The Canadian Angle

Wind Mobile's cellular application was approved by Industry Canada in March. Their ownership structure was scrutinized at the time and deemed to be acceptable. Wind Mobile, in partnership with Egypt's Orascom, were set to launch Canada's next and fourth national carrier network until the CRTC got their regulatory claws into the deal. The CRTC took issue with Orascom's foreign investment and on October 29th denied Globalive's cellular application.

Now Globalive is obviously trying to come up with an alternate solution which would be acceptable to the CRTC. In the absense of a deal Bell and Rogers have both stated that they would be interested in the spectrum. Bell's statement is as follows:

"if the spectrum is to be forfeited and returned to industry Canada... Industry Canada will then re-auction the returned spectrum.... Bell Canada is prepared buy up to 50% of it for up to 50% of the price paid by Globalive"

50% of the price paid by Globalive. That's it !! Globalive was ready to launch. Bell, Telus and Rogers file a complaint with the CRTC and request further investigation into Globalive's investment structure. The application is denied and now Bell is ready to pay up to 50% of the price paid by Globalive.

And then last Thursday after a speech at the Toronto Board of Trade Rogers CEO Nadir Mohamed stated the following:
"Spectrum is a very valuable asset. It's the real estate of our business, so Rogers would be for sure interested in picking it up. I'm sure others would be."

We're missing a few more public declarations - Telus will of course throw their hat into the ring, and then maybe (here's hoping) Shaw and Videotron might also bid for the spectrum. Shaw had an agreement (collusion really) with Rogers not to compete in each other's territories. Shaw agreed not to compete in Ontario & Quebec, and Rogers in the West. That agreement is now over, and Shaw is now entering the Ontario market with the acquisition of Mountain Cablevision of Hamilton. If the Globalive spectrum goes up for auction then I'm sure there will be some active bidding with the end price being probably higher then the original $442 Million paid by Globalive in the first place.

Actually, if their spectrum went back to auction the entire process would be a sham. Globalive paid, and Industry Canada accepted the money with full disclosure of the Globalive ownership structure. The Minister of Industry Tony Clement should come to Globalive's rescue, and quick.

In the mean time, Public Mobile and Dave Wireless are getting ready to launch in the next couple / few months.

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

The new owners, Silver Lake (same parent company that owns Avaya ), Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, will hold 56% of Skype, and eBay will retain 30%.  Missing from the mix is Index Ventures.  When the sale was initially tabled last summer, Skype's founders sued to prevent the merger from happening.  Their case stated that Index Ventures, with partner Michelangelo Volpi, used confidential information in an attempt to acquire a 65% share of Skype.  Jeff wrote about the merger in the beginning of September, so this conflict, and its eventual resolution, developed very quickly.

Where is Skype now?

Like a teenager moving away from home for the first time, Skype is going to have to learn how to become a profitable enterprise, quickly.  No longer having the support, or bankroll, of eBay means that Skype will need to be run as a for-profit venture.  With over 520 million users, 40 million of which came on board in the past quarter, Skype is being given the opportunity to demonstrate that they can run a profitable business.

One of the new owners,  Marc Andreessen shares that "as an independent company, "there's no need to deliver any specific revenue or earnings number in a particular quarter. It's a pure focus on the long term."

What does Skype need to do?

With fewer folks using land based phone services, combined with the extra step of running an application to provide a connection between customers, Skype is going to need to revamp their offerings and find ways to satisfy the growing mobile market.  Competitors like the iPhone or droid handsets, or software like Google Voice already have a huge head start on Skype, but now that the company is no longer primarily owned by eBay, the Skype folks can focus more time and money into marketing themselves.

Skype's next hurdle?

With the recommended focus being to develop Skype's mobile offerings and integration, the next step will be to convince the wireless providers (AT&T, Verizon, Bell, Rogers, Telus) to allow Skype to offer their service.  As this can potentially cut into the profits of the providers by allowing a free communication service, we see this being a potentially enormous hurdle for Skype.

So - now that Skype is all grown up, and about to leave the nest, it's probably best for them to plan well ahead into the future to determine the best features and business plan to incorporate into the next generation of Skype.

Written by: Jason Finnerty. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

This time the information comes first hand directly to me from someone "in the know". Of course the "reliable source" outcome is not guaranteed, but apparently the two companies are in active discussions.

The two companies have, over the course of the last year, collaborated on a couple of large projects. Telus sells Bell TV (Bell ExpressVu) satellite TV service in the west, and Bell and Telus have collaborated on the HSPA network with the ultimate goal of setting up a 4G LTE wireless network. The term coopetition (cooperative competition) can be used to describe this friendly, business rivalry.

The market is obviously heating up in anticipation of the new cellular market entrants (Dave Wireless, Public Mobile, Wind Mobile) expected over the course of the next 6 months. A Bell / Telus merger would otherwise have been frowned upon by the CRTC as anti-competitive, however, once the new cell carriers launch the landscape will change considerably.

In terms of timing - the "reliable source" suggests an announcement some time in the next 3 months.

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

What's my beef with the CRTC ?

If you have been following this blog you will obviously know that Canada has some new cellular competition about to enter the market. Public Mobile, Dave Wireless, and Wind Mobile (Globalive).

Wait a minute. Small correction.

Public Mobile and Dave Wireless.

Where's Wind Mobile ?

As of yesterday they're not doing that well and unfortunately the wind isn't exactly at their backs.

Wind Mobile's cellular application was approved by Industry Canada in March. Their ownership structure was scrutinized at the time and deemed to be acceptable. Wind Mobile, in partnership with Egypt's Orascom, were set to launch Canada's next and fourth national carrier network until the CRTC got their regulatory claws into the deal. Apparently they have taken issue with Orascom's foreign investment and yesterday denied Globalive's cellular application. What should have been a rubber stamp by the CRTC has turned into a mallet.

The Canadian consumer should be pissed. We have opened up wireless spectrum to allow for more competition in the marketplace. We need this competition to drive down prices and improve service. We should be in a national uproar that these CRTC hearings even happened, and now that their application was denied it's the Canadian consumer that will suffer.

What can Globalive, Wind Mobile's parent company, do ?

They can appeal to the federal government. Hmmm ... Appealing to bureaucrats about the bureaucrats decision. I'm sure Globalive will try but they don't make quick decisions in Ottawa so it could be summer 2020 before they consider an appeal.

They could go into quick partnership with Shaw, MTS, or Quebecor. Partnership could come in many flavours. Globalive could lease their spectrum to any of these carriers, sell their spectrum, or get a loan from any of these carriers.

They could try and find some other local Canadian financing. Maybe some banker on Bay Street has got a few hundred million dollars burning a hole in their pockets.

They can make some major changes to the current structure to overcome the majority foreign ownership.

In the mean time, the CRTC is a stodgy, unnecessary relic that at one time was probably useful, but in 2009 with the rapidly changing Telecom , internet, and TV landscape no longer serves any real useful purpose.

As for Wind Mobile, the prediction I made a couple of weeks ago was that of the 3 new carriers entering the market, in one year's time they would be the only one still standing. I still believe that to be the case. This is a hurdle, not a barrier.

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

It looks like the party is almost over for Rogers. They had a monopoly in Canada on the widely extremely popular Apple iPhone for over 1 year, and now it looks like, with Telus and Bell's launching the HSPA network shortly the Rogers extended party is about to end. Not only that, but, competition is just around the corner in the cellular network with the new carriers getting ready to launch.

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

My question to Bell - how about all of those hidden fees, charges, surcharges, excuses, and years of bad service. Wait, you're still screwing us - hidden charges, mistakes on bills, and this whole Net Neutrality thing has really got me frustrated.

Either way, it sure looks like another tax.

Dear Customer,

Help stop your TV fees from increasing. CTV, Global and the CBC have recently asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to significantly increase TV taxes.

The CRTC has been asked to do this by having Bell and the other operators pay more, which would result in higher fees for you.

We don't think that's right, you shouldn't either. So please speak and have your say.

This is what's happening.

The CRTC has told satellite and cable companies to hand over $100 million a year as of September 1, 2009. These fees are being passed on to you.

This money is passing through something called the Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF) ˆ straight to media giants like CTVglobemedia and Canwest Global, straight to the CBC.

No new local programming, no improvement to anything other than the bottom line of broadcasters.

You are now likely paying for this on your TV bill.

You should also know that hot on the heels of that campaign, CTV, Global and the CBC are now lobbying for even more.

Each year, satellite and cable companies pay hundreds of millions of dollars to broadcasters. We contribute to the CRTC's operating budget. Although to date these fees have not been broken out on monthly bills, you need to know they exist ˆ especially because the TV networks still want more.

If the CRTC gives in to the broadcasters' latest demand and lets local TV stations charge for their currently free over-the-air local signals, it would more than double the portion of your Bell TV bill going to government fees ˆ and into the bank accounts of the broadcasters, like CTV, Global and the CBC.

In fact, if the CRTC lets broadcasters have their way, then government-imposed fees will be just shy of one billion dollars.

It's time to say enough. Help make it stop. Let the CRTC know what you think about new TV taxes - have your say.

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

A brief technical explanation: PRI, sometimes also called Megalink, digital, or fiber, is a TDM, ISDN type (circuit-switched) type telco service which is rapidly replacing the older style analog line. A standard PRI service in North America has 23B channels and 1 D channel - if added together you have 24 channels. These 24 channels are comprised of 24 channels of 64 kbit / second, or 1.544 Mbit / second (24 X 64). The PRI is a similar service to the T1 - a T1 is made up of 24B channels, or 1.544 MB as well. The T1 has 24B channels, and the PRI has 23B + 1 D channel. The PRI is used for voice, and the T1 is used for data.

The PRI is a digital service, which means that the sound quality is near perfect. Unlike an analog line, which sometimes has a 6 to 8 dB loss, the PRI service has a 0 dB loss, making the sound quality that much better.

The technology has been around for some time - Digitcom.ca has been installing PRI circuits for our clients since the mid 90's. It is a very mature technology, with obviously, a very high adoption rate in the small, mid, and especially enterpise Telecom markets.

Next question: Is your current PRI contract competitive, and how do American and Canadian rates vary ?

I did a quick price survey - 1 in downtown Miami (with the help of my friend TJ Spohn from CPT Florida) and the other in downtown Toronto, 2 typical North American cities. Prices from the carriers are as follows:

Down Town Miami:

Nuvox
Rate / month $425
Install charge $0
Contract term 24 months
Lead time for install 30 days
LD rate .05 intrastate / interstate

Paetec
Rate / month $550
Install charge $0
Contract term 36 months
Lead time for install 30-45 days
LD rate .03 intrastate / interstate

AT&T
Rate / month $650
Install charge $0
Contract term 36 months
Lead time for install 30-45 days
LD rate .05 intrastate / interstate

Down Town Toronto:

Allstream
Rate / Month = $615 (10 DID's included)
Install = $0
Contract term 36 months
Lead Time for Install = 4 to 6 weeks
Long Distance = $0.02 / minute North America

Bell Canada
Rate / Month = $672
Install = $0
Contract term 36 months
Lead time for Install = 3 to 4 weeks
Long Distance = $0.025 / minute North America

Telus
Rate / Month = $653
Install = $0
Contract term 36 months
Lead time for Install = 4 to 7 weeks
Long Distance = $0.025 / minute North America

Rates were coming down for some time, but seem to have stabliized over the last few years. Paying more ? Call your carrier !

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

If not RIM, who will be the winner?  Apple iPhone, Google Android, Palm Pre, Microsoft, Nokia ?

RIM currently enjoys 50% of the developing smartphone market, but apparently that isn't a big enough lead for the "struggling" Canadian company.  Some analysts are predicting that RIM will lose up to 10% of the market over the next four quarters.  And they are basing this on the recent stock release from RIM.

Unlucky is probably the best way to describe RIMs situation.

RIM predicted that they would garner over 3.7 million customers this past quarter.  They managed to find them, but apparently when you give a range, and then you hit the low end of your target, you are chastised for meeting your goal - but just barely. The challange for RIM isn't with current market predictions, but, the challenges that lie ahead.

The competitive landscape is more fierce then it's ever been for RIM. A few years ago RIM owned the smartphone market, now Apple and Google are gaining ground quickly. It seems that in the mean time the wind isn't at RIM's back. And with the captain, CEO Jim Balsillie more focused on getting an NHL franchise then running RIM, the shareholders need to start asking questions.

The headline in today's Toronto Star is "NHL Victory is Canada's Loss". NO IT ISN'T. Let's correct the headline.

NHL VICTORY IS CANADA'S GAIN.

Why ?

The tech sector, more then any other industry, moves at an extremely fast pace. It would take years for McDonald's to lose their footing in the food war, but, in the tech sector one wrong move, or maybe one right move by your competitor and you could be done !

Maybe now that Balsillie has lost the NHL franchise he will regain his focus and pay attention to keeping RIM at the top of the market. With Nortel gone, RIM is now Canada's flagship Telecom company. If Balsillie had won this franchise he would have spent his attention on moving the Phoenix Coyotoes to Hamilton. Now that he's lost the franchise it's time to get back to work. Canada needs a focused Jim Balsillie !

Written by: Jason Finnerty and Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

What is meshmarketing ?

Well, it's not Telecom related, but, it is social media, and web media related, and many of the readers of this blog have an interest in Tech and Telecom, so let me explain what Meshmarketing is:

meshmarketing is a one-day event focused on insights, tools and tactics to help you win customers' hearts and minds, online. An insightful keynote will start the event, and lead the conference into a series of engaging conversations and "show and tell" presentations, as well as in-depth workshops.

You will interact with digital marketing thought leaders, connect with peers and prospects, and get a better understanding of the impact that new developments online will have on your strategy and your job. You will discuss best practices and the successful use of social media, online marketing, mobile marketing, search, video and word-of-mouth.

As a bonus, meshmarketing has agreed to provide a 10% discount - enter thetelecomblog as a discount code.

I hope to see you there.

And on the flip side, the Canadian consumer should be pissed. We have opened up wireless spectrum to allow for more competition in the marketplace. We need this competition to drive down prices and improve service. We should be in a national uproar that these CRTC hearings are even happening - if Globalive is stopped from entering the Canadian marketplace it's the consumer that will suffer. It's particularly disturbing considering Industry Canada has already approved the Globalive structure.

I did a post a few weeks ago about Globalive, one of Canada's three new cell companies getting ready to launch in the next few months.

Well - with the help of the CRTC, Globalive is back in the news.

The CRTC, apparently the pet dog of Rogers , Telus, and Bell, was let loose to freely attack Globalive.  Telus, Bell and Rogers, under the guise of the CRTC, seem to have a bit of a problem with the funding that Anthony Lacavera received to make the bid on the Canadian spectrum, and they are trying to do whatever they can to spoil Globalive's chances of success.

The incumbents all have a good reason to attack Globalive.  As reported by the Globe and Mail, upstarts like Globalive, Public Mobile,  and DAVE mobile will potentially eat up 24% of the Canadian wireless market by 2014.   That's some serious market share, and the incumbents aren't going to lie down and let the new guys steal their lunch.

The biggest problem seems to come down to math.  Globalive states that Lacavera is in control, and he is a Canadian citizen.  The incumbents are complaining about the amount of ownership and possible influence that the Egyptian financial backer, Orascom Telecom, has on the Globalive company.  The way that Lacavera has explained it, the Globalive team is following all the rules while still allowing for some out of this country funding.  Here is the breakdown:

• Anthony Lacavera owns 35 % of Globalive, and Orascom owns 65%.
• Orascom funded over $500 Million so Globalive could pay for the wireless spectrum that they bought, and the bridge financing required for the infratructure
• Both of these parties have agreed to replace the loans with third-party investments - as soon as it is commercially viable.

Telus and Bell suggest that Globalive and Orascom are pulling a fast one - trying to get around the legalities by setting up separate companies but still providing Orascom with a majority stake in the company, and  also with the added benefit of controlling the operations.

It shouldn't be a big shock that Globalive was financed through another country, and as long as Globalive and Orascom commit to what they say they are going to do, there shouldn't be any problems.

Well - still one hefty problem - the CRTC is under the influence of the incumbents.  The decisions coming from this regulatory body will provide fuel for many posts to come.

Am I the only one that sees the irony in the CRTC grilling Globalive about being influenced by outside sources?  Isn't this the pot calling the kettle black?

More: You can read about the other two new cellular companies coming to Canada. TheTelecomBlog.com has profiled:
Coming to Canada this Fall - profiling Public Mobile
Coming to Canada this Fall - profiling Wind Mobile
Coming to Canada this winter - profiling Dave Wireless

Written by: Jason Finnerty & Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

There are a number of problems with thinking that the Canadian taxpayer owns Nortel and that the government should have intervened in Ericsson's purchase.

Not the least of these problems is the fact that much of Nortel's intellectual property stayed with Nortel - the Ericsson deal licensed the intellectual property on a non-exclusive basis. Let's also keep in mind that for years, Nortel has not been able to take advantage of tax incentives, since they haven't been profitable, so the cash exposure to taxpayers has been less than many think.

Does Nortel (and its owners) own the company's assets or does the government seize possession by virtue of having ever provided a tax incentive or benefit? To simplify the thinking on this point, let me ask if you continue to own your home or does the government now get a piece because you take advantage of a home renovation tax incentive?

The xenophobic views on foreign ownership (nationalizing assets if acquired by a foreign company) are outdated. Modern societies encourage foreign investment. Canada's own industrial policy and numerous treaties ensures that we don't discriminate in the manner you propose; after all, we provide tax credits for R&D performed in Canada by Canadian firms and similar benefits are paid to those that happen to be foreign owned. Why wouldn't we? The point is that Canadians are working in attractive R&D jobs.

Ontario recently gave more than a quarter of a billion dollars to recruit a foreign gaming software company. Ericsson didn't ask for cash handouts and it is maintaining skilled jobs in Canada. The Canadian taxpayer will continue to benefit from payroll taxes being remitted to both levels of government, in addition to property taxes, and all sorts of economic benefits from having stability for these employees.

There was no "pilfering" of any public or private assets - the sale conformed to the law with judicial oversight.

On the other hand, political interference would have sent a message to the investment community around the world that we are no better than banana republics that change the rules and nationalize assets on a whim. Just imagine the impact that would have on jobs, investment, the dollar, stock prices.

The government got it right by looking at the big picture and resisting the temptation to score short term, cheap political points.

That depends on how much of the intelectual property was funded using taxpayer dollars. The amount of ownership should depend on the percentage of government grants that the organization used to to build the intelectual property in the first place.

If the Canadian government hands out billions of dollars to a Canadian company and assists that company in developing their intellectual property with R&D tax credits, tax grants, and EDC loans, then that property is NOT, and should not belong to the sole domain of the organization itself. Technically, the Canadian tax payer helped fund the business. As long as the business remains in Canadian hands then the property belongs to the owner / shareholder. And as soon as the assets are sold to outside foreign interests then this property should revert, (as a percentage of the total amount "donated") back to the Canadian taxpayer. Furthermore, there should be laws in place that protect the Canadian taxpayer as a secured creditor in the event of a foreign sale or bankruptcy.

The US government is standing in line with their hands open, waiting for their billions in proceeds from Nortel's bankruptcy sale.

Where is the Canadian government and why aren't they protecting Canada's interests in the Nortel debacle ?

At this point it's probably too late to deal with the Nortel issue - they're done. But, this philosophical discussion should be happening at senior levels of our bureauracy.

Why am I bringing this up ?

I read a post on AllAboutNortel.com yesterday, and I quote Mark Evans:

Second, the federal government made the right decision when it decided not to review the Ericsson's deal. The CDMA business was not of "national interest" so it made little sense to review it.

Mark references a Bloomberg article which states Michael Ignatieff as follows:

Canada needs an investment law "that protects our national interests" Liberal Party Leader Michael Ignatieff said today at a speech in Toronto. Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper "dropped the ball" when the government declined to review Ericsson AB's purchase of some Nortel assets, Ignatieff said.

Mark - YOU ARE WRONG. Canada made the WRONG decision when it decided not to review the Ericsson deal. This is Canada's asset - it belongs in many respects to the Canadian tax payer. Well, not entirely, but, we are entitled to our fair share of this asset. We should be waiting in line, ahead of all of the other creditors. We should be protecting our intellectual asset, and if it gets pilfered in a bankruptcy then we should review the process.

Don't you think ?

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

We've already introduced you to two of the other new wireless companies, Public Mobile and Wind Mobile, in previous posts, and armed with little information (as Dave hasn't disclosed much as of yet) let's see what we can figure out about  Dave Wireless.

Dave (Data & Audio Visual Enterprises), a Toronto-based company, brings high speed (HSPA+) and affordability to the estimated 8 million potential subscribers that are either mired in an ugly contract with one of the incumbents, or those Canadians that don't have a cell phone yet.

Dave's mission seems to be one of simplicity and honesty, promising a healthy atmosphere of customer service, internal and external.  Their newly launched website reflects this simplicity.  No flashy banners, no outlandish promises, and no ostentatious logos are found here - it's basically just the Dave team saying "This is who we are, and this is how we will treat you"

Dave's acting President is Dave Dobbin, previously of Toronto Hydro Telecom.  For those that live in the Toronto area you might remember Dave from his radio ads urging customers to come to one of his seminars on network security. Incidentally, the fact that DAVE Wireless and DAVE Dobbin both share the same name are completely coincidental, although very convenient. DAVE is headed up by John Bitove, controlling shareholder of XM Radio in Canada, and KFC Holdings, Director of Priszm Brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell franchises across Canada.

The fortune tellers are predicting that the new entrants into the Canadian wireless industry will be vying for the over 8 million new subscribers by 2014.  Through lower prices and faster technologies, the Dave Wireless team wants to make themselves stand out from the competition.   Dave's Wireless is implementing HSPA+ for now, with an eye on LTE down the road.

The Dave wireless team says that they are on track to launch their product line in early 2010 in 5 Canadian cities: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa.  By opting to roll out HSPA+, the Dave team is hoping to be able to offer speeds of 21 megabits/sec.

Keep your eyes open to find out what Team Dave is going to bring to the market.  With no information about pricing and plan options on their website, the Dave mobile team is going to be answering a ton of questions prior to the launch. .  But don't watch for Dave Wireless by name, because when they come to market there will be a new name for this Canadian company - hopefully they live up to the promises made on their website.

The good news - this new competition should result in lower prices for all of us. The bad news for the carriers - we're in for some fairly aggressive predatory pricing by: the incumbents who will fight extremely aggressively, and the 2 other new players, who will fight equally aggressively, for any new market share.

This won't be an easy market to enter - fortunately senior management at Dave Wireless is filled with some excellent talent. But, it looks like they will be last to enter the market, and haven't disclosed much by way of early marketing information. It looks like they are going to keep us guessing - hopefully for them, not for too much longer !

More: You can read about the other two new cellular companies coming to Canada. TheTelecomBlog.com has profiled:

Coming to Canada this Fall - profiling Public Mobile
Coming to Canada this Fall - profiling Wind Mobile

Written by: Jeff Wiener. www.digitcom.ca. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com by: RSS, Twitter, Identi.ca, or Friendfeed

"You must love Big Brother.  It is not enough to obey him; you must love him."  - George Orwell 1984

Can you imagine a world where the information you access online, the personal and private data that you transmit, and the surfing patterns that you employ are all monitored by a corporate entity?  A corporation that you pay to provide you with access to the internet?

Well - good news and bad news - you are already living in this world.  Big Brother Bell Canada is using Deep Packet Inspection techniques to determine how you, their paying customer, are using the internet.  What is deep packet inspection (DPI)?  Wikipedia has a fantastic breakdown of DPI, and you really should read it to understand how badly Bell is violating the privacy of their customers</a>.  Basically, DPI is a wiretap of your internet, checking every packet of information that you send or receive.

What would a corporation do with this kind of information?  Well, selling it would be the most likely situation.

Let's just say that you choose to search for, uhm, compromising photos of inebriated women enjoying spring break in Florida.  Since your ISP is able to see ALL of your search results with DPI, they might have sold your information to other companies that market to a person with your proclivities.  Companies that want to provide you with more viewing options, similar to what you have previously searched for.  Maybe at some times this is a good thing, but what if your wife/children/boss sees the results of your previous searches?  This isn't like a browser history that you can clear.  These are targeted ads, directed at you, that indicate the types of interests you have online.  Pretty hard to explain when they show up in your next search.

Or perhaps you feel safer knowing that your ISP can presort your incoming emails to determine if you are planning a coup.  Perhaps this information could be sent to the government and authorities so that they can lock you up - <em>before </em>you have committed a crime.

Now Big Brother Bell says that they are not using this information to target specific individuals, merely they are trying to shape bandwidth to "punish" those that are using the internet for peer2peer transferring, spreading of viruses, or buffer over-flow attacks.  Isn't it fantastic that an ISP has the power of judge, jury, and executioner for the wild frontier that is the internet?

Maybe they can start telling us where and when we can go online, predetermining the "safe" sites that they have determined are best for us.

Canada's watchdog on privacy has cowered politely requested that Bell Canada "generally" inform their customers about the DPI practice.  A real watchdog would have demanded that Bell cease and desist all DPI operations, but I guess since we are Canadian, a polite request will have to suffice.

So - my question to you dear reader - is this acceptable?

And if Bell is allowed to do it, when will Telus, Rogers, Shaw, or MTS start doing it?  If we don't stop them, you know they won't be able to overlook this incredible income stream opportunity.

Spread the word while you still can.

Tweet - Facebook update - Blog - email - whatever.  Be loud and proud while you still can, for if you don't say something now, you might not be able to in the future.