UPDATE: Court blocks low Internet rates
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 28 November 2019 04:16
- Written by editor
Paov—Bell is using its win in court to pressure Parliament to rescind the CRTC's low Internet wholesale rates. We're ramping up our campaign to fight back, but we need every resource possible. Will you rush an emergency donation to OpenMedia to help stop Big Telecom from taking away our low Internet rates?
Paov,
This is terrible: A federal court just suspended the CRTC's wholesale rates that brought lower Internet prices to Canada.1
...This is a big win for Bell and the other Big Telecom corporations who are fighting to stop the CRTC from lowering rates the companies charge smaller providers for wholesale access to its networks. But they're not stopping there. Big Telecom has also asked Prime Minister Trudeau to get rid of new CRTC rules—and we can't let that happen.2
The court has not issued its final decision, and we're not done fighting for the lower rates. This CRTC ruling was a major step forward in bringing Canada the lower-cost, high-speed Internet we need—and we're not letting it go without a fight.
OpenMedia has launched an emergency campaign to stop the government from overruling the CRTC's decision and letting Big Telecom hike prices again. Will you rush a donation today?
DONATE NOWWith your support, OpenMedia has been pressuring the CRTC for years to lower the rates that Big Telecom can charge for network access in order to level the playing field for smaller providers to compete.3
Lowering these rates is essential for bringing affordable, reliable Internet to rural Canada and helping to bridge the digital divide among Canadians.
Once the CRTC lowered the wholesale rates in August, a handful of smaller companies like Teksavvy, Distributel, Oricom, and Start.ca immediately passed those savings on to customers.4
But Bell and other Big Telecom giants have taken the CRTC decision to court, and now they've scored a big win. The court put the new low rates on hold while it decides whether Big Telecom's rights were harmed with the CRTC's rates.5 And Big Telecom isn't stopping there. They're making this fight political, and they're going to Parliament to try to stop the CRTC there, too.6
The government needs to listen to the people who have fought to bring affordable high-speed Internet to Canada, especially to our most vulnerable populations.
OpenMedia is doing everything in our power to make sure Prime Minister Trudeau knows he can't give in to Big Telecom.
For our Internet,
Laura, and the whole team at OpenMedia
Footnotes:
[1] Federal Court suspends CRTC wholesale rate decision until final judgement: Mobile Syrup
[2] Bell, big cable networks ask government to overrule CRTC on wholesale rates: Coast Reporter
[3] Canadians Pay The Highest Rates For Wireless Data, And The US Is About To Follow Suit: Tech Dirt
[4] Smaller Internet providers are dropping their prices and you can thank the CRTC for it: OpenMedia
[5] Federal Court suspends CRTC wholesale rate decision until final judgement: Mobile Syrup
[6] Bell petitions Trudeau government to overrule CRTC on wholesale network rates: CBC
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