Hearing Starts Today on Bell’s New Attempt to Take Over Canada’s Largest Independent Content Company; OpenMedia.ca Available for Comment

The CRTC denied Bell’s original proposal in Fall 2012, after agreeing with Canadians the proposal would lead to a concentration of power in Canada’s media system that would not benefit the public.

In recent years hundreds of thousands of Canadians have spoken out about the control big telecom companies like Bell have over our communications choice and pricing through OpenMedia.ca’s web tools, most recently through http://StopTheTakeover.ca.

WHY:
Citizens’ group OpenMedia.ca is saying that this deal is bad for Canadians as it still will lead to less media choice, innovation, and our overgrown big telecom giants to get even larger.

OpenMedia.ca Executive Director Steve Anderson said today: “We already have one of the most concentrated markets in the G8. If these Big Telecom giants want to get bigger they should do what businesses do in other industries, expand to markets outside of Canada. Let’s stop regulatory coddling of these behemoths and stop rewarding their failure to launch outside of Canada.

“Canadians have made their position very clear: We oppose Bell getting bigger, and controlling even more of the media and telecom landscape in this country.”

WHEN:
The hearing is taking place Monday, May 6, 2013, through Friday, May 10, 2013.

WHERE:
OpenMedia.ca is based in Vancouver, BC.
The hearing is taking place in Montreal, QC.

BACKGROUND:

OpenMedia.ca is a grassroots organization that safeguards the possibilities of the open and affordable Internet. The group works towards informed and participatory digital policy.

Through campaigns such as StopTheMeter.ca and StopSpying.ca, OpenMedia.ca has engaged over half-a-million Canadians, and has influenced public policy and federal law.

The Stop the Takeover Coalition comprises public interest groups and industry players who are coming together, based on a set of common principles, to oppose the proposed takeover of Astral Media by Bell and to promote public engagement through the Stop the Takeover campaign.

For more information, please contact:
Lindsey Pinto – 1.778.238.7710 – [email protected]

Details can also be found at http://openmedia.ca and http://stopthetakeover.ca.