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<p><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">Again on the
Affordable Internet Day of Action, I just received this
excellent summary of why this issue is important to us -- part
of a mailing sent to members by Shelley Robinson, Executive
Director of the National Capital Freenet and also a TC member</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">Marita</font><br>
</p>
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src="https://static.ncf.ca/images/logos/bilingual/colour/ncf-bilingual-colour-web.jpg"
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<h3>1) Affordable Internet Day of Action:
Tuesday, March 16th
</h3>
<p>
Tomorrow we are joining a coalition of other
community groups, advocates and service
providers to ask the CRTC and federal
government to make concrete changes towards
affordable internet. </p>
<p>
There are a series of talks throughout the
day that touch on different elements of the
affordability problem and how best to solve
it. I’ll be moderating the panel on the
human cost of high internet prices at
1:15pm. </p>
<p>
You can check out the virtual day of action
and register for the event here: <a
href="https://affordable-internet.ca/"
moz-do-not-send="true">affordable-internet.ca</a>
</p>
<p>
We are also joining a number of groups,
including ACORN Canada, Open Media and the
Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest
Clinic (CIPPIC), in sending an open letter
to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the
Minister of Innovation, Science and
Industry, François-Phillippe Champagne, and
the Chairperson of the CRTC, Ian Scott. </p>
<p>
In the past, a number of you have asked what
you can do. We have a template of a letter
you can send your local MP, the Minister of
the Department of Canadian Heritage, or the
CRTC to ask for change: <a
href="https://www.ncf.ca/affordableinternet"
moz-do-not-send="true">ncf.ca/affordableinternet</a>.
</p>
<p>
There is strength in numbers, but there is
also strength in stories: feel free to add
why internet affordability matters to you.
And please feel free to cc me on the letter
at <a href="mailto:execdir@ncf.ca"
moz-do-not-send="true">execdir@ncf.ca</a>
or forward us a copy of your letter. </p>
<p>
You can also amplify our work tomorrow by
re-tweeting and sharing our social media
posts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram,
using the hashtag #AffordableInternetNow.
</p>
<p>
We’re proud to be part of this work. NCF has
been committed to affordable internet for
everyone in our community since 1992. But it
isn’t always easy, as reflected in the fact
that we recently had to raise prices.
</p>
<p>
The structure of Canada’s internet system
has made for some of the highest internet
prices in the world. This includes the
wholesale rates set by the Canadian Radio
and Television-Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC), as well as the policy decisions made
by the federal government. </p>
<p>
As we have discussed before, the CRTC
decided in 2016 to examine the wholesale
internet rates and spent the next three
years reviewing them in detail. Based on
their findings, they mandated a drop the
wholesale rates we pay Bell in August 2019,
back-dated to 2016. </p>
<p>
A month later, before the new rates had
taken effect, Bell and the other incumbents
including Rogers and Videotron filed three
appeals of the new rates: with the Federal
Court of Appeal, to the federal government,
and back to the CRTC. </p>
<p>
The Federal Court of Appeal upheld the
original CRTC rate drop. And then just
recently, the Supreme Court dismissed the
appeals: <a
href="https://mobilesyrup.com/2021/02/25/supreme-court-dismisses-incumbents-appeal-crtcs-lowered-wholesale-rates/"
moz-do-not-send="true">mobilesyrup.com/2021/02/25/supreme-court-dismisses-incumbents-appeal-crtcs-lowered-wholesale-rates/</a>
</p>
<p>
The government didn’t overturn the pricing
decision but cautioned that the investments
of the big telecom companies like Bell and
Rogers (who regularly post huge profits),
must be protected. </p>
<p>
The CRTC is currently re-reviewing the
decision it originally took them three years
to make. We are now entering the fifth year
of waiting for the wholesale rates to drop,
still paying the same high prices. </p>
<p>
We are also waiting for the CRTC to release
details of how NCF and other independent
ISPs can gain access to Fibre to the Home
(FTTH) technology, instead of Fibre to the
Node (FTTN), which is what we currently
offer. </p>
<p>
This is a complicated issue but it doesn’t
need to be. We need the CRTC and the
government to make it easier for NCF to
offer affordable rates. </p>
<p>
Please join us tomorrow if you can. We’ll
keep you posted as things move forward. And
know that we will continue our work on this
issue. </p>
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<p style="margin: 0;">National Capital FreeNet
is a local, not-for-profit alternative to
commercial internet service <br>
</p>
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