The Battle to Control the Internet

Posted by Derek J.Sowa | Posted in , , , | Posted on 2:22 PM

With the growing age of the Internet and the ever expanding digital world it seems as if there is a deadly war raging on throughout and surrounding the Internet. What was once a humble place for us mortals to spend some time in quiet research, enjoying leisure game play or connecting with our loved ones has now become a digital battle ground for those consumed by greed and profit!
Much like the battles in the real world where Good vs. Evil, the mighty war for control of the Internet is well under way. I was first drawn to this battle for control of the Internet with the debate over UBB (UsageBased Billing). Big Telecom’ companies fight over what they believe is their right to force UBB on the masses when they themselves are the biggest polluters on the Internet, forcing millions if not billions of people to view their often misleading advertisements. [Sound familiar?] No matter where you may land on the Internet today there are always enormous amounts of unnecessary advertisements and media. Media which is extremely bandwidth intensive hugely brought on by the ‘Big Telecom’ companies and their partners while they battle for control and the almighty dollar demanding we should pay for this.
Internet news media, online retailers, desktop application developers and Internet security software manufactures [just to name a few], all battle for your patronage in this battle for control. Yet just where are the people responsible for making sure that the masses have a fair playing field and are not being mislead by the hordes of online marketing fanatics and their tactics forced upon us daily in our search for leisure while we browse the Internet? Are not they the very same people who seek to take control of the Internet?
With the vast potential of wealth to be had on the internet and the lure of easy money, it is no wonder we see every walk of life scrambling into position. Recently we see how the battle is intensifying in the social media. From the early pages like My Space and My Yahoo and my MSN now comes along Twitter and Facebook with its 800 million strong and still counting.  Facebook has dealt a crushing blow to those less fortunate leaving countless others determined to earn this top spot. More recently a  fairly new player in the social war is Goggle+ and its circle of friends which have yet to be determined. I recently had a chance to check out this latest entry and so far I don’t foresee any immediate threat of Google+ taking over the reins. Perhaps it is just a launch pad for a super weapon of some sort...  
Needless to say, as in the real world the war rages on and countless players will succumb to the mighty all in the name of profit. There will be those who have and those who have not! Much like what is happening in our everyday lives, the rich will get richer all at the expense of those less fortunate. What the rest of us need to decide is where we want to stand in this battle in which may seem we have no control? Just remember, it’s all about the $$$... Don’t be swayed by the Promised Land.  The wealthy and rich would like to inherit the earth! Personally I would like to stay in the middle… if only they let me! 
We're into a whole new world with the Internet, and whenever we sort of cross another plateau in our development, there are those who seek to take advantage of it. So this is a replay of things that have happened throughout our history. ~Bill Clinton

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UBB… What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Posted by Derek J.Sowa | Posted in , , , | Posted on 8:25 PM

As the debate over UBB (Usage Based Billing) rages on, it would seem that  the ‘Big Telecom’  have all the right answers, or so they would like us to believe. Shame on them! I for one am growing tired of hearing how they need to pay for the infrastructure already in place when we all, as consumers, are being over billed for the services we now receive. Just why do they now want to own the internet? Bottom line… it’s just another money grab. I agree that they may very well own the backbone, (the wires, fibre optics, ect)but the internet is a vast infrastructure with many nodes,  avenues and stations all of which the "’Big Telecom’ have contributed nothing to, so why is it now they feel they should profit off of others? Millions of corporations, businesses and consumers the world round have all contributed to the infrastructure of the internet so should we not reap some rewards also?
A recent article on The Globe and Mail does well to sum it up nicely.
Bell’s vision is an Internet that’s more like your cellphone. Treat every new Internet application as a “feature” that incurs a new monthly fee. Charge a “termination fee” if you get sick of how things are going. Above all, make everything consumers do cost more!
Sound familiar? We currently see this type of billing with our Cable TV, our home phone lines and our mobile phones.  Now, lets try to imagine an internet where if the ‘Big Telecom’ could have free rein to charge us at will as they now do with the other services they provide. It would not be very long before every web page, web app, video or song we clicked on or listened to, would have the all to familiar buttons attached.
Profit… is the real intention behind the current controversy regarding UBB, and no matter what Bell, Shaw Communications, TELUS or any other of the ‘Big Telecom’ may tell us or like us to believe, this must not be allowed to happen under any guise. As Canadians, and more so as consumers, we have to draw the line somewhere.
Click on the link to send your message to the Secretary General, CRTC  Stop The Meter: TNC CRTC 2011-77
Enough is ENOUGH!

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CRTC Ruling - Another Money Grab For Big Telecom?

Posted by Derek J.Sowa | Posted in , , | Posted on 11:30 PM

“When you invest zero, yeah, it’s pretty easy to say the cost-per-gig or per-bit is small. But when you invest billions, you’ve got to generate a return”  Mirko Bibic - Bell’s senior vice-president for regulatory affairs
A recent ruling from the CRTC to allow the big telecom companies ie: the Big Three, (BCE Bell, TELUS Corp, Roger’s Communications) to charge subscribers a Pay Per Usage fee is drawing heavy criticism and rightly so.  Just how much should we have to pay to access the internet, and just what is to be the outcome of a metered internet? Are we not paying enough already?


How many times have we all seen this before? Seems to me that this is just another money grab from the big corporations who only have one thing on their minds. The almighty dollar. (Let the rich get richer while the poor get poorer…) Myself, I’m getting real tired of this. I have more than enough hands in my pockets already!

Listening to them trying to justify their actions by talking about the billions spent on infrastructure just leaves me feeling sick to my stomach. What about the billions they overcharge their consumers for the shoddy cable and cellular services where every thing you do seems to cost you extra? Now they want to control and take over the internet as well! Please, give us a break!


For myself, I find this very disturbing. As a web developer and someone who enjoys streaming different forms of media over the internet, it’s hard to comprehend just why I, or anyone for that matter, should have to pay any additional fee for content that’s more graphic intensive or consumes more bandwidth, when  that’s the driving force behind the internet today.  Most sites today are very graphic intensive and if you stream media you’re bound to consume some bandwidth.  An average person on the web today could easily consume between 50 to 100 gigs of bandwidth per month. As new sites become more graphic intensive and consume more bandwidth then their predecessor, why is it the consumer should have to pick up the tab?
Even non-tech-savvy users are bumping up against download limits, as households seek more entertainment online and connect gaming consoles to the Internet!
It’s a complex issue with many sides but having a pay per use billing system in place will bring the internet to a standstill and will stifle new innovation. I honestly don’t believe that the big three are hurting because of lost bandwidth. However they are more likely hurting because of the potential for billions more of our hard earned money pouring into their coffer has escaped their grasp. Let’s hope that the recent ire of big businesses who rely on heavy data transmissions and the intervention of the Harper Government puts a stop to this blarney that the telecom companies would like us to believe. If not, perhaps we may wake up one day to find what once was, is no more thanks to the greed of a very wealthy few…

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