Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Comments to CRTC's call for comments re: CRTC 2011-77

Telecom Notices of Consultation Open for Comment

The Internet is not a utility.

Light users of the Internet ARE NOT subsidizing heavy users.

The earth is round and revolves around the sun.

These are truisms not even a corporate lawyer or lobbyist can dispute.

Yet, these are things about which the CRTC apparently has no knowledge.

The other truism that's no longer up for debate: The CRTC takes its marching orders from Bell Canada and seeks to impose this reprehensible usage-based billing scheme on Canadian Internet users in order to boost Bell's profits.

The testimony given before the Commons by Mr. von Finckenstein, CRTC chairman, demonstrated in excruciating detail how out of touch, ill-informed, unprepared, utterly ignorant the CRTC is about matters before its review.

von Finckenstein arrived at the Commons with 2009 data. In the world of technology, that's like traveling using an atlas from the 1700s.

That Mr. von Finckenstein, at times, couldn't determine whether he was speaking about megabytes or gigabytes, further demonstrated the woeful state of his ignorance on the subject.

The CRTC is the embodiment of "conflict of interest". The CRTC has no credibility with the Canadian people -- even less following von Finckenstein's testimony in front of Commons.

Usage-based billing has been demonstrated to kill innovation, stifle education, it will turn Canada into a digital Third World Nation.

UBB shouldn't even be up for discussion.

But it is for only one reason -- it benefits Bell Canada.

Bell cannot compete -- or doesn't want to compete -- with Netflix.

Bell is trying to finalize its purchase of CTV and therefore doesn't want people watching TV shows and getting news from the Internet -- it wants people watching CTV.

The CRTC, itself, should be disbanded, dissolved -- every last person working there should be sent scurrying back into the industries they truly serve.

The CRTC is not looking out for the interests of the Canadian people. It exists to bend and alter laws so that leviathans like Bell Canada can pull in greater and greater profits.

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Read the opinion of someone who knows what they're talking about.