Canada Mirrors U.S. Broadband Policies, Gets Same Crappy Results

We have broadband policies?

glad this made the front page

If only our highly efficient, uncorruptable and altruistic government officials got more involved, all our problems would be solved

I mean, they sure handled the task of managing the USF with utmost efficiency, didn't they?

Giving the government more regulatory powers than the rather powerful ones they have already only makes lobbyists and political considerations more influential, not less.

So you don't think the government should regulate -- because then the lobbyists will take over.

So basically our choices are two:

1. The presently unregulated will of our broadband overlords, or
2. The government policies created through the lobbying of our broadband overlords.

I guess I won't disagree with that, if that's your point. However, 2 is still better because we get neat little freedom monuments to visit.

I wonder if the average Canadian Joe public actually gives a flying #$@% that we're 27th of the 30 countries listed and that we're becoming a backwater technological dud?

Something tells me as long as they get their emails and can surf the web, it's all sunshine and lollipops for most of the populace.

Doubtful...

The average Canadian hates the incumbents with a passion. (Even present and former employees of said incumbents)

Although I doubt very many Canadians have read the report most are not happy with current day telecom, and would love increased competition in the market.

I would say the dissatisfaction is probably more acute in the cell phone biz than in the internet biz, but it's still there.

Well letting the businesses have free reign have worked wonders hasn't it Einstien?

The problem with Canadian Telecom policy, is that the government is in bed with the incumbents.

Every now and again, we get a small victory and laws are changed to favor competition ever so slightly.

What's needed is an overhaul of policy with infrastructure being separated from TelCo/CableCo, and not allowing ISPs to be content providers.

The difference between governments that are pro-consumer and those that are pro-industry, is that the pro-consumer governments are better able to hide their collusion with industry.

That is partially due to their collusion with the press.

NV

And well we all know how great Stevie is with the press so it's no wonder that the regulatory environment is front and center.

The sad reality of it is, all they would have to give to the Canadian public is 20/20 and a 300GB cap and none of this would even touch the surface ever.

Same with Cellphone, quit double dipping and you would have happy consumers.

I'd still be bitchin' but that's to be expected.

As history is the witness we failed with Bushonomics/Voodonomics almost to the point of becoming a third world nation. Canada was able to keep tabs on it's conservative vermin resulting in a much better state of affairs. Now why in the world they would like to mimic a failed sate with its conservative/corporatepimp policy, beats me.

More people need to know about this. Majority of people dont even know whats going on.

All this info should be in the Media, so on tv and in the news papers where people will read it and at least be aware of it and maybe say something.

This should be passed on to all Media companies.

Many of the mass media companies in Canada are owned by, or have large interest owned by the telco's & cableco's.

Concentration of media ownership ensures that the problems seldom see the light of day in the common press & newscasts.

Crazy ain't it. The conservative government currently in power here hasn't a clue what to do so they get their ideas and inspiration from south of the border. The other thing (as previously mentioned) is the conservative government here gets a lot of financial support from the big telcos and cablecos that they are in bed with.

To be fair, the CRTC has always stunk, regardless of the party in power.

Unfortunatly there is not enough understanding or interest about internet for any real media coverage. If it was on the front page of the Sun people would just skip past it. Until the average user gets a clue that the internet is more than Facebook, Outlook and your Xbox Live we don't stand a chance and the big companies know it. If it ain't broke, dont fix it and people keep paying more and more for crappy products so there is no reason to change things.

this is exactly what has worried me every since people spent all day and night on MSN with their computers and did nothing else

Computers can be the best useful tool you can use in your life, or they can be the devil for you, turning you into a useless mindless turd

There are some fiber to the home providers in Canada. Just not the big providers doing it. Wightman Telecom ( »www.wightman.ca/Resident ··· ices.php ) is one that I know of doing it in some towns.

Yes but it is only in a few isolated areas. It's probably safe to say that FTTH penetration is less than 0.1% throughout the country.

NO shock when you got bell holding back good internet access. Doesnt help the CRTC is in bells pocket like American politician are in lobbies pockets. If this is what democracy is supposed to be about bring on communism....

While the average CDN citizen has no idea how the CRTC controls their access to telecom services, choices, costs and content, the CRTC risks a backlash when or if they allow the proposed 30 gb bandwidth tarrif to be approved. The pending closure of local TV stations in some medium-sized markets and the extreme cutback of local content in others is starting to raise the ire of the people against the CTRC and by extension the gov't.

So-called "network neutrality" regulation (which isn't "neutral" at all; it really favors big corporations like Google) would kill independent ISPs. Canada and the US are both on the right track. They should only act to prevent anticompetitive tactics, such as price gouging in the "middle mile" by ILECs and long haul fiber carriers.

Russia is trying very hard to become more capitalistic, but wait all those years of forced socialism, i guess all over siberia is covered right with 100M broadband ?

-good article though, thanks:

... every few months (just) the hardware technological leaps that become available in our average-PC's is mindboggling.
-and that is just what they're giving us ('da average comsumer).
I mean, just imagine the tremendous bandwidth capabalities ALL these telecom-corps have on the back shelves as well. ?

Now, how come the PC's get cheaper and their "horsepower" gets better. ? DUHHHH !

But "they"(our CDN telecom nutbars) are hurting when it comes to delivering the bandwidth upgrades for us ? -uuhhh?.
ya,ya right, "they" have to charge more? even though, as improvements come around the corners for them, it all costs them LESS to run (especially electrically)!!!
Yet, they need to $harge us ever-higher monthly rates or whatever,...? for BANDWIDTH !?-which is a resource that technologically builds upon itself and naturally gets faster...
It ain't gas people ! (it doesn't chemically break down and get burned away forever).

Nope, its just the same 'ole greed & politics from those same old players' (all the way from crtc to the CDN telecoms). Obvisouly they are all wrong -they know it -we know it. but just like the good little CDN-lemming-consumers that we are, we'll grudgingly, and continually PAY for "They"'re LIES !!!

yup, welcome to the new Blu-Ray-wannabe "free market" telecom


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