Archive for April 19th, 2011

Why the Conservatives Copyright Plans Create a Hidden Cost for RIM’s PlayBook

Appeared in the Ottawa Citizen on April 19, 2011 as ‘Playbook’ Tax Means Apple Wins Research in Motion, Canada’s technology giant, releases its much-anticipated PlayBook this week. The PlayBook, a tablet computer competitor to the Apple iPad, is enormously important not only to the company, but given RIM’s role as […]

OECD Broadband Rankings: Canada Ranks 28th out of 33 Countries Based on Bell, Rogers & Shaw Data

The OECD published its latest comparative broadband Internet data last week, confirming yet again that Canadian consumers pay more for less when it comes to Internet access. While some will undoubtedly claim that the OECD methodology is faulty, it should be noted that the data is provided to OECD member governments before publication. For this survey, the OECD focused on three of Canada’s largest ISPs – Bell, Shaw, and Rogers – covering 18 of their offerings at a range of speeds and pricing points.

The focus should be on the numbers, which tell a discouraging tale. Among the findings on price of Internet services (all as of September 2010):

Speed	Rank
Overall	28th out of 33
Below 2.5 Mbps	17th out of 24
Between 2.5 an 15 Mbps	28th out of 33
Between 15 and 30 Mbps	29th out of 33
Over 45 Mbps	23rd out of 28