable internet in Canada.”
The Liberals then aligned themselves with the likes of the Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC), the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) and OpenMedia.ca in “the fight for an open Internet”.
That missive was promptly followed by one from the NDP which described the CRTC’s upcoming review as “clearly inadequate”, and called for “full hearings and public consultation on speed, pricing and accessibility”.
“Given that a small group of giant telecom companies control 96% of the consumer market, the CRTC must play a strong role in ensuring that consumers aren’t gouged and that anti-competitive practices are not allowed,” said NDP Digital Affairs critic Charlie Angus, in the release. “I am asking for a comprehensive review of the entire regulatory framework for wholesale high-speed access services.”
That would be a wide review indeed.
Angus also blustered that the Commission “has a fundamental obligation to protect the innovative potential of the Internet”, and that “a metered internet will lead to Canada becoming a digital backwater”.
Whew, and there’s still more than six weeks left to submit comments.
– Lesley Hunter
