[governance] FW: [cracin-discussion] ACTION ALERT: Demand net neutrality now

Sat Mar 29 11:26:54 EDT 2008

Since there has been a continuing discussion on issues related to Net
Neutrality on this list I think the discussion which follows below is worth
passing along...

Brian Beaton is the co-ordinator of a very significant Canadian aboriginal
organization (http://knet-ca) which is managing a terrestrial, microwave and
now satellite based infrastructure, servicing very remote (fly in)
communities in Northern Ontario (and soon to include Northern Manitoba and
Northern Quebec) through the Northern Indigenous Communities Satellite
Network (NICSN)) (I'm advising the network on a major long-term community
informatics impact assessment and research capacity building activity
(NICSN: RC) alongside this network).

What is crucial to know about K-Net is that by having control over their own
network they have been able to design, develop and deploy a very broad range
of highly innovative services into their communities including telemedicine,
http://health.knet.ca/  a northern based and indigenous controlled high
school (e-learning) http://kihs.knet.ca/ , and a range of (mostly
videoconference) supports to local development and e-governance
http://media.knet.ca/taxonomy/term/50?page=1.

I think what Brian is articulating is the position of any indigenous
Internet carrier anywhere who is trying to use the Internet infrastructure
to achieve a variety of socially beneficial "effective uses" and in that I
would include a range of other parallel activities in other remote regions
and in a variety of Less Developed Countries. 

For Brian the avaiability of bandwidth to support telemedicine services in
the absence of sufficient overall bandwidth trumps abstract notions of "Net
Neutrality".

So, as the Net Neutrality discussion goes forward, mostly pressed by those
with access to bountiful bandwidth resources the issue becomes either to
support what will ultimately be a damaging policy for folks like K-Net or to
include measures to ensure sufficient bandwidth FOR ALL in the Net Neutraliy
equation.

(BTW, if it needed repeating, this should reinforce the necessity to include
a much broader range of voices and particularly the voices of those working
on using Internet for socially beneficial uses on the ground in any of our
discussions concerning Internet Governance, ICT for Development or
whatever.)

MG

Michael Gurstein, Ph.D.
Centre for Community Informatics Research, Training and Development
Ste. 2101-989 Nelson St.
Vancouver BC CANADA v6z 2s1
http://www.communityinformatics.net
tel./fax +1-604-602-0624

-----Original Message-----  
From: Brian Beaton [mailto:brian.beaton at knet.ca] 
Sent: March 28, 2008 7:55 AM
To: 'Alison Powell'; cracin-canada at vancouvercommunity.net
Cc: 'Lyle Johnson'; 'Jeannie Carpenter'; pennycarpenter at knet.ca; 'Adi
Linden'; 'Terence Burnard'; 'Jamie Ray'
Subject: RE: [cracin-discussion] ACTION ALERT: Demand net neutrality now

Alison . Thanks for asking and for caring about this issue. 

Maybe some of the things that these efforts need to include is a parallel
effort to:

Deliver equitable access to the required telecom infrastructure to support
broadband connections for all Canadians at the same cost. Today, this net
neutrality debate seems to me to be more for those who can afford broadband
connections and for the most part for those who live in over-served urban
environments where there are all these different choices for network
services. 
Support the ability to throttle (I did not say kill [smiles] but that is
what I think about) those people who want to abuse the network services for
their own benefit (ie all those illegal downloads and P2P abusers) at the
expense of other network users who just want to check out my web page
[smiles]. There are lots of alternatives for these network abusers, for
example they might be forced to wait an hour for their movie instead of
getting it in 30 seconds, so the rest of us can check the weather or
whatever [smiles]. 
Take the necessary steps in the proper order, ie. equitable infrastructure
comes before equitable access IMHO, required to get the same infrastructure
and service options in place instead of simply assuming that everyone is at
the same place and wants these same things that the folks in positions of
privilege assume we want. 
Ensure that any policy or legislation respects the different realities that
exist across the country. 

What else?
Brian Beaton, K-Net Coordinator
Keewaytinook Okimakanak
Box 1439, 115 King Street
Sioux Lookout, ON, P8T 1B9
T: 807-737-1135 x1251
F: 807-737-1720
IP and ISDN video conferencing
E: brianbeaton at knet.ca 
W: http://knet.ca

From: Alison Powell [mailto:a_powell at alcor.concordia.ca] 
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2008 9:01 AM
To: brian.beaton at knet.ca
Cc: cracin-canada at vancouvercommunity.net; 'Lyle Johnson'; 'Jeannie
Carpenter'; pennycarpenter at knet.ca; 'Adi Linden'; 'Terence Burnard'; 'Jamie
Ray'
Subject: Re: [cracin-discussion] ACTION ALERT: Demand net neutrality now

Thank you so much for this important reminder Brian.  I see the Net
Neutrality as an issue of fair and equal access for all Canadians - but I
would like to correct any urban bias I might be working with.  Do you or
anyone else at K-Net have any specific suggestions on how to frame access
issues for rural and remote communities within lobby campaigns?

Thanks again,

alison.

Brian Beaton wrote: 
Thanks for this Alison. I feel it is important that EVERYONE understand that
K-Net and the community networks we serve are FORCED to do traffic shaping
on our network because of the lack of infrastructure and the cost of
bandwidth serving remote and rural communities across Canada. 

Our reality is affected, in part, by the folks in the cities who are
fighting to prevent the telcos from utilizing the Telecom Deferral Fund for
infrastructure upgrades. City-based "consumer" groups are leading a legal
battle to get that fund reassigned so "joe public" can get a $5 or $6 rebate
on their telephone bill rather than supporting the development of the
necessary infrastructure to support equitable access in remote and rural
communities.

I fear that any policy on Net Neutrality that is created in the cities to
serve urban dwellers will only once again make it very difficult for the
rest of us to do the work we need to be doing to live and work in remote and
rural communities across the vast parts of Canada.

I hope everyone will include our reality in their letter writing campaigns
and maybe once in a while think about us as these types of campaigns and
publications are distributed.

Brian Beaton, K-Net Coordinator
Keewaytinook Okimakanak
Box 1439, 115 King Street
Sioux Lookout, ON, P8T 1B9
T: 807-737-1135 x1251
F: 807-737-1720
IP and ISDN video conferencing
E: brianbeaton at knet.ca 
W: http://knet.ca

From: Alison Powell [mailto:a_powell at alcor.concordia.ca] 
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2008 8:18 AM
To: cracin-canada at vancouvercommunity.net
Subject: [cracin-discussion] ACTION ALERT: Demand net neutrality now

Time for Canada's Net Neutrality fight!  An action alert from Campaign for
Democratic Media.
ACTION ALERT: Demand net neutrality now

As recently reported by various news outlets, Bell Canada plans to have its
'third-party ISP traffic shaping' policy implemented across its entire
network by April 7. This policy is more accurately referred to as
'throttling', or the practice of shaping Internet traffic by selectively
limiting bandwidth.

According to a press release issued by the Campaign for Democratic Media
today, without government intervention to prevent this practice, "Internet
users will have much less choice in online media, will be restrained in
their ability to freely communicate and could end up with a largely
prescribed menu of 'choices,' many of which will only be available from
these very same ISPs."

The Council of Canadians is a founding member of the Campaign for Democratic
Media and supports the network's call for enforceable legislation on net
neutrality - a principle that requires Internet service providers not to
discriminate by speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source,
ownership or destination.

To learn more, see:
- The Campaign for Democratic Media, http://democraticmedia.ca/netneutrality

- An insightful blog entry by Michael Geist on the matter,
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2787/125/  
- 'Bell Sympatico Throttles Internet Access' video,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlMbxosLtaY  

TAKE ACTION
You are encouraged to send the following sample letter to Industry Minister
Jim Prentice demanding legislation on net neutrality that would prevent big
service providers from restricting our ability to communicate and access
information freely on the Internet.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Industry Minister Jim Prentice (MP, Calgary Centre-North)
Ministry telephone: 613-995-9001
Ministry fax: 613-992-0302
Constituency office telephone: 403-216-7777
Constituency office fax: 403-230-4368
E-mail: Prentice.J at parl.gc.ca or Minister.Industry at ic.gc.ca   

SAMPLE LETTER
Minister Prentice,

I am deeply concerned about Bell Canada's recent announcement that it will
make its practice of throttling official starting April 7.

Canada does not have strict enforceable net neutrality legislation and so
there is very little structure in place to prevent the big ISPs from
discriminating by speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its
source, ownership or destination.

I am outraged that Canada does not have a policy to protect my ability to
communicate and access information freely on the Internet and urge you to
take action on this matter immediately.

Sincerely, 
<your name>

Meera Karunananthan, Media officer, Council of Canadians

MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2008

Canada must adopt legislation to stop Bell Canada from shortchanging the
public, says coalition

The Campaign for Democratic Media! is outraged at Bell Canada's recent
announcement that it will begin throttling Internet service providers (ISPs)
starting April 7 - a policy uncovered and made official after Canadian ISPs
realized they were being shortchanged by the telecommunications giant which
had begun selectively limiting the ISPs' bandwidth.

"The problem is that Canada does not have strict legislation to prevent big
ISPs from turning the Internet into a network resembling a tolled highway
with a slow lane and a fast lane," says Steve Anderson, coordinator for the
Campaign for Democratic Media. "This means Internet users will have much
less choice in online media, will be restrained in their ability to freely
communicate  and could end up with a largely prescribed menu of 'choices,'
many of which will only be available from these very same ISPs."

The organization, a coalition of civil society organizations, academics and
grassroots media activists, is calling for the federal government to adopt
enforceable net neutrality legislation that would require Internet service
providers not to discriminate, including speeding up or slowing down Web
content based on its source, ownership or destination.

"Net neutrality protects our ability to direct our own online activities,"
says Anderson. "With net neutrality in place, a network's job is to move
data in a non-discriminatory manner, based on what people want."
About us: The Campaign for Democratic Media! (CDM) is a network of civil
society organizations, academics and grassroots media activists from across
the country who are interested in helping to create the conditions for
diverse, accountable and quality Canadian media.

-30-

For more information, please contact Steve Anderson at: 604-837-5730;
stephena at sfu.ca

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