Destination: Journey

Here are some great posts I saw recently. After having appeared at a CRTC hearing and being on a panel of people who were receiving questions about Net Neutrality, New Media and community-oriented broadcasting, my colleagues are quite concerned that the Commissioners just don’t get this issue. And it’s no surprise. The only concrete information that the Commissioners seem to be getting is being provided by the service providers themselves or the providers’ consultants. Stay aware, people, and participate when you can!

Media Links #2: Net Neutrality and Our Digital Soul
Steve Anderson, Campaign for Democratic Media
2009: Who Will Control Canada’s Digital Soul?
“What the open Internet does, perhaps more than anything else is allow us to envision, and in fact produce a more democratic media system. But the open Internet is under threat by the very companies that bring it into our homes and workplaces, Internet Service Providers (ISPs). These big telecommunication companies want to become the gatekeepers of the Internet, charging hefty fees to reach large audiences as they do with other mediums.”
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From SaveOurNet.ca
Matt Thompson on the battle for Canada’s open Internet
Videos from Media Democracy Day 2008
Geeks vs. Gatekeepers: the battle for Canada’s open Internet

From TheTyee
This one is about more than just Net Neutrality, but is definitely an interesting read.
Crystal Ball for Media Activism: Some predictions for law and policy. A guess at when and how big digital decisions will go down in 2009.
By Michael Geist; Published: January 6, 2009
“Technology law and policy is notoriously unpredictable and crystal ball gazing in Canada this year is particularly challenging given the current political and economic uncertainty. With that caveat, my best guess for the coming months includes the following:
July. The CRTC holds several days of hearings on network neutrality. Telecommunications companies argue that reasonable network management practices should not be regulated and that traffic shaping should be permitted. A broad coalition of consumer groups, independent ISPs, technology companies and cultural groups urge the commission to establish net neutrality ground rules.”
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And while on the subject of digital media, Michael Geist also posted this:
Ottawa Announces $10.7 Million Digital Media Project
Friday January 23, 2009
“The federal government has announced plans to spend over $10 million to establish a “Corridor for Advancing Canadian Digital Media” from Stratford to Kitchener.  Coming on the heels of the Nortel bankruptcy, this initiative reinforces the tech shift westward from Ottawa to Waterloo.  While tech leadership once resided with Nortel, JDS, Corel, Newbridge, and Cognos, the shift to RIM, Open Text, etc. has a direct effect on the location of future tech iniatives in Canada.”

Is throttling Necessary?
January 5, 2009
CBC’s Jesse Brown, host of Search Engine, takes on the question in this podcast.