Liberal MP David McGuinty has introduced the Telecommunications Clarity and Fairness Act, a private members bill that will come as welcome news to every Canadian consumer. The bill would outlaw the much-hated system access fee and require the CRTC to study issues such as how stop providers from locking devices, to provide more accurate information on network speeds, and to implement greater transparency of network management practices on mobile and broadband networks. It also calls on the CRTC to issue a net neutrality report on "network management practices that favour, degrade or prioritize any packet transmitted over a broadband network based on source, ownership, or destination."
McGuinty Introduces Telecom Transparency Private Members Bill
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Too Ambitious
Maybe the bill should try to address one thing. I want an end to fraudulent system access fees and I also want network neutrality, but trying to change everything at once, especially in a private member’s bill is asking for too much. It will be voted down and nothing will change.
Introduce three new bills:
1. End fraudulent system access fees. If the plan says $20/mo then it should cost $20/mo + government tax.
2. Stop the cell companies from crippling devices so that they only work with certain applications and providers.
3. Net neutrality: prevent “network management practices that favour, degrade or prioritize any packet transmitted over a broadband network based on source, ownership, or destination.”
Then maybe one or more might pass.