28/03/2011 Bell Backs Down as the Internet Become…

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Bell Backs Down as the Internet Becomes an
Election Issue

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March 28, 2011 – As more and more Canadians are making the Internet – the extremely high
pric es and limited ac cess -- an election issue, telecom giant Bell Canada is getting ready to
change its tune.

OpenMedia.ca has learned that Bell has buckled under public pressure (http://sto pthe m ete r.ca ) , and
will propose an alternative scheme for the imposition of usage fees on independent ISPs. Bell is
expected to come out with its plan this afternoon: today is the filing deadline for the first round of
submissions to the CRTC's usage based billing (UBB) hearing.

Clearly Bell is squirming under pressure from nearly half-a-million Canadians. This development
comes on the heels of OpenMedia.c a's attendance of a CRTC forum (http://o penm e dia.ca /CR TC fo rum )
on the future Intenet governanc e last week. This was supposed be a c losed-door invitation-only
meeting, but the Commission invited OpenMedia.ca under public pressure
(http://o penm e dia.ca /news/crtc-open-contro ve rsia l-clo se d-do or-m ee ting) .

"We're pleased that Canadians will now have the option to use indie ISPs like Teksavvy and
Acanac to ac cess the unlimited Internet," said OpenMedia.ca's Exec utive Direc tor Steve Anderson.
"This is a giant step forward for the Stop The Meter (http://sto pthe m e ter.ca ) c ampaign, and a vic tory
for those who support c ompetition and choice in Canada's Internet servic e market."

"While this is a positive move, it is only a Band-Aid solution to a muc h larger problem. We at
OpenMedia.ca hope the CRTC takes Bell's submission as a sign that widespread usage-based billing
is not an acceptable model for Internet pric ing, and that it c reates polic y to support the affordable
Internet."

The fundamental structural problems in the telecom industry remain: approximately 94% of
Canadians use big phone and cable c ompanies, many of which are still imposing usage fees on their
customers. These usage fees are found to be out of step with global standards for Internet price
and speed, and Canadians will not be happy until they are ensured affordable access to an open
Internet.

The usage-based billing issue will continue to heat up as the elec tion progresses. Candidates can
show that they are onside with voters by endorsing (m ailto :co nta ct@o penm e dia .ca ) the Stop The
Meter campaign as many have already. Canadians will not be satisfied until the stranglehold that
Big Telecom has over our country's c ommunications is removed.

-30-

Contact

Lindsey Pinto
Communications Manager, OpenMedia.ca
778-238-7710
lindsey@openmedia.ca (m ailto:lindse y@o pe nm e dia .ca )

About OpenMedia.ca

OpenMedia.ca is a national, non-partisan, non-profit public engagement organization working to

advance and support an open and innovative communications system in Canada. Our primary goal
is to inc rease public awareness and informed participation in Canadian media, cultural, information,
and telec ommunications policy formation.

About Stop The Meter

In October, Canadians were outraged by the news that the CRTC had decided to allow Bell and

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28/03/2011 Bell Backs Down as the Internet Become…
other big Internet service providers (ISPs) to impose new fees on independent ISPs – usage-based
billing. Now every Internet user in Canada is likely to feel the sting of a less affordable Internet,
and a less c ompetitive Internet servic e market. Recognizing the importance of this issue,
OpenMedia.ca launc hed the Stop The Meter campaign.

Since its inception, this multi-platform petition, based at http://www.StopTheMeter.ca

(http://www.Sto pTheMe ter.ca ) and in French at http://openmedia.ca/compteur
(http://o penm e dia.ca /co m pteur) , has bec ome a record breaker and a game changer. Over 475,000
names have now been added to the website, Fac ebook, Twitter, and in print.

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