Media Advisory: Bell to Acquire Astral Media in Already-Concentrated Market; OpenMedia.ca Available for Comment

“As it acquires more, Bell stands to gain even more ability, not to mention incentive, to hoard and give preferential treatment to their content, thereby creating an anti-competitive content market, as well as an incentive to restrict access to independent online content,” says OpenMedia.ca Executive Director Steve Anderson. “Canadians know from experience that Big Telecom’s unchecked dominance over our communications comes with higher prices, tighter contracts, more disrespectful customer service, and greater potential for surveillance. This also ultimately prevents Canadians from accessing diverse content.”

WHEN:
Bell’s announcement was made Friday, March 16. Before the deal is completed, the CRTC and the Competition Bureau must release their approval. We are available to comment at any time.

WHERE:
OpenMedia.ca is based in Vancouver, BC

BACKGROUND:

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

For more information, please contact:
Lindsey Pinto – 778.238.7710 – [email protected]

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