UBB hits Canada

[HM-PuFFNSTuFF]

Canada

also, well done Mazda I choked on my pee.

[Captain]

he looks like he has no idea whats going on.

he's looking at the fat chick on the left

I was thinking about slicing her open like a Tauntaun, it was that cold.

[SoM]

BS look at Chow trying to suck the mike, and no cold breath air ?

chow prolly gives a mean bjob

[obsidian]

Can we just oust the fucking CRTC already?

Just getting rid of the CRTC won't solve problems either, it needs to be replaced with some other oversight body that will monitor telecommunications for the benefit of Canadians. The CRTC has done some good things for Canada like preserving the Canadian identity in radio, television and film - it's one of the reason why Canada is among leaders in these industries. But like I said above, the members of the CRTC simply have little understanding of the newfangled Internet both as a media and technology, they are much too hung up on old-school stuff and can't comprehend how different it is from other methods of communication. I cringe when people say they want to dissolve the CRTC because I think that would do far more damage than good. It just needs to be restructured so that it sides on opening up to competition in the Internet and mobile markets.

[GONNAFISTYA]

Everybody chill

http://www.lightsquared.com

Satellite internet sucks balls. It can't even maintain a stable enough connection for Skype or online gaming, let alone replace DSL/Cable.

In a nutshell, it is not a viable alternative to land-based broadband.

[mrd]

Can we just oust the fucking CRTC already?

Just getting rid of the CRTC won't solve problems either, it needs to be replaced with some other oversight body that will monitor telecommunications for the benefit of Canadians. The CRTC has done some good things for Canada like preserving the Canadian identity in radio, television and film - it's one of the reason why Canada is among leaders in these industries. But like I said above, the members of the CRTC simply have little understanding of the newfangled Internet both as a media and technology, they are much too hung up on old-school stuff and can't comprehend how different it is from other methods of communication. I cringe when people say they want to dissolve the CRTC because I think that would do far more damage than good. It just needs to be restructured so that it sides on opening up to competition in the Internet and mobile markets.

Nah, I know, you're right. I'm just frustrated because of what you said earlier: 75 year old dudes calling the shots on how our internet is run. They don't even know what the internet is. A restructuring would be nice. It would be nice to see a company do up here what Google has done down south and just lay down infrastructure merely because it helps bolster so many different areas of economy, communication, creation, etc. Obviously Google is filthy fucking rich so they are an exceptional case but still... it's too bad that an idea like that probably would never come to pass up here, merely because there is no direct and immediate return to the bottom line from doing it. I've always thought that if the infrastructure up here was beefed up and everyone had dirt-cheap access to, say, a 100MBps connection with no cap (or a very huge one, like 1TB/month or something) then so many things could prosper a lot quicker. I'm sure a lot of small businesses, artists, etc. are shitting bricks right now waiting to see how this CRTC shit pans out.

I think this situation is somewhat similar to the relationship between video games and computer hardware. Game developers push the envelope and so the hardware designers have to keep up. In essence, they fuel each other. If everyone who had and used the internet never had to worry about going over some shitty cap or whether or not their file was too huge to send, I think a lot more would get done. To use a simple example, think of two musicians collaborating and sending uncompressed .WAV files back and forth. Right now, you'd rarely see that, simply because the standard for recording these days is 24-bit, 96kHz .WAV files which equates to somewhere in the area of 5MB per second of data. So even a very basic 4-minute song consisting of just 4 tracks would be about 5GB of data. No one in their right mind would contemplate swapping 5GB of data back and forth a few times to collaborate the way shit is run right now. But to me, that shouldn't really a very big deal. Sadly, it actually is cheaper to burn all that shit to a DVD or SSD and just mail it.

/ramble

[bam!]

Canada

[obsidian]

Moving forward, but not there yet... received email:

The CRTC just announced they will reexamine metered billing practices. They are seeking public input right now! This is a huge opportunity to stop Internet metering, and to ensure Canadians have access to an unlimited Internet.

Please take a moment to send the CRTC a message here:
http://openmedia.ca/crtc

OpenMedia.ca asked Canadians to send Ottawa a message about Internet metering, and wow did you ever respond – over 420,000 signed the petition!

The CRTC's move to review the imposition of billing practices through a public process is in direct response to our petition - they even cited the "public outcry".

At the same time, we all know a Big Telecom-friendly compromise is being pushed behind closed doors. To avoid another industry crafted solution we urgently need to send a message to the CRTC.

Sign it:
http://openmedia.ca/crtc

[SoM]

signed again

[obsidian]

It needs a city and postal code so technically only if you're in Canada.

But you can always use this one:
M5C 1W4

Which is for 123 Yonge St, Toronto, Ontario.

[mrd]

signed

Ya bastid.

Signed!

[SoM]

i didn't need a postal code

[mrd]

i didn't need a postal code

They might just discount your sig then

Not sure why the hell it even matters. Not like it's hard to look up a random postal code to shove in there.

[seremtan]

signed

yakky-dah, eh buddy

[obsidian]

FAIL!

[mrd]

Aye, heard about that today. Nice timing, buncha fuckin' retards.

[Foo]

"My Bell"

lol.

[obsidian]

Dear TekSavvy Customer,

Because of your support and participation in reaching out to the various MPs and the Minister of Industry we're pleased to announce that the March 1st UBB implementation date has been suspended indefinitely.

With over 460,000 signatures having been sent to Parliament Minister Clement and the Industry committee requested the CRTC review its recent decision in full, which it has obliged and are now doing. Until this review has occurred UBB over DSL has been completely shelved. Minister Clement also added they would overturn the review should it resemble in any way to the previous outcome!

So, congratulations to all who've spoken up about this issue, you've made a huge difference. As a Canadian, today, I can honestly say it's refreshing to know politicians do listen and will affect change when the public at large shows concern!

Effective March 1st we are going to move forward and make changes to the Usage, but we're going to make it a positive one!

We are reinstating the Unlimited package but the 200GB package will be changed... to 300GB! UBB is about Internet Costs, and as a result of lower costs with our providers (Peer1, Lime Light, etc...), costs outside our relationship with companies like Bell, we are extending the savings on to you, the clients... Enjoy!

[seremtan]

wow, it's like what's happening in egypt, but in canada, and about the internet!

[AmIdYfReAk]

MINT!

[Tsakali]

[Captain]

Was just about to post that. Fuck you Bell

[SoM]

Bell says

go touch a gutter