This week the the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is expected to announce a major decision that will significantly impact whether or not Canadians have access to a variety of affordable Internet services independent of Big Telecom, including next-generation fibre. Back in December, your OpenMedia team presented your views on the future of Canada’s Internet to key decision-makers at CRTC headquarters in Gatineau, Quebec (be sure to check out the video, report-back, and full transcript). At the time, we outlined three major demands on behalf of Internet users across the country:

Over the past couple months, our small team at OpenMedia has been helping get the word out on a big project designed to measure the health of Canada’s Internet: CIRA’s Internet Performance Tool. But today, our friends at CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority) have partnered with NCIX, a major Canadian retailer of computer components, to bring you an awesome contest – and we thought you might want to know about it.

Several months ago, we let you know that Manitoba resident and OpenMedia community member Ben Klass had filed a complaint with Canada’s telecom policymaker, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Ben’s complaint claimed that telecom giant Bell was unfairly stifling certain types of mobile content over their wireless networks to give their own content a speed advantage over content not owned by Bell.