We submitted input from nearly 4,500 people to the CRTC, urging the Commission to force Big Telecom to provide fibre wholesale access to indie ISPs!

We Won! As you may have heard, a major ruling on Wednesday from the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ensures a significant step forward for Canadians’ ability to access affordable Internet options independent of Canada’s large telecom providers. In short, the ruling creates fair rules forcing Big Telecom to make their digital infrastructure available to small independent ISPs (i.e., outside of Big Telecom) at a reasonable rate, so they are empowered to sell ultra-fast fibre Internet services to Canadians. This means faster, cheaper fibre connections could be coming to your household soon!

Are you in Canada? Do you have a radio? You probably heard OpenMedia this morning talking about today's forthcoming CRTC decision on fibre optic network access. Here's one of the 20 radio interviews we gave to inform Canadians all across the country about today's announcement. Stay tuned! Article by CBC News

Independent ISP TekSavvy has been granted additional time to notify Canadians that they could soon be implicated as part of an ongoing copyright crackdown. Although TekSavvy is not a defendant in the ongoing court case, it's re-assuring to see efforts made by a service provider to help Canadians understand and prepare for any charges filed. Learn more about these latest developments at The Huffington Post and read about the copyright laws that are infringing upon Canadian privacy in our blog post. Article by J. David Ellis for The Huffington Post Heading down to court Monday morning, I was concerned I might be late to get a seat for the Voltage hearing. I had my iPhone ready to record protestors and general ruckus. But Guy Fawkes was a no-show. I arrived to find the courtroom eerily quiet and half-empty. What has TekSavvy been required to do for its customers up to now? Short answer: absolutely nothing. As you read on, keep in mind this case is Voltage vs John Doe and Jane Doe -- not vs TekSavvy.

Independent Internet Service Provider TekSavvy has announced that an American film studio is demanding personal information of its Canadian customers – a motion that follows recent changes to Canadian copyright law. In response, TekSavvy is taking a stance that aims to protect Canadian privacy – stating that it will not provide personal information without a court order. Help encourage this protection of Canadians' privacy in making the switch to an independent ISP at OpenMedia.ca/Switch. Join us in becoming a monthly contributor to OpenMedia at OpenMedia.ca/Allies. Article by Daniel Tencer for Huffington Post An independent internet service provider popular with tech geeks in central Canada is warning that it has been asked to hand over personal information about customers in advance of a potential file-sharing lawsuit, and it’s telling its customers they may want to lawyer up. Chatham, Ont.-based TekSavvy says it has received a request from Hollywood production company Voltage Pictures to identify the people behind 2,000 IP addresses which the company presumably suspects of unauthorized file-sharing.

This week, Canadians learned that big telecom company Telus will be further limiting how much its customers can use the Internet. Soon after, we learned that big telecom company Bell will be jacking up their prices for Internet. After fighting for Internet openness and affordability for years, the pro-Internet community knows: this is price-gouging, pure and simple. It’s no secret that when it comes to the Internet, Canadians pay higher prices for worse services than people in most countries in the industrialized world. This is largely because a small handful of Big Telecom companies control upwards of 94% of the Internet service market in Canada, meaning that Canadians don’t have much real choice.

Rogers is being accused of anti-competitive tactics by independent ISPs who are using its network. The dispute surrounds Rogers 'speed-boosting' without changes in price to customers – but not allowing independent providers to access the same speeds without first paying additional costs. These costs aren't just being payed by indie ISPs, they're being passed down to Canadians. Let Big Telecom know that Canadians won't stand for their Internet tampering; make the switch to an indie ISP at OpenMedia.ca/Switch. Article by Pete Nowak After a period of relative public calm, the internet access wars are ratcheting up once again with the CRTC being asked to intervene in a dispute between independent service providers and Rogers. This time it’s the Canadian Network Operators Consortium, an affiliation of indie ISPs, accusing Rogers of trying to unfairly charge more for higher-speed services. CNOC says Rogers recently boosted download and upload speeds for its own retail customers without any price increases, a move that is supposed to automatically result in those same speeds being made available to independent ISPs who use parts of its network. CNOC says Rogers is offering its members those higher speeds, but only at an additional cost.