watch telecom operators and your Internet

Prevent Telecom Control of Internet, Steve Anderson

By William Doyle-Marshall

He contends keeping the internet open is ‘key’ in this day and age of technological advancement to which citizens around the world are addicted. Anderson is troubled that Canadians pay some of the highest costs for Internet and telecom in general in the industrialized world. This is not a new discovery yet we are faced with the same troubles, he notes. “Essentially, what needs to happen is the government needs to split off the Internet services from telecom companies and content services,” he disclosed in a recent interview during the Victoria Film Festival.
  “We see that has happened elsewhere like in the U.K. to great effect. That’s the answer because these companies control in terms of the wireless, over 90% of the market. Just a few companies that control wired Internet as well and while you have that they are going to continue to charge these huge fees; they are going to continue to try and interfere on how you use the Internet,” Anderson continued. He contends absolutely, the answer now is definitely split up these companies. In order to get the government involved right away is by write your MPs or going to openmedia.ca where there are many different ways Canadians can speak out. “We see move in that direction from this government but what they are doing is kind of fiddling at the margins to try and solve what is a systemic problem with the market,” the founder of Open Media counsels.

  Open Media dot ca is a community-based organization that works to safeguard the possibilities of the Internet. It was founded by Anderson because he and many other people who helped get it started believe that the Internet helps open up opportunities that many can’t even imagine yet. One fact on their side is the recognition that the organization is certainly contributing somewhat as a vehicle for free expression, for democracy, for economic opportunity, for creativity and just for new forms of collaboration. (www.OpenMedia.ca or www.SaveOurNet.ca)

  At some point Internet users actually have to accept the fact that a few companies control these services which they use and the market actually has to be decentralize, Anderson emphasized. Stressing that this action is so crucial “for our future”, he is disturbed that “we are falling behind our global counterparts; it’s limiting free expression on line, limiting access to essential service and limiting our ability to participate democratically.”

                                                                     Steve Anderson

 “I think that the pressure will continue to grow but it’s really upon us as citizens and consumers to make our representatives aware that we are concerned about this and we expect them to do something about it,” he continued.

   Bearing in mind the possibilities that the Internet offers Anderson recognized the definite importance of getting personally involved because he saw telecom companies trying to make the Internet more like television. “They are trying to make it more expensive; they were trying to control it and turn it into a kind of prescribed menu that they decide what we see rather than all of us together deciding what we produce on line,” he explained. So when he saw them trying to make the Internet more like television, it definitely ignited something in him to in just prevent them from doing so. This involvement naturally would assist in safeguarding that open platform that currently exists. While Anderson cannot say what will happen in the future with the Internet, admits “I didn’t expect Idle No More to happen; I didn’t expect Occupy Wall Street; I didn’t expect the Arab Spring to happen.” He admits however, it’s exciting and gives him hope knowing that there are new possibilities in the future if this platform that connects us is kept open.