Follow us:
Letters to the Editor | Stop The Meter
General | Digital Divide | Music and the Arts | Daily Life
Letter to the editor: Canadians Want to Stop the Meter on Internet Use
I am writing to express my concern about the Usage-Based Billing (UBB), a proposed change for Internet billing that is currently being reviewed by the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
The Internet is becoming increasingly important in everyday life. The widening range of online services, using online content and applications for educational and innovative purposes – all of those aspects clearly point to the increasing usage of bandwidth. The Internet is fast becoming a medium that allows businesses to more freely compete, and allows people to act as citizens.
Capping and metering the Internet, resulting directly in higher fees, is not only going to affect wallets of many Canadians, it will also act as a tax on innovation, free expression, and empowerment. Big telecommunications companies are attempting to assert their dominance over the Internet by imposing new fees and caps. Such a precedent can and will have undesirable effects on the future of Canada’s online culture.
Where big Internet providers argue that usage-based billing essentially means treating all consumers equally, I counter that increasing Internet fees will expand the group of Canadians for whom the Internet is an expensive, unaffordable commodity.
While looking at the enormous backlash from the general public that followed the CRTC’s initial approval of usage-based billing, it is fair to ask: In whose interest the CRTC is acting? Is it in the interest of the citizenry or the big corporations?
Disallowing small Internet Service Providers (ISP) to offer unlimited Internet will affect Canada’s digital competitiveness and social progress. It is up to Canadians to make their voices heard and the Stop the Meter petition is a great way to do so. Visit http://stopthemeter.ca and sign the petition.
Download the Word Document
Letter to the editor: Usage-Based Billing is Killing the Music Industry
When it comes to the Internet, some believe that the more you use the more you should have to pay. However others recognize that the future of the arts in Canada depends on affordable access to the web.
The recent controversy surrounding Internet metering has brought these arguments to life. As a result of a metered Internet, musicians would incur massive costs due to the large amount of data transferring necessary to create and promote their work.
It’s a sad time for our country when innovation and creativity are stifled for the sole purpose of forwarding the interests of big business.
Consuming, altering, and producing new content are musical norms, and this type of expression -- whether it is hip hop, electronic, dubstep, mashup, etc. -- is popular worldwide.
If the CRTC’s policy to make unlimited Internet plans impossible becomes set in stone, the incentive to be creative in this respect will be gone. If it costs us a fortune to download and upload data then who is going to experiment with these innovative styles? And if no one is experimenting due to high costs imposed by monopolies, then Canada will be left out of an international community of content creators that is continuously growing in size and importance.
The production side isn’t the only aspect that owes many of its accomplishments to the Internet. Distribution has become an independent experience that is possible only because of the cheap and easy access available on the web.
Whereas previously, independent artists had to sell their tapes and CDs to record stores and on the street, they now only have to post their album on Bandcamp, for example, where people can listen to tracks and purchase the album if they like it. They can check out the artist’s YouTube page and find songs and videos ready to be discovered. Further, consumers all around the world can order copies of a record directly from an artist through their website or Facebook page.
The same can be said for visual artists too. There is no longer a need for a gallery. The Internet allows individualistic expression and limitless advertising possibilities. Not to mention constant social media updates connecting artists to their fans.
With that in mind, it is obvious that the state of artistic expression is dependent on affordable Internet access. With a usage cap of 25 GB with a $1-5 excess charge per GB in some provinces there is no way Canadian artists, who are already struggling, can afford to compete with those around the globe.
To support the continuation of a competitive and innovative artistic community visit http://stopthemeter.ca and sign the petition.
Letter to the editor: How Usage-Based Billing Will Further Divide Our Society
I am writing to express my disagreement with the proposed change of Internet billing that was introduced by the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Committee (CRTC) in May 2010. It is my firm belief that implementing the usage-based billing (UBB) will be harmful to Canadian society in various aspects. The one I find particularly disturbing is the deepening of the “digital divide” between Canadians of differing means.
Capping and metering the Internet will undoubtedly lead to an increase of the overall cost of Internet access for end users, thereby deepening the divide between who can and cannot participate online in Canadian society.
Not only is such a step contrary to the CRTC’s broadband accessibility mandate, it also seems somewhat backward to limit our use of Internet while we witness the ever expanding range of online services.
Whereas big Internet providers argue that usage-based billing essentially means treating all costumers equally, we must acknowledge that increasing Internet fees will widen the group of Canadians, for whom the Internet is an expensive, unaffordable commodity. And since we can hardly argue against the educational and innovative value of Internet, the danger of deepening digital divide emerges.
Regarding the Internet as a regular utility is favourable for big corporations that will profit from implementing the usage-based billing. We need to recognize that such a perspective is misleading, since the Internet does not have limits in the same way water supply does. Citizens with low income will be forced to limit their use of Internet, which can have an undesirable effect on the development of our society as a whole. This is a chance for Canadians to fight for unmetered Internet and make their own decisions. I encourage everyone to sign the Stop the Meter petition at http://stopthemeter.ca.
Letter to the editor: How Usage-Based Billing is Affecting Daily Life
Two months ago if you asked me about Usage-Based Billing (UBB) I admit I would have been clueless, I had no idea how much bandwidth I was using or what my Internet Service Provider (ISP) was charging me for it. As a student, the Internet is a huge part of my daily life, from checking my e-mail to doing research, I’m constantly connecting. The Canadian Radio and Television Commission’s (CRTC) decision to implement metered Internet, which is currently under review, doesn’t just affect those who use excessive amounts of bandwidth it also affects every day students like myself.
If the CRTC were to implement UBB and allow big telecommunication companies to both cap and meter the Internet, it would greatly affect my wallet. It is not uncommon for a school projects to require me to download significant amounts of material, should I be charged more because I’m trying to further my education? It would seem the CRTC is only considering the positive monetary outcomes of UBB for big telecommunication companies, and not the negatives for consumers for whom the Internet will become unaffordable.
As a student I would say I spend approximately 14-15 hours of my day on the Internet, either researching or trying to stay in contact with family and friends through the Internet. Capping and metering the Internet would force me to cut down my usage enormously.
In today’s society, social media is a huge way for people to be creative and express their views; UBB will quiet the voice of Canadians. However there is a way to stand up to the big telecommunication companies and the CRTC and that is by signing the Stop the Meter Petition at http://stopthemeter.ca. Canadian students often get a bad reputation for not standing up for what they believe in, this our chance.
Print this
Email this